09/17/21 09/17/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i don't one another young gymnast, olympic athlete, or any individual t experience the horror that i and hundreds of others have endured before, during, and continuing to this day. amy: simone biles another top gymnast blast the fbi for failing to stop the biggest sexual abuse scandal in sports history.

we look at how the fbi failed to investigate credible abuse reports about usa gymnastics doctor larry nasser, allowing him to molest at least another 100 gymnast. then as congress debates a $3.5 trillion bill to expand the nation's social safety net and to increase taxes on the rich, we look back at occupy wall street 10 years ago today, looking at how the movement began. >> occupy, occupy the political imagination and that in itself i think is no small feat but he did so much more to lay the groundwork for social movement renaissance, for an your of defined protest, and really helped revitalize the u.s. left. toy we are very much living in a world that occupy helped create. amy: we will speak to three former occupiers, writer and activist astra taylor, jillian johnson who became drums

mayor pro tem, and nelini stamp. all that in more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. immigrant justice advocates are warning of a humanitarian crisis on the u.s. southern border, as over haitian asylum seekers have 10,000 been sleeping in a makeshift camp underneath a bridge in del rio, texas, for days. they recently crossed the rio grande after trekking for thousands of miles through dangerous routes across south and central america and mexico. this comes as advocates are denouncing the biden administration for resuming deportation flights to haiti as haiti reels from last month's catastrophic earthquake that left thousands without shelter, clean water, food, medical aid .

some 86 haitian asylum seekers were deported wednesday, including families and children under the age of three. in a statement, guerline jozef, the co-founder of the haitian bridge alliance, said -- "we are in utter disbelief. hours after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake, president joe biden released a statement saying that the united states was a 'frien'' of haiti. a 'friend' does not continuously inflict pain on another friend." meanwhile, the political turmoil in haiti is growing after prime minister ariel henry replaced haiti's justice minister thursday, just days after firing a top public prosecutor who sought to charge the prime minister in connection with the july assassination of president jovenel moïse. the prosecutor, who also sought to prevent henry from leaving haiti, said the prime minister had communicated with a key suspect on the night moïse was killed. on wednesday, the head of haiti's council of ministers resigned in response to the prosecutor's firing.

a federal judge in washington, d.c., has blocked the biden administration from enforcing title 42, a trump-era policy that allows immigration authorities to expel asylum seekers at the u.s.-mexico border without due process, citing the pandemic as justification. the court's order takes effect in 14 days. it's a landmark victory for the american civil liberties union and several immigrant rights groups who condemned title 42 as cruel and lawless. the world meteorological organization warns in a new report that governments are falling far short of the paris climate agreement's goal of limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees celsius. the u.n. weather agency says only immediate, large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can avert a global catastrophe. u.n. secretary-general antonio gutteres said thursday that humanity's future is at stake at the upcoming u.n. climate change conference in glasgow, known as cop26. >> we continue to destroy the

things on which we depend for life on earth. sea level rises, accelerating, the ocean is dying and biodiversity is collapsing. we are out of time. we must act now to prevent further damage. cop 26 this november? the turning point. we need all countries to achieve their missions by the middle of the century and rivet clear, credible strategies. amy: meanwhile, a new report by the world bank warns that, without urgent action, the climate crisis could force 216 million people to leave their homes by 2050. most of the migration will be driven by water scarcity, decreasing crop productivity, and rising sea levels. the united states reported more than 3400 covid-19 deaths on thursday, while confirming more

than 150 thousand coronavirus infections. one in four u.s. hospitals report their intensive care units are at or near capacity. in idaho, overwhelmed hospitals on thursday announced they were adopting "crisis standards of care" to ration health care. that means some people in need of limited resources like icu beds, ventilators, and supplemental oxygen, may be denied care in favor of other patients deemed more likely to survive. the biden administration is defending its newly-announced trilateral security pact with the united kingdom and australia, calling it a bulwark against china's power in the indo-pacific region. the deal will see the u.s. and britain transfer nuclear-powered submarine technology to australia. in beijing, china's foreign ministry sharply condemned the thursday the new australia-u.k.-u.s. partnership, known as aukus. >> to cooperation between the

united states, britain, and unsurely of -- australia has damaged regional peace and stability, intensify the arms race, and undermine international nuclear nonproliferation efforts. amy: france's foreign minister lashed out at the biden administration over its nuclear submarine deal with australia, saying that france was blindsided by the u.s. announcement on wednesday. >> because this unilateral, protectable decision reminds me a lot of what mr. trump used to do. and a proper french, this is really a step in the back. we created a relationship with trust witaustralia and that has en broken. amy: australia confirmed it will cancel a contract with a french military shipbuilder to build nuclear submarines, worth about $65 billion. meanwhile, anti-war and anti-nuclear groupare denouncing the australia-u.k.-u.s. pact. in a statement, codepink said -- "if biden and the pentagon

really want to 'ensure peace and stability' in the region, they could simply stop dealing missiles, weapons, nuclear tech to australia, japan, south korea, and taiwan." as democrats work on hammering out a major infrastructure package and supplementary spending bills, president biden thursday said tax hikes on corporations and the ultra-rich are both necessary and overdue. pres. biden: big corporations and the super wealthy have to start paying their fair share of taxes. it is long overdue. i am not out to punish anyone. i am a capitalist. if you ca make $1 million or $1 billion, that's great. god bless you. all i am asking is you pay your fair share. amy: earlier this week, house lawmakers advanced a tax plan that would help fund the expansion of the social safety net. the measure increases the corporate tax rate to 26.5% and the top individual income tax

bracket would see a small rise to 40%. the plan would also raise the capital gains tax of 25%, up from the current rate of 20%. in washington, d.c., police have erected a high metal fence blocking off the capitol building and grounds ahead of the so-called "justice for j6 rally" planned for saturday. protest organizers are demanding charges be dropped for violent trump supporters who attacked congress on january 6. cnn reports a department of homeland security memo is warning of potential violence around saturday's rally. in related news, ohio republican congressmember anthony gonzalez announced thursday he won't run for re-election in 2022. gonzalez was one of just 10 house republicans who voted to impeach trump for inciting the january 6 insurrection. after that vote, gonzalez says he and his family faced threats and had to travel with a security detail. in a statement, gonzalez said he was leaving congress in part because of the "toxic dynamics inside our own party."

in sports news, the u.s. soccer federation has announced it's offering the same contract proposals to both the men and women's teams. this follows years of organizing from u.s. soccer players who denounced the drastic difference in wages compared to their male counterparts. several women players sued the u.s. soccer federation over gender discrimination. the u.s. women's soccer team has won a record four world cups, while the male team has won none. west africa's main regional bloc ha enaed sanctions against military coup leaders in guinea, demanding the immediate release of mr. president alpha condé and for elections to be held in six months. the west african leaders also called for elections in mali by february of next year, saying is responsible for a coup there were holding up a transition to democratic rule. there have been multiple

military coups in west and central africa since last ar in guinea, chad, and two in mali. in argentina, tens of thousands of people led a march in buenos aires thursday protesting the country's economic crisis, chronic unemployment, and worsening poverty. this is a labor leader. >> some retirees cannot live, cannot beat despite having worked all their lives. there is extreme poverty in which 11 million people eat in soup kitchens and in extreme situation which 5 million people are in severe poverty and do not eat. amy: the march came days after primary elections were held in argentina, where the political coalition of president alberto fernandez suffered a massive loss, triggering fears fernandez's government may lose its majority in congress in november's parliamentary elections. a political crisis is already unfolding with vice president cristina fernandez de kirchner spearheading what many are calling a cabinet rebellion against president fernandez. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

we will be back in a minute. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. some of gymnastics' biggest

stars offered scathing testimony wednesday to the senate judiciary committee about the fbi's failure to stop serial sexual abuser usa gymnastics doctor larry nasser. lawyers say in the time between when the fbi was first told of nasser's crimes and his 2016 arrest, nassar abused another 120 people. fbi director christopher wray apologized to the gymnasts in the senate hearing. last week, the fbi fired an agent involved in the investigation into nasser. both the gymnasts and senators on the judiciary committee called out justice department leadership for failing to appear at wednesday's hearing. attorney general merrick garland is expected to testify next month. this is the testimony of simone biles, four-time olympic gold medalist who was widely

considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time. >> over the course of my career, i have wion when he five championship medals and seven olympic medals for team usa. that means so much to me and i'm proud of my representation of this nation through gymnastics. i am also a survivor of sexual abuse and i believe without a doubt that the circumstances that led to my abuse and allowed it to continue are directly the result of the fact that the organizations created by congress to oversee and protect me as an athlete, usa gymnastics and the united states olympic and paralympic committee, failed to do their jobs. nelson mandela once said, "there can be no keener revelation of the society of soul than a way in which it treats its children." it is the power of that statement that compels and empowers me to be here in front of you today. i don't want another young

gymnast, olympic athlete, or any individual to experience the horror that i and hundreds of others have endured before, during, and continuing to this day and in the wake -- of the larry nasser abuse. to be clear -- sorry. >> take your time. >> to be clear, i blame larry nasser and i also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse. usa gymnastics and united states olympic and paralympic committee knew i was abused by their official team dr. long before i was ever made aware of their knowledge. in may 2015, the former head of usa gymnastics women's program was told by my friend and

teammate maggie nichols that she suspected i, too, was a victim. i did not understand the magnitude of what was happening until the indianapolis star published his article in the fall 2016 entitled "former usa gymnastics doctor accused of abuse." yet while i was a member of the 2016 u.s. olympic team, neither usa g, u.s. opc, nor the fbi ever contacted me or my parents. while others have been informed and investigations were ongoing, i have been left to wonder why i was not told until after the rio games. this is the largest case of sexual of these in the history of american sport. although there have been a full independent investigation of the fbi's handling of the case, neither usa g nor usopc have ever been made the subject at the same level of scrutiny. these are the entities entrusted

with the protection of our sport and our athletes and yet it feels like questions of responsibility and organizational failure remain unanswered. as you pursue the answers to those questions, i asked that your work be guided by the same question that rachael denhollander and many others have asked, "how much does a little girl work?" i sit before you today to raise my voice so no little girl must endure what i, the athletes at this table, and the countless others who needlessly suffered under nassar's guys a medical treatment. which we continue to endure today. we suffered and continue to suffer because no one at fbi, usa g come for the usopc did what was necessary to protect us. we have been failed and we deserve answers. nassar is where he belongs with those who enabled him deserve to be held accountable. if they are not, i am convinced

this will continue to happen to others across olympic sports. in reviewing the oig's report, it truly feels like the fbi turned a blind eye to us and went out of its way to help protect usa g and usopc. a message needs to be se. if you allow a predator to harm children, the consequences will be swift and severe. another is enough. -- enough is enough. amy: simone biles, four-time olympic gold medalist, testifying to the senate judiciary committee tuesday about the fbi's failure to stop serial sexual abuser usa gymnastics doctor larry nasser. biles mentioned rachel denhollander, who in 2016 was the first gymnast to publicly speak out against nasar. on thursday, rachael denhollander spoke to democracy now! >> i'm so proud of these women but to see over and er again the depths of failure, the

incredible damage that was done to them and to all of the survivors who me afterhey reported when that did not need to happen is a very heavy burden to bear. somethg we need to basking as we watch this unfold, what are we not seeing? the realitis most of the sexual assaults report will tell you this is a story they could tell two is very difficult to t law enforcement to take reports of sexual assault seriously, to pursue the casis diligent, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. we need to start looking at what we saw yesterday and asked what we are not seeing. what happens to survivors who do t have an army of 500omen? what happenso survivors who do not have those heaining their case and raising a profilef the gross negligce corruption taking place? any 15 months, the fbi did nothing except allow over 100 little was to continue being abused stowe need to look at what needs to change in this case.

