A day after Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed indicated he may not enforce a Monday deadline for Occupy Atlanta to clear out of Woodruff Park, protesters marched on the state Capitol less than a mile away Saturday to demand jobs.
With the Beatles’ “Revolution” filling the air, the large crowd converged on the steps in front of the Capitol on Washington Street with signs such as “People Over Profit” and “Government Corruption Begins in Corporate Boardrooms.”
After the rally, the group headed back to Woodruff Park.
“We know that come Monday, we're committed to non-violence, but we're also committed to occupy this park,” Tim Franzen, leader of the Occupy Atlanta movement, told Channel 2 Action News.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has backed off a 5 p.m. Monday deadline for Occupy Atlanta protesters to leave the prominent Downtown park.
In a statement Friday, the mayor's office told Channel 2 Action News that Reed never meant the deadline to be cast in stone and that he may or may not extend an executive order allowing the protesters to remain in Woodruff Park.
A spokesman told Channel 2 that the city was never in a showdown posture with the protesters, who are demanding reforms on Wall Street and more jobs.
Franzen had vowed that Occupy Atlanta would not to obey the Monday deadline.
"With all due respect, we never asked for Mayor Reed's permission to occupy the park," Franzen told Redding News Review. "We had intended to illegally occupy the park in civil disobedience. ... We are going to stay in that park."
But Franzen struck a more conciliatory tone Friday after learning of the mayor's decision to possibly back off of enforcing the deadline.
He told Channel 2 he was surprised to learn Monday was not a hard deadline as he was led to believe it was and welcomed Reed's support.
"We'd love to have his endorsement," Franzen said. "We think the voices that we're trying to lift up are the voices of his constituents."
Occupy Atlanta is the outgrowth of a national movement led by the Occupy Wall Street protests targeting what activists call greed on Wall Street and the lack of job creation on Main Street.
The protests are spreading across the country, but in some areas clashes have begun between protesters and the authorities, and arrests have been made.
Occupy Atlanta protesters marched Friday from Woodruff Park to a homeless shelter at Peachtree and Pine streets, blocking traffic on the downtown streets.
Atlanta police have maintained only a low-key presence at the park during the protest, which is about to enter its second week.
Reed has told members of the City Council Public Safety Committee that while the city wants to respect the demonstrators’ right to express their views, they cannot be allowed to camp in the park indefinitely.
“This has got to got to come to a close at some point,” Reed said. “At some point, we have to act.”
The protests also are beginning to wear on the nerves of nearby residents.
"It's really annoying," Katelyn Caccavale, who lives across the street from Woodruff Park, told Channel 2. "Our walls are paper thin, so every night, we hear them screaming and yelling and banging their bongos."
About the Author
