NEW YORK (AP) — To veterans of past social movements, the Occupy Wall Street protests that began in New York have been a welcome response to corporate greed and the enfeebled economy.
But whether the energy of protesters can be tapped to transform the political climate remains to be seen.
A strategist who worked alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement says the protests have been “an emotional outcry.” Andrew Young says the difference between an outcry and a movement is “organization and articulation.”
The nearly four-week-old protest began in lower Manhattan but has expanded to other cities.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson says the protesters’ demands for “economic reconstruction” are legitimate. He says they will need to transform their protest into “voting power” to be a potent movement.