have sta asking, what has to change in the system so survivors we don't see arch going through what these wom went through and have a justice system they can rely on. these are hard questions but they have got to be asked. if the words are not followed by action, the words are cheap. amy: that is rachael denhollander, the first gymnast to publicly speak out against larry nasar. for more, we are joined by mark alesia was contacted by rachael denhollander. she told him, "i am willing to do anything you need. i want this to end." his team broke the story in 2016 about nassar's abuse. is now director of university he communication at indiana state university. welcome to democracy now! why gymnast after another stood up and talked about how he had

wrecked his life but talked about surviving. -- wrecked their lives but talked about surviving. now we have some of the most famous women in the world like simone biles testifying before the senate. they specifically focused on the fbi. tell us the story from the beginning. you were there. how is it the fbi dropped the ball so completely? are we going to see criminal charges against fbi agents? >> well, i don't know if we will see those charges, but i think it was senator lahey who said there are a whole lot of people who ought to be in jail after this. what happened was the fbi did not take the gymnast' complaint seriously. offices in different cities did not communicate with each other. there were conflicts of interest. there was an fbi agent who was talking to the president of usag

steve penny about getting a job with u.s. olympic committee. and they were so chummy that in one of the emails, steve penny told the fbi agent that he would like to "body slam the reporters " -- myself, marissa, and tim. that is steve penny. either way, he is one of the people who is not in jail. -- by the way, he is one of the people who is not in jail. amy: let's talk about why indianapolis is so important. you talked about the olympic committee. talk about hooper's came forward to the fbi and what happened to that complaint. >> that would've been i believe mckayla maroney very early on. she wasn't taken seriously. i think she testified the agent

said, that's it? amy: i want to go to mckayla maroney testifying before theenate weesday. >> this was very clear, cookie-cutter pedophilia and abuse. this is important because i told the fbi all of this and they chose to falsify my report and did not only minimize my views, but silence me yet again. i thought given the severity of the situation, they would act quickly for the sake of protecting other girls but instead it took them 14 months report anything when larry nasser, in my opinion, should have been in jail that day. the fbi, usmc, usa g sat idly by as dozens of girls and women continue to be molested by larry nasser. amy: mark alesia, talk about how you got involved, how you ended up going down to louisville to interview rachael denhollander. >> my teammates and i met

marissa and tim, at "the indianapolis star" we did a story, the first went on the eve of the rio olympics in 2016. after that story came out, we received an email from rachael saying i was not abused by a coach, but this was a doctor. if you're interested, i will speak out and i will speak out by name. i drove down to louisville and i interviewed rachael. she came off as intelligent, sincere, passionate, utterly credible. amy: then a lawyer and mother of three. >> and a lawyer and mother of four now, i believe. yes, everything. what really i think bothers me -- well, it angers me, doesn't

just bother me. it is five years after that. it is five years after that and those women had to show up in front of a congressional committee and they their soul again -- bare their soul again to make people understand what happened. the survivors, five years later, they're still looking for answers. there are still looking for justice. that is outrageous. there is another piece to this, to. the survivors also have been trying, unsuccessfully, to get michigan state university to release 6000 pages of documents from an investigation into nassar that they are withholding because of attorney-client privilege. amy: michigan state, the president has had to resign but was not criminally charged, that is where u.s. olympic committee's doctor nasser worked

at michigan state. he abused these girls, these young women for decades. >> right. it is also important to understand for about maybe 10 or 15 years earlier, adults or gymnasts had come forward to adult to complain about nassar, but it always went nowhere. that included one situation with a law enforcement department. it included a michigan state coach, gymnastics coach. it included people who could not possibly believe the great, wonderful larry nasser could do such a thing. adult that failed these children at every level. this is an absolute tragedy. again, it is outrageous that

five years later, it is still going on with so many unanswered questions and so many people who are responsible for allowing nassar to continue -- without being held accountable. amy: i want to go to the three-time olympic gold medal gymnast, two-time olympic team captain aly raisman, testifying before the senate wednesday. >> it is unrealistic to think we can grasp the full extent of culpability without understanding how and why usa g and usopc chose to ignore abuse for decades and why the interplay among these three organizations led the fbi to willingly disregard our reports of abuse. without knowing who knew what, when, we cannot identify all enablers determine whether they

