Exactly a week ago, history was made when the largest protest ever against climate change was held in New York City. While over 150 countries held their own actions, the New York event brought over 300,000 people, including Senators Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer, and Sheldon Whitehouse, Rep. Keith Ellison, actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo and more. Also marching were clergy, scientists, unions, community organizing groups, indigenous communities, as well as LGBT, economic justice, and environmentalist organizations, to name a few.
But that wasn't the only watershed (no pun intended) even from NYC this week. Monday, at #FloodWallSt, an estimated 3,000 people wearing blue flooded (parts of) Wall St, in order to "spark a national conversation about the role of corporate power in climate politics." As the website stated, "Wearing blue to represent the sea that surrounds us, we rise to the steps of the NY Stock Exchange at 12:00 pm, flooding the area with our bodies in a massive sit-in – a collective act of nonviolent civil disobedience – to confront the system that both causes and profits from the crisis that is threatening humanity." By the end of the day, 100 people had been arrested.
The People's Climate March preceded and the Flood Wall St. sit-in coincided with
Here are some images and videos of these important events, both of which mainstream media did its best to ignore.
This shot of Central Park West gives a sense of how huge the march was and felt.
Image via Working Families Party.
It wasn't just marching. There was music.
There was dancing.
image via Brad Johnson
There were celebrity selfies from Joseph Gordon-Levitt
image via Facebook
and Sting
image via Twitter
Dennis Kucinich and @LeoDiCaprio & Oren Lyons of the Onondaga Nation
image via Twitter
And Mark Ruffalo was there, obvs. Because it's a good cause. And he's Mark Ruffalo.
image via Brad Johnson
People filled out signs that said I'm Marching for [blank]. Lots of people wrote in "my children and my children's children." This woman let her baby talk for itself.
image via movement generation
This guy made sure to cover all of his bases.
image via Rodrigo Jardon
at 12:58 PM, there was a moment of silence...
image via Rodrigo Jardon
Which turned into a joyful cacophony as a wave of noise traveled through the crowd from the front to the back.
image via Rodrigo Jardon
It was chilling and hard to describe. Luckily, I took a video.
Let it never be said that the people didn't have fun...
image via Rodrigo Jardon
Let it never be said that the people didn't have ... puns.
image via Laura Shmishkiss
Really. Anyone who says that is just straight up lying.
Image via Gene Yetter
There were clever twists of state slogans.
image via Rodrigo Jardon
There were thought-provoking questions for evangelicals.
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image via Matthew Weinstein
There were young people.
image via Rodrigo Jardon
There were clever young people.
image via Zach D Roberts for DesmogBlog
There were ridiculously adorable young kids who spoke out in the name of Polar Bears.
And there were older people. And there was a young guy yawning and an older lady with a mohawk, a walker, and a leg brace who was fired up. And they proved Age Ain't Nothing but a Number.
image via Rodrigo Jardon
There was even a kind of fairy woman, who the woman in the beret had no time for.
image via Rodrigo Jardon
And we finally arrived at Time Square.
image via Rodrigo Jardon
And the next day.. there was Flood Wall St. People gathered at 9AM at Battery Park.
image via Mona Caron
The people brought their message to Wall Street. Literally.
image via Mona Caron
And then they flooded Wall St.
image via Mona Caron
And there were police and there was pepper Spray.
image via Brad Johnson
And people were arrested, including people in wheelchairs.
image via Brad Johnson
And Polar Bears were arrested.
Image via Twitter
