Cardboard sign for the People of Color Working Group
Label
Cardboard sign for the People of Color Working Group
Creator
Unknown; Occupy Wall Street Archives Working Group
Object Type
Signs
Description
The People of Color (POC) Working Group was officially formed on October 1st, 2011, following a General Assembly decision about the wording of the Declaration of the Occupation of New York. In that General Assembly, a core group of POC activists blocked the proposal to solidify the Declaration, calling attention to the fact that the original wording of the Declaration failed to acknowledge the historical, ongoing, and very present—even within the Occupy movement—forces of racism and systemic oppression. The authors of the Declaration, the Call to Action group, resisted making a change to the wording of the document; however, the POC activists' block held and the language was changed. The POC Working Group carved out important and safer spaces for activists of color within Occupy, challenged white privilege within the movement, and—among other significant actions—forged necessary connections with community organizations who were reticent to work alongside white protestors.
Image Description
A cardboard box is flattened and folded in half. In black marker "People of Color Working Group!" is handwritten. In between "People of Color" and "Working Group" there is an arrow that points from "People of Color" to "Working Group." The opposite side of the sign gives an address "Occupy Wall Street, 118A Fulton Str. #205" which refers to the former UPS Store where protesters received packages of donations.
Citation
People of Color Working Group sign, circa 2011-2012; TAM.630 Occupy Wall Street Archives Working Group Records; box 5; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University