are still in positions of power. we just cannot fix a problem we don't understand. and you can't understand the problems unless and until we have all of the facts. if we don't do all we can to get these facts, the problems we are here to address will persist and we are deluding ourselves if we think other children can be spared institutionalized tolerance and normalization of abuse that i and so many others had to endure. amy: that is three-time olympic medal gymnast, two-time olympic team captain aly raisman, who has really been the forceful leader of this movement to bring nassar down, but not only him. as simone biles says, the whole system is broken. interestingly, the attorney general merrick garland did not appear, though the head of the justice department was asked to

appear before the senate judiciary committee. apparently, he will appear in october. christopher wray, the head of the fbi, apologize though he said he was not there at the time. he said it was a point which took place. what you make of this? >> again, i feel so bad for the survivors. i believe it was aly raisman who said it will take her months just to get over the experience of testifying before the committee. but i am sure she felt she had a duty to do that. i would hope that the people at the very top of our judicial system will recognize their duty to these women who have represented our country so well on an international stage. you know, i think it is also important rachael denhollander kind of typically for her, she

can cut straight to the crux of an issue, she is not just looking at a visa in gymnastics. she is talking about the ordeal of women who report sexual assault and what they go through in all walks of life. amy: you're talking about gold medalist, world-renowned women -- if they are not taken sears like, what is everyone else supposed to think? the last point, mark alesia, one point you made with us right after the trial, these women came forward -- it is not like they run track where it is very clear who wins first, second, and third. the whole sport is judged by committees. and that is where they were incredibly brave in coming forward because when you rock the boat, these committees don't have to take your scores, or speeds, they can decide if you are a troublemaker or not and ice you out. >> right.

i think by the time a lot of the people that testified at the master sentencing, they were probably done or close to done with their gymnastics careers. but that is certainly just one factor in a system where people are sort of groomed to be pleasers, and as you said, not to rock the boat -- certainly, not with their coach. amy: and you could extend that coach to the workplace, extend it certainly to communities, to places of religious worship, and beyond. this may well just be the beginning. we will see where the senate judiciary committee goes. mark alesia, thank you for being with us, reporter with the investigative team at "the indianapolis star," which broke the story in 2016 about dr. nassar's sexual abuse of gymnasts. his team helped expose usa gymnastics' failure to report allegations of sexual abuse by coaches and authorities.

he is no longer with "the indianapolis star." coming up, as congress debates a $3.5 trillion bill to extend the nation social safety net and to increase taxes on the rich, we look back at the occupy wall street, which began 10 years ago today. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

let amy: performing during an occupy wall street march 10 years ago in 2011. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as congress debates a $3.5 trillion bill to expand the nation's social safety net and to increase taxes on the rich, we look back at the occupy wall street, the movement, how it reshaped the national debate on economics and inequality. yes, it was 10 years ago today on september 17, 2011, when occupy began.

democracy now! was one of the only national outlets to report on the first day of action. our producer sam alcoff filed this report. >> on saturday, thousands of protesters took to the streets of downtown manhattan for what was described as an action to occupy wall street. inspired by the popular uprisings of the arab spring and european anti-austerity movements, adbusters, vancouver-based culture jamming magazine, put out a call for saturday's protest on wall street in july. the goals were various from limiting portrait contributions to political campaigns to auditing the federal reserve to challenging all of global capitalism. protesters included 71-year-old maryellen of princeton, new jersey. close i came because i'm upset with the fact the bailouts of wall street did not help any of the people holding mortgages. all of the money went to wall street and none went to main

street. we just learned geithner or was asked to split up the citibank and he did not do it. obama did not do anything about it. >> the plan was not for a one-day protest but an ongoing income -- occupation of the financial district itself. >> the idea is to have an encampment stuff this is not a one-day ent. we hope people come prepared to ay as long as they can. >> after hundreds arrived, the nypd shut wall street down itself, barricading activists off wall street and forcing them to move to the nearby zucotti park. despite sometimes standoffs with the police, hundreds sle in the park and have maintained they will stay until their demands are met. amy: two days later, democracy now! interviewed the activist and anthropologist david graeber, who has been credited with helping to coin occupy's defining rallying call "we are the 99%." he talked about how occupy had been inspired by earlier

