Handout for making a proposal to the General Assembly
Label
Handout for making a proposal to the General Assembly
Creator
Occupy Wall Street General Assembly; Occupy Wall Street Archives Working Group
Object Type
Flyers and Handouts
Description
The General Assembly was Occupy Wall Street's daily "people's assembly" which gathered each night at 7 PM to make collective decisions. As a form of direct democracy that aimed to achieve consensus among those gathered, participants in the GA were encouraged to develop a proposal, seek relevant input, and then submit the proposal to facilitation. Following a review period, they would then get a confirmation of having a place on the agenda before presenting their proposal. Recognizing that white male voices were becoming overly representative at general assemblies, Occupy began utilizing a progressive stack model which pushed issues raised by, for example, people of color and women to the front of the agenda. This handout provides guidance on how to participate and includes a handwritten note that tells activists that "an emergency proposal must have an external deadline that was not previously knowable." The second page is a proposal form that individuals could drop off at the Info Desk or at the Facilitation Table at Liberty Plaza. In spite of methods of organizing and providing structure to the general assemblies, these public meetings were at times difficult, and were derailed by any number of causes, from tangential points of information to people who were unsympathetic to Occupy.
Image Description
This document is a two-page handout labeled "How to get a Proposal to the General Assembly or Spokes Council." On the first page there is a flowchart and six points for moving a proposal forward: develop the proposal, seek relevant input, submit the proposal to facilitation, review period, confirm place on the agenda, present the proposal. Handwritten notes are in blue and black ink, including a note that reads "an emergency proposal must have an external deadline that was not previously knowable." The second page is a proposal form that individuals could drop off at the Info Desk or at the Facilitation Table at Liberty Plaza.
Citation
How to get a proposal to the General Assembly, circa 2011-2012; TAM.630 Occupy Wall Street Archives Working Group Records; box 2; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University