The protesters who began demonstrations in Monroe Park Saturday have since moved to Kanawha Plaza near downtown Richmond after a mass demonstration of close to 500 people Saturday afternoon.
Only a few dozen remained over-night and into Monday morning. The group, protesting Wall Street and big business, staged its first official demonstration Monday morning at 7:30 a.m.
“It is strangers who have now come together and formed a group and created this Occupy Richmond Protest out of a bunch of voices, mixed together,” said Stacey Bennett, a protest participant.
They are linked together for a common goal, which they claim is to empower the people. Second year med student, Vanessa Coleman, says its important for her to be here.
“My patients aren’t going to be ok if they don’t have health care, if they don’t have enough to eat, if they don’t have their benefits, thats not going to help the. Whats going to help them is if we get real change and we empower the people,” said Coleman.
Part of empowering the people, they say, starts with big business and big government.
Bobbie Richards, an Occupy Richmond Participant voiced her opinion, saying “We are in solodarity with Occupation Wall Street, of course, we are just very unsatified with the fact that our government has been hijacked, all 3 branches have been hijacked by the Corporate Sector.”
Some passersby, like Dacrell Bryant, aren’t too sure about the method the protesters are using to get their message across.
“I kind of agree, um, but I don’t know if this is necessarily going to work, so to speak. I feel for the people that feel so strongly, but maybe someone watching will take notice,” said Bryant.
Many of the protesters say they’ll continue to stay out at Kanawha plaza “for as long as it takes”.
This past weekend hundreds of people protesting what they see as corporate greed were arrested in Chicago, Washington, and Arizona, these arrests were mostly peaceful.
These protests come just days after tens of thousands demonstrated in cities around the world against what they see as corporate greed.