protests in europe. >> what people are doing in europe is essentially trying to reinvent democracy. the idea is all of the political parties have basically bankrupted themselves. they're all essentially bought and sold by the financial elite that's created this crisis. there's no possibility of their actually coming up with a solution. and sometimes you have to start over. people have to, like, go into their public squares, meet each other, start talking to each other, and start brainstorming of ideas. i mean, essentially, the idea is the system is not going to save us. we are going to have to save ourselves. so we're going to try to get as many people as possible to camp in some public place and start rebuilding society as we'd like to see it. amy: how many people turned out? >> and first -- more more people kept showing up so i kept facilitated a meeting with at least 2000 people. mostly young people and most work people who were deeply in

debt and found it completely impossible to get jobs. people feel strongly about they did the right thing, did what they're supposed to. the system failed them and they are not going to be saved by the people in charge. if there is going to be any kind of society like worth living in, we're going to have to create it ourselves. amy: david graeber speaking on democracy now! on september 19, 2011, two days after the start of the occupy wall street encampment. david died last year in venice, italy, at the age of protesters 59. would go on to sleep in zucotti park for nearly two months before the new york police raided the encampment the occupy movement spread across the nation and the globe. and the impact of occupy is still being felt in countless ways. we spend the rest of the hour hosting a roundtable looking at the legacy of occupy. joining us from philadelphia is nelini stamp, the director of strategy and partnership at the working families party.

10 years ago, she was part of of outreach, labor, and facilitation working groups during occupy wall street. she later helped start the dream defenders. in durham, north carolina, we are joined by jillian johnson. 10 years ago, she was a key organizer in occupy durham. today she serves on the durham city council and is the city's mayor pugh temp. and in asheville, north carolina, is the writer and filmmaker astra taylor, who was involved in occupy wall street and co-edited the occupy! gazette, which featured reports from occupies around the world. she is also an organizer with the debt collective, an organization with its roots in the occupy wall street movement. she has just co-authored a piece in "new york magazine" headlined "occupy wall street changed everything: ten years later, the legacy of zuccotti park has never been clearer." astra, let's begin with you. talk about how it changed everything and how you see it

has affected everything today. >> to understand how occupy changed everything, we have to remember what it was like before. occupy sort of broke the spell. it was really hard to talk about class, talk about capitalism, talk about inequality. we were in the world of margaret thatcher and reagan where there was no alternative to the status quo. there was a kind of bipartisan consensus around your liberal capitalism. part of what created the conditions for the banking crisis was the repeal of glass-steagall, which was a depression-you're a law. that was repealed under the clinton administration. there was the period after september 11 2001, very difficult to protest new york city. part of what made occupy so improbable is it was illegal to have unpermitted gatherings of more than 20 people.

the left was demoralized, fragmented, beaten down. something changed in that year. your reporter touched on this. people were watching this movement around the world, the arab spring, the square, spain, were. people thinking, we have to do something. maybe we can protest and make a difference. that first day 10 years ago today, you have to say -- i went to zucotti park in march from bowling green up to zucotti park . it was powerful but not because there were so many people, not because there are thousands of people but because it was a space where those of us who felt things were wrong could come together and meet each other and talk -- we had to express our discontent and outrage. it was a major shift.

10 years later, i think we can see occupy inaugurated the social movement renaissance. we have been an age of defiant protest ever since occupy wall street by the political landscape that has change, people now -- we have not stopped talking about capitalism, that. people have figured out how to challenge the political establishment. it has had her tremendous legacy. -- it has had a truman's legacy. it has sprouted different initiatives and changed lives. amy: let's go to nelini stamp in philadelphia. you are with working counties party but then you were part of the outreach, labor, and facilitation working groups during occupy wall street. much of the power was the community that was created there. can you talk about the decision-making and why you even

chose to go to occupy wall street and how it has shaped you at this country today? >> yeah, i mean, even before occupy, i was part of the working families party b knew the limits of electoral process and work. i was very skeptical. i was not at bowling green. i came and rolled in when people were just at zuccotti already. what motivated me was something different. there was something different about saying we are going to stay here and we're going to collectively work together to build another world because we believe another world is possible. i say this every time i say what really, really hooked me was the general assembly that evening where people could tell their story. it was the first time i said i was a high school dropout. i hit it for years. some people knew. it was the first time i can say

