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Wednesday’s Occupy Oakland general strike began at 9 am and continued until early the next morning. According to the City Administrator’s Office, the demonstrations were “primarily peaceful protests with some isolated incidents of violence and vandalism.”
As many as 10,000 people participated in the Occupy Oakland “day of action” Wednesday. Reporters from Oakland North were on hand to capture all of the events of the day. The above slideshow is a series of photographs from throughout the day.
Around midnight on Wednesday, confrontation flared between Occupy Oakland protesters and police officers near Telegraph, Broadway and 17th streets. A generally peaceful day of protests in which as many as 10,000 participated in what organizers called a “general strike” ended with clouds of tear gas, burning barricades and loud banging sounds.
A day during which thousands of people attended protests and marched through Oakland wound up this evening with as many as 10,000 protesters marching across the Highway 880 ramp and shutting down the Port of Oakland.
In front of downtown Oakland banks, some protesters staged peaceful and even comic demonstrations, while others smashed windows, blocked access to ATMs, and spray-painted graffitti.
Marches and protests continued Wednesday as part of the day of action organized by Occupy Oakland. Around 11:30 am, the Oakland Educational Association (OEA) teachers union, high school students and parents of children who attend the five Oakland elementary schools up for closure gathered in the outdoor plaza at Laney college in support of today’s strike.
About a dozen protesters – including Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin — turned out Wednesday morning to join a day of action called by protesters at Occupy Oakland. The Richmond group plans to march almost 10 miles down San Pablo Avenue to join protesters gathering in Oakland’s Frank Ogawa plaza – or, as protesters have christened it, Oscar Grant square – at noon.
Occupy Oakland activists launched the first of three rallies at 14th and Broadway Wednesday morning, with Angela Davis and others speaking. Occupy Oakland, along with out-of-towners and employees from local unions, will meet at the intersection again Wednesday evening to converge on the Port of Oakland and attempt to shut it down.
On Wednesday morning, Mayor Jean Quan issued a statement regarding today’s day of action. Reprinted here in its entirety: