Occupy San Francisco - March and Rally at City Hall Saturday, October 15

Activists marched through the virtually empty Financial District streets to meet shoppers and tourists around the crowded Union Square Park. The original plan for a short rally with speakers in the square could not happen because a large structure for a cultural event took up all the space. Activists congregated on the streets between Union Square and Market street around the cable car stop for a short rally. As with Occupy Wall Street and unlike most SF activist marches here, much of the surrounding crowd became actively involved with vocal support and a lot of photo and video taking.

Marchers then took to Market Street and on through Civic Center Plaza. Two Occupy speakers gave long, detailed, and intense speeches to the fired-up crowd of thousands that congregated deep into Civic Center Plaza. The talks touched on the sentiments driving this movement, with participants vowing to continue with whatever it takes to effect needed change. The march and rally were loud and unified.

At the end of the rally, a speaker from the legal team gave an update on the arrest and incarceration of an Occupier named “Purple” during the October 6 raid. He was reportedly beaten and arrested and is still either in jail or the hospital. A call was made for donations to pay his bail and get him out.

The march returned via Market street to Justin Herman Plaza near 6PM. As planned the night before, on return activists simultaneously moved sleeping quarters from 101 Market Street to Justin Herman Plaza. Due to the increasing number of campers and the really uncomfortable sleeping conditions on the concrete Market Street location, more and better sleep space should serve the movement well. The occupation will continue at 101 Market Street around the clock as it has been.