to big crowd, i could not afford to go to college. i was not one of those people who went to college and came out -- i could not even afford it then. i remember everybody together collectively uptwinkling because part of it was direct democracy. the decision-making, the teams, the working groups -- immediately when they said, here are different working groups and you should create more, i felt like i could take ownership of it. that evening i was like, outreach. i know how to organize. i did not know about direct action but i went to the outreach group. we said we were going to support every single -- we wanted to map out labor issues and disputes the city of new york, or at least manhattan, and we would show up with our cardboard signs saying "you are the 99%." labor unions are part of the

99%. we showed up at the verizon building when communications workers were fighting against verizon. we showed up at sotheby's with the teamsters. we showed up at somebody different labor disputes. it was something not because of my background in building electoral politics, it was felt and heard in the labor movement and they started to open their doors to us so we could have meetings in places like d.c. dirty seven and the communication workers that had offices nearby. it was really beautiful to be able -- for people to have ownership. i think that is what was radically different. it wasn't, "we're going to tell you what to do." the facilitators that first guy that included david and many of our friends, there were like, this is yours now. just because we were the folks who were building it, this is yours now and that revolutionized what movements have come since where it is everybody -- people can take

something and make it their own. having the general assemblies every evening, now, there were problems that happen with that as well, but having direct democracy, coming up with guiding principles together, and being free to make decisions in our principal of working? so direct actions can make the decisions of the opening and closing got, labor can make decisions for this and that and so on and so forth, was actually more inviting for people because people could show up right couple of days and participate at a higher level than them showing up and being a body at an action. i think that is what really transformed the way we were able to relate and build with one another. amy: occupy wall street was not just in zucotti park. it was all over the country and all over the world. jillian johnson, you are now the mayor pro temp of durham, north carolina. you are a key figure and occupy

durham. talk about how you came to that, how they changed your city, and your choice to get involved with electoral politics afterwards. >> we had heard about the occupation happening in zucotti park and were following it closely. ter a couple of weeks, saw these other occupations sprouting up all over the country and we were ke, well, we have to get in on tha we were so inspired and excited by the growth of this movement. it was unprecedented what we were seeing. a friend of mine and i, ben, have been folling the news and getting more excited. i did a call for occupy drum and was simply -- durham general a sibley that we put the renamed the people's plaza.

it has a tranquil statue. we had about a hundred people show up. we were so excited by being able to be a part of this growing global movement. we moved quickly starting to have general assemblies, having more and more people come out trying to figure out what this looks like in the context of a midsize southern town. durham at the time had just over 200,000 people. it was also beginning to go through serious economic struggles, gentrification, housing displacement. there were a lot of people in durham who were really struggling. we resonated the message coming out of new york and with the same conversations of people were having that income inequality, housing inequality. i ran for office just four years

after occupy in 2015. i think at first it was kind of a leap of faith. i did not really have a sense that i was going to change things from an elected position. i was hoping there was an opportunity there. i think our movement was started to turn more and more toward the idea that electoral politics could provide some opportunity for us to make change and to leverage resources for the benefit of working class and communities of color. i have been able to do that in ways that i did not expect. i think the transition has been -- it has been difficult in ways, but it has also been very empowering and exciting to be able to put my organizing skills and movement skills to work in a different context. and i think bringing more people into the electoral world through some of the work i'm doing with

the national organization called global progress and just folks in my community talking to other movement people, younger people who might be interested in moving into the electoral realm someday, i felt like i have been able to gain skill and knowledge and pace -- pass those on within the movement. it felt really rewarding. difficult at times, but ultimate i feel like i have been able to do something good in this position and i'm excited about passing the torch on to somebody else. amy: i went to go to a few months later, november 2011, during the occupy protests, about 1000 students marched in new york city outside a meeting where city university of new york trustees voted to authorize annual tuition increases. this is julian guerrero of students united for a free cuny. >> you myself am in $70,000.

i actually got a letter from sallie mae saying that if i don't start paying today $900 a month, going to have more aggressive attempt at collecting my debt. and so i am going to burn this right here and now. [applause] amy: that is julian guerrero of students united for a free cuny. using the whole idea of thenic check and mic repeats that have become so familiar. astra taylor, talk about how the movement has evolved today.

