Occupy Congress

By Sandy Robson on 01/19/2012 @ 03:36 PM

Tags: Lobbying, Quakerism

Former FCNL program assistant at the Occupy Congress demonstration on Tuesday.

On Saturday civil rights veteran Helena Hicks marched with dozens of Baltimore activists from Union Baptist Church in west Baltimore to a rally at Read’s drug store, where the first recorded lunch counter sit-in took place in 1955. The marchers called attention to the state’s broken promise to provide 700 jobs in west Baltimore during the construction of a State Center, demanded a halt to the $100 million construction of a new youth jail in Maryland, and insisted on investments in jobs and education instead. My friend and I caught the tail end of the rally, which had drawn a swarm of police.

Many of the marchers continued southward to carry their message 41 miles to the Capitol, arriving at a nation-wide gathering of the Occupy movement as the House of Representatives returned from recess yesterday morning. They are weaving together the powerful narrative that yes, what Congress does affects our communities in Baltimore, and yes, it's worth saying something about it. Maybe this is the way that Martin Luther King, Jr. would have wanted his legacy to be celebrated.

The beginning of Tuesday's demonstration at the Capitol was cold and rainy. Hundreds of people still showed up. Former program assistant Jessica Halperin and I joined the General Assembly at noon on the Capitol's west lawn, mic-checks and all.

Unlike many demonstrations here in Washington, the gathering didn’t stop at the Mall. Organizers passed out directories, marked congressional office-buildings with color-coded flags, and encouraged everyone to visit to their representatives’ offices. As far as I could see there were no talking points. Everyone was free to interact with their representatives however they saw fit and express whatever message they felt appropriate, provided the exchange was nonviolent. It was apparent that some planned to stage sit-ins and confront staff, but others sought to meet with staff regarding tax breaks, war with Iran, jobs, and a whole host of issues.

I find it heartening that this movement, which has so many values and processes in common with Friends, has likewise been drawn to speak its truth to power in Congress. Indeed the Occupy Wall Street protests have brought new meaning and consequence to my own interpretation of Quaker values. Consensus-based decision-making, cumbersome and frustrating as it may be at times, ensures that decisions are a form of empowerment instead of oppression. Is it efficient? Often not. But we aren’t called to be efficient—we are called to stay true to our values.

Those who were arrested and disrupted congressional offices made the headlines in major news sources like the Washington Post. Their voices are important. And those whose messages were delivered more quietly, perhaps, were recognized by members of Congress and their staff. Their voices are equally important. This movement is “a wide open space for all the people who want a better world to find each other,” in the words of Naomi Klein. “This is not the time to be looking for ways to dismiss a nascent movement against the power of capital, but to do the opposite: to find ways to embrace it, support it and help it grow into its enormous potential. With so much at stake, cynicism is a luxury we simply cannot afford."

I feel grateful to be a tiny part of the big work of both FCNL and the Occupy movement in bringing about the world we seek.