Generation Occupy

From the fight for a fifteen-dollar minimum wage to the nationwide teacher strikes, from Bernie Sanders to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and from Black Lives Matter to #MeToo, Generation Occupy reveals the lasting impacts of the Occupy movement on American politics and culture.

On the tenth anniversary of the Occupy movement, Generation Occupy tells the story of how Occupy Wall Street reshaped American culture, redefining economic rights, progressive politics, and activism for a generation, setting the historical record straight about the movement's lasting legacy.

Occupy, far from a passing phenomenon, marked the start of an era of social and political transformation that reignited the labor movement, remade the Democratic Party, and birthed a new culture of protest that has put the fight for social, economic, environmental, and racial justice at the forefront. Thanks to Occupy-which created the language of the 99 versus the 1 percent-economic inequality and the corporate corruption of Washington have become widely understood, changing the way Americans see themselves and their role in the economy. Progressive priorities like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, debt-free college, higher taxes on the wealthy and a $15 minimum wage all owe early credit to the Occupy movement, which shifted the political conversation to address society's most urgent needs.

From reinventing grassroots activism to inaugurating a decade of youth-led resistance movements that have altered the social fabric, from Black Lives Matter and Standing Rock to March for Our Lives, the Global Climate Strikes and #MeToo, Generation Occupy helps us understand how Occupy Wall Street got us to where we are today, and how lessons from Occupy will continue to reverberate into the future.