>> the debt collective is an organization for debtors that fights for the cancellation of all kinds of debt and the provision of the services the public -- we need to survive and thrive. just like nelini felt the space to talk about the situation honestly, we can see we were not alone and that is the debt collective slogan "you are not a loan." debt was part of the protest around the world at the time. tuition hikes sparked protests in latin america and later in québec there was a wave of protests. we follow the threads of debt once the parks were cleared because yes, we're occupy wall street, but wall street occupies our lives and having to do that often in form -- debt-financed,

things that should be publicly provided. it was at occupy wall street we had the collective epiphany, started directing that our debts, which were so burdensome, could be a potential source of power and leverage. by consistently organizing, we have moved the needle on that issue. we now are in a world where leading politicians talk about debt cancellation. the debt collective has won billions of dollars of loan cancellations for debtors. that demand started at occupy wall street. the media was very skeptical. they mocked the demand and said it would never happen. look where we are today. we have moved the debate. that is really concrete result of this movement. amy: i want to go to the issue of police repression of occupy protests across the country. on november 18, 2011, campus police officers at the university of california davis pepper sprayed peaceful student

protesters. video went viral. >> don't shoot students1 don't shoot students! >> shame on you! shame on you! >> i was not aware i was going to be pepper spray and people to me to protect myself. friends said they did not know what was happening. we were expecting to be shot and in the back with something because they were behind us and we really had no idea what was going to happen. any good that is a student speaking on democracy now! after she was pepper spray. you have the whole coordination -- i remember the peace in the

guardian that revealed how the fbi coordinated the crackdown on occupy, the destruction of occupy wall street and other places all over the country, will over a dozen cities. nelini stamp, if you can talk about what you understand took place and how the police dealt with you? >> yeah, i mean, it was interesting because very early on, that first weekend i remember going to an officer in saying "can my friends car be here?" and there were like, "yeah, y'a ll will be gone by monday." one of the direct actions we did was the opening and closing bell. we would march for the opening and closing bell of the stock exchange. that first monday, we started getting shoved and pushed. every single day we were out there, things escalated to the a few arrests. then a few more arrests.

i think things really changed on saturday. a few things i feel people don't understand what happened from those first two weeks, also in the nation. troy davis was executed by the state of georgia, a huge case of ms. justice -- misjustice. there was a huge debate in the city of new york around stop and frisk. all of these tensions were underlying but there was also this idea and original, you know, sentiment to say the cops were the 99%, too, because most of them were not making -- we were a uniting movement. there was this interesting juxtaposition happening those first two weeks. that saturday, we did weekly actions on saturday and i don't know if it was the 24th -- i try to remember the dates of my mind. we took the streets. it was civil disobedience like

new york has not seen in a long time. i remember getting to union square and all, they had this orange netting all around us, which i think now is illegal in the city of new york for cops to do, and pepper spray was going everywhere. that was -- i think that was a radicalizing moment for a lot of our white comrades at occupy wall street who never had to deal with the police as those of us who come from communities of color and new york had two or those who have a history of when i was younger i remember seeing murder and people marching on the brooklyn bridge. for those who did not have that background or personal experience, i finally did have that. i think that is when there was this awakening of a lot of young white folks were more affluent folks who did not come from over policed community's actually saying it is time to hold police accountable. what you see after occupy wall street, use the ramadi graham is

killed and trayvon martin gets killed and people start to act up. i flew to florida because they wanted some to train them in direct action and i hope come found the dream defenders. we marched for a mile. then you see a big march in june 2012 with 2000 people that said end stop and frisk. i don't think that would've had the new people involved as it did if we did not have so much, like, repression from the state. i think part of it was to make people not come out, to make people who were really threatened by occupy at that time. and i think that is what ended up happening. it was beautiful to see people get involved and actually call out police brutality after that. amy: nelini stamp, thank you for being with us.

working families party philadelphia. astra taylor speaking to us from asheville and jillian johnson, mayor temp of durham, north carolina. all three part#