Occupy Nashville collection 2011-2012
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

Contents of the original Occupy Nashville website (www.occupynashville.org) have been archived and are accessible via the Wayback Machine (https://web.archive.org) through the Internet Archive (as of Aug. 2017).

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Abstract: Printouts from portions of the Occupy Nashville website (www.occupynashville.org) selected and printed by Nashville Public Library Special Collections Division staff in the spring of 2012. Materials date from Oct. 2011 through March 2012.

Scope and content: Approximately half of the collection consists of minutes from meetings of Occupy Nashville's own "General Assembly," beginning on Oct. 9, 2011 and continuing through Feb. 2012 (the last that was posted). Minutes document actions planned and taken, and discussions. They include rules for Occupiers, including expectations and procedures for interacting with the press and state troopers; information about daily living needs and supplies (food, shelter, sanitation); support of and concerns about homeless individuals and their involvement the Occupation; leadership of the movement and communication with other Occupy movements throughout the United States, especially Occupy Wall Street (or "OWS"); proposals and voting on actions and initiatives to take locally; organization and actions of committees and subcommittees; security issues; and more. Also included is a draft statement of principles and practices for the "General Assembly," which is undated, but probably originated in early October.

Other materials include: Calendars of planned events and actions; an open letter from Jan. 29, 2012 to the State of Tennessee opposing legislation which would prohibit camping on state property not designated for that purpose, as well as supplemental information posted on Feb. 11, 2012 containing a list of 168 "methods of nonviolent protest and persuasion"; a press release (Feb. 20, 2012) concerning Occupy's "Free Speech Money Tent"; a printout of Occupy Nashville's website homepage (dated Mar. 8, 2012); two flyers distributed in person, one from Oct. 15, 2011 announcing a rally and another from Oct. 7, 2012 for a one-year Occupy Nashville celebration and rally; and printouts from online discussion forums including forum discussion rules and an overview of the various forums that existed.

Cite as: Occupy Nashville Collection, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code). Nashville Public Library does not have intellectual property rights to these materials.

NPL staff;,Printout from Occupy Nashville website;,2012.,Acc. 2012.001

The Occupy Nashville movement summarized its purpose on their website: "Occupy Nashville is a citizen-led movement defending Democracy from corporate money and corruption. Our goals are: 1) Remove money from politics; 2) End corporate personhood; and 3) Support the Occupy Wall Street movement." They declared: "We are the Defenders of Democracy. We are the 99%. And so are you." The phrase "corporate personhood" was a direct reference to the Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010; and the rallying cry "We are the 99%" referred to frequently cited statistics that indicated 1% of Americans held about 40% of the country's wealth (Washington Post, Oct. 4, 2011).

Initial actions by Occupy Nashville began by "occupying" Legislative Plaza, in front of the Tennessee State Capitol building, on Oct. 7, 2011. Essentially a massive sit-in at the seat of state government, and inspired by Occupy Wall Street in New York City, Nashville's "Occupiers" agitated for economic and political justice by various direct-action campaigns, involving "occupations," picketing, marches, mass meetings, press releases, speaking out at public and civic meetings, and a variety of other efforts and methods. Although the Nashville movement was a highly decentralized organization, their group actions were usually well-planned in advance. Participants formed their own "General Assembly" to discuss issues, actions and needs, and documented their work on their website, beginning in November 2011.

Many of the protesters brought in tents, cots, sleeping bags, ice chests and other items, indicating their firm intent to remain on the Plaza indefinitely. In October and November, the movement was at its height, gaining participants from various walks of life, and throughout the region. Many people showed up to protest, even though they were not part of the group maintaining a round-the-clock presence at the Plaza. As the movement's numbers continued to grow, state officials began to take an adversarial stance, imposing an evening curfew. On Oct. 28 and 29, state troopers arrested some of the protesters. This set up a legal confrontation, with a night court judge ordering the release of the protesters, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) seeking and obtaining an injunction to stop the arrests. Some members of the Occupy Movement remained on Legislative Plaza in tents and sleeping bags throughout the winter months, including during the early part of the 2012 session of the Tennessee General Assembly. On March 2, 2012, Gov. Bill Haslam signed legislation making it illegal to camp on state property that was not formally designated for the purpose of camping. On March 12, the last vestiges of tents and other remnants of the Occupy Nashville movement were removed from Legislative Plaza, and for all practical purposes, the movement, at least as it was envisioned in the fall of 2011, ceased. Some of the Occupy veterans continued their work in social, economic, and political causes afterward.

In English.

Recognizing the decentralized nature of the Occupy Movement, yet also its potential historical significance, staff of the Nashville Public Library printed out selected portions of the Occupy Nashville website (www.occupynashville.org), which was serving as a central point of reference for participants in the movement as well as the Nashville community at large. Due to the ephemeral nature of websites, digital preservation challenges, and uncertainty about the long-term survival of the Occupy movement itself, NPL staff opted to print out portions of the website that staff assessed as providing the most substantive information about the movement and its actions. Most printouts were made in February 2012. By May 2012, virtually no additional content had been added to the website. The website was checked again in Sept. 2012, also with no substantive content added, and monitoring of the Occupy Nashville website by NPL Special Collections Division staff ceased. Subsequent research reveals that by early 2014, the website was still intact, but by the end of that year, it was defunct. By early 2015, the same web address was no longer affiliated with the Occupy Nashville movement, and was instead promoting "ON Business."

Much of the material selected for printing and retention was originally posted in the "Forums" section of the Occupy Nashville website, including minutes of the "General Assembly." All together, all Forums contained about 1,000 posts. Only those forums deemed to represent the formal collective action of Occupy Nashville were printed. This represented about one tenth of the posts in the Forums, and included the Forum Rules; the General Assembly minutes; direct action proposals from the Direct Action Working Group; and press releases (which only contained one posting). Many of the working groups had no or minimal postings, and were therefore not included