Faith Leaders Urge Mayor & Council to Support Occupy Oakland Camp

We are faith leaders and elders, whose traditions place compassion and justice at their heart, and we believe that the Occupy Wall Street movement is a prophetic expression of those values. We support its moral vision in decrying escalating
poverty and growing income disparities, calling for corporate responsibility and accountability in this economic crisis, and seeking the restoration of justice for all in our economy.
We believe that the physical occupation of Wall Street and public squares all across this country, including Oscar Grant/Frank Ogawa Plaza/ is a profoundly important part of this movement. The public occupations:
--- Expose the suffering of millions of Americans today—from joblessness, foreclosures, and budget cuts;
--- Disrupt our “business as usual” framework for the sake of a decent society for all;
--- Reclaim our public spaces for true democratic debate and engagement;
--- Create focused, visible hubs for the growing movement;
--- Call for greater responsiveness and creative problem-solving from our local and national elected leaders;
--- Ignite the public’s moral imagination and sense of possibilities.
Because, as people of faith, we minister to the 100%, and we know that many local businesses downtown Oakland have been adversely affected by the encampment, we pledge, as part of our support for it, to frequent these businesses and to work with the occupiers/decolonizers in their community outreach program. We also pledge to continue our ministry of nonviolent presence at the encampment and all its events and to offer training in nonviolence on an ongoing basis.
Therefore, we call on the city government to support the Oakland encampment. In doing so, you honor the public cry for a more just and humane world, and you show respect for an emerging democratic movement that has dispelled despair among the suffering and revitalized many sectors of the Oakland community with hope. Oakland can be a model city by showing the world just how local governments and cities can work together with the encampment to realize the dreams and aspirations of the 99% and make the city work for the 100%.
We, the undersigned religious leaders urge you to let the encampment remain.