UPDATE: We don’t really know fully what happened. The policeman was favorable, the group that was there in the park before it was officially closed pretty much left on time, and were unaware of us and the movement. For all we know the guy who came after the cop went home did us a big favor by telling us “I’m telling you, they got my wallet, and y’all are about to get robbed”, after he left, I said, that was a threat, we talked about it for a minute, then agreed to go, and were gone in 5 minutes. No further encounters.

Today’s meeting was extraordinary!

The General Assembly met and discussed staging areas, symbolism of the movement, and other concerns over protesting, marching, and occupation.  A lawyer from the Lawyer’s Guild was present and advised everyone on the legalities of what we’re doing and the permits that we will need in order to move forward.

Birmingham is sensational.  Unless you’re using a loudspeaker (or other amplification device) or you want to be in the streets, no permit is required. Media coverage of today’s event has been positive as well.  We will continue to be very weary of taking any action which could jeopardize this positivity.

Brother Bryan was an adamant Civil Rights activist and church pastor in Birmingham.

Today’s (Sunday, 09 October 2011) meeting is on schedule for 1:00pm at Brother Bryan Park.  We have been collaborating about establishing a date for the beginning of the occupation.  Chances are likely that it will begin on the 15th of this month, although, this is unconfirmed.  Bear in mind that the Occupy Wall Street front planned months in advance.

The mayor of Birmingham has expressed his support, noting that the occupation movements have done a wonderful job keeping the demonstrations non-violent and that the city’s law enforcement resources are better spent elsewhere.

Again, this General Assembly meeting will be open to the public and it will be a rather informal pot-luck lunch.  Meat products are not authorized due to Health Department restrictions on serving food.  If, however, you would like to bring your own lunch, then you may eat as much of your own meat as you wish.

There is a decent chance that media organizations will be present as well.  If you do not wish to be on TV, stay away from the cameras and wear hats and sunglasses.  Details and reports from the meeting will be posted as soon as they come in!

Tonight’s meeting follows the current trend of rapid and exponential growth.  On our first meeting, we had 6 attendees.  On our second meeting, 29.  Tonight we saw a steady crowd of 250 people, fluctuating to 300 and 5 media organizations!  Media attention has been very positive as well.  For the first time on our front, we had to use the “human microphone”.

This should place us as #4 behind Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Portland, and Occupy Washington, D.C., as far as number of local supporters go.  We are researching that, but it may take some time as such a statistic is rather difficult to confirm.

Thousands of flyers have been distributed and a representative of the Communications Workers of America union has expressed solidarity and has received a stack full of flyers and leaflets.

Our next meeting time has also been established.  It will be on Sunday, 09 October 2011 at Brother Bryan Park/Magnolia Park at 1pm.  This is a pot luck – you are encouraged to bring food.  More specifics to follow.

Stay tuned – the information is still coming in.  A more thorough report will be given after all reports have been consolidated!

The General Assembly of Occupy Birmingham will be meeting today, 06 October 2011, at Railroad Park at 7PM.  This will be on the west side, on the 14th Street side, opposite of Movie Night.  A variety of issues and plans will be discussed as to our next move toward taking back our state and our country from the 1%.  We welcome your input and encourage you to bring it with you to the meeting.

The Occupy Birmingham front is now gaining more momentum.  Today at Five Points South, representatives assembled and distributed leaflets in an attempt to gain more exposure to the movement.  With proper exposure, growth will follow and a well established occupation can begin.  Reports from the ground have indicated a positive response from recipients.

The well rumored October 15 date has been circulating between different occupying fronts.  There are an estimated 55 cities world-wide that are participating in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street in New York City.  “Something big” is going to happen on that date, reported a self-proclaimed member of Anonymous.  Occupy Birmingham is currently in the planning phase of organizing “something big” on that date as well, however nothing has been solidified as of yet.

If you are interested in attracting attention to Occupy Birmingham by distributing flyers, here are some that are ready to print:

Additionally, if you’re looking to hand out leaflets, here is one that is also printer-ready:

The QR code directs to our URL: http://www.occupybirmingham.org .  Additionally, you may download the entire package as a word document here.

With the movement gaining full throttle, now is the time to bring your questions and concerns to Thursday’s meeting and/or post a few of them here by commenting on this post.  I’m going to make an attempt to enable Skype access to the meeting so that those who can’t physically attend will still be able to do so.  There are no guarantees that this will happen, though.

In the meantime, keep your heads up and your eyes on the prize.  We are the 99%; an overwhelming and dominating force.  And we will not be pushed closer to the wall anymore than we already have.  Not by the 1%.  Not by anyone.