Alison L. Mead
They’ve occupied Owen Park, Menemsha, Five Corners and the West Tisbury town hall. And tomorrow Occupy Wall Street organizers on the Vineyard are planning an early-morning demonstration at the blinker intersection in Oak Bluffs. The gathering is planned from 7 to 9 a.m. on Veterans Day.
“Bring a sign. Bring your energy. Bring your voice . . . a demonstration of solidarity and support. All are welcome to join us,” wrote BZ Riger in a post on the Gazette Facebook page this week.
Head up to Aquinnah on any Saturday, rain or shine, warm or frigid. Turn left onto Church street and be on the lookout for a green field. Get out of the car and begin walking along a small path through the trees. At first the woods are still and silent. Then the sounds of children singing drift in from the distance. Keep walking. The voices grow louder, there is a guitar and the smell of smoke. A few more steps and the path opens up to reveal a teepee and a large campfire.
As demonstrators in cities and countries around the world take to the streets in the name of Occupy Wall Street, not one but two Occupy movements are taking shape here on the Island, one virtual and one decidedly not.
The first began last weekend with a Facebook page called “Occupy Martha’s Vineyard.” Within a few days, the page had attracted 189 friends, several of whom have posted stories of their personal economic struggles as a way of connecting with the movement.
It’s a cold and rainy spring day on the Island as AmeriCorps National Community Civilian Corps (NCCC) team Raven One breaks for lunch around a table at the Farm Institute in Katama. Dressed in cargo pants, black work boots and gray sweatshirts bearing the AmeriCorps logo, these nine young corps members have been on the Island for about two weeks working on projects to support a variety of local nonprofit organizations.
As a photographer I am always keeping my eyes open for new things to shoot. Often subjects have a way of finding me.
