Occupy Richmond is a movement in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and other occupations across the United States and around the world. Starting October 15, 2011, we occupied Kanawha Plaza in the heart of Richmond, Virginia’s financial district until the early morning hours of October 31, when we were raided by our police department, resulting in 9 arrests.This is a people’s movement in its early stages of logistical and infrastructural development. Decisions affecting Occupy Richmond are made not by individuals—we are leaderless—but by a General Assembly where 90% consensus passes a motion. This horizontal structure of decision-making helps prevent any individual or majority from controlling Occupy Richmond.

To those who ask “What do you stand for?” or “What is everyone mad about?” or “What are the solutions?” we answer:

We are a collection of thousands of Richmonders with thousands of individual grievances, issues, and problems. We acknowledge that these all derive from a mutual source: a profound socioeconomic disparity unlike any seen in recorded history. We acknowledge that we live in a broken system, a system which allows particular interests to fund candidacies for office, offices that make decisions affecting the lives of the 99%. The 99% is unhappy with those decisions and nobody seems to be listening.

We seek to find a solution through community discourse, by exercising our civil rights to Assembly, Speech, and Expression in a public space that all Richmonders share ownership of. By developing a body that makes decisions through modified consensus and collective thought, we begin to embody a system that is inclusive rather than exclusive, an actual participatory democracy interested in the views and opinions of everyone involved.

We welcome you, Richmonder, whoever you are.

This is just the beginning. For the most up-to-date information on Occupy Richmond, watch for frequent updates to our blog here at OccupyRichmondVA.org, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to @OccupyRichmond on Twitter.