Some have jobs, some don’t. Some have homes, others don’t. Each person has his or her own reason for being involved.
Collectively, the people participating in the Occupy Atlanta movement are hopeful for change, and the rain and chilly temperatures blowing through the region couldn’t drive them from their tents at Woodruff Park.
On Wednesday, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said those in the park were free to stay for now, providing yet another extension, but he reiterated that the city was prepared to take action if necessary to get people to leave.
“I think there is a very real problem for our city, our national and international reputation, when you make a decision to arrest large numbers of people for engaging in an act of civil disobedience while at the exact same time you’re on the mall of Washington honoring Martin Luther King, who practiced civil disobedience,” Reed said at a news conference.
The rain-saturated ground made it slippery walking through the downtown park, and the wind swayed many of the tents. Elijah Jones gathered up wet clothes and blankets and took them to get washed and dried, planning to redistribute redistribute them to those in the park. More tents and tarps were on the way, he said.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Jones said. “We’re making our impact and we’re empowering a lot of people that have been overlooked for a long time. It’s not just a bunch of hippies playing bongos.”
Jones, whose band The Constellations recently performed at Music Midtown, told the AJC that he became part of the movement because several large companies continue to get receive tax breaks.
Tony Chase, who spent his ninth night in the park trying to stay dry, said he’s been out of work for nine weeks and homeless the last five. He previously worked in construction but can’t find work, despite daily trips to the library to search for jobs.
“I appreciate the mayor giving us an extension,” Chase said. “It’s time that people elected to help us are held accountable.”
Chase encouraged a homeless woman, Kim Dennison, to also come to the park.
“She was living under a bridge,” Chase said. “Here she can get blankets, tarps, bread and milk.”
Dennison said she was hoping to receive disability benefits to help support herself after a serious leg injury.
“I broke it in two places and it never healed right,” she said. “When I walk, it swells.”
So far, city Atlanta leaders have taken little action to intervene with those in the park.
“There are no easy answers,” Reed said. “This is not easy, but we will get through it.”
Reed said he plans to call on leaders in the religious, civic and business communities for a potentially large meeting on the Occupy Atlanta issue.
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