Nov 15, Berkeley, California
Professor Robert Reich spoke to approximately 5000 people in Sproul Plaza at the University of California Berkeley culminating a General Strike & Day of Action. The general assembly of ‘Occupy Cal’ voted earlier that evening to resume the tent occupation that had been torn down by the university police Wednesday night last week amidst videos of police brutality against students who had locked arms to defend the initial occupation. This video includes real time views of the plaza packed with demonstrators.
Partial excerpt:
“Fortyseven years ago as you know we were graced with the elequence and the power of Mario Savio’s words from these steps. And they were words that echoed and richocheted across America, Words about the importance and centrality of freedom of speech and assembly and freedom of expression and social justice. And those words continue to live on. In fact, the sentiments and words that Mario Savio expressed fortyseven years ago, are as relevant if not more relevant today than they were then. Because today unlike then we have a few Supreme Court decisions, such as ‘Citizens United’ against the Federal Election Commission.” [crowd boos]
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| The general assembly’s vote and decision to occupy is announced and a tent is carried up the Mario Savio steps while the crowd awaits Robert Reich |
Excerpt Continued:
“Did you just boo the Supreme Court of the United States? There are a few Supreme Court decisions that have said that essentially that money is speech and corporations are people. Now when you think that money is speech and corporations are people then it becomes extraordinarily important to protect the first amendment rights of ordinary Americans of regular citizens of students of everybody else who doesn’t have the money and who is not a corporation.”
See also:
Video: UC Berkeley Nov. 15 Day of Action – March through Berkeley
Voices from Occupy Cal at the University of California, Berkeley
Video: Vice Chancellor LeGrande To Occupy UC Berkeley: We’re fighting for the same cause, but no encampment will be allowed
Video: Occupy Oakland’s General Strike
KQED Reich video
CalTV Reich video
Report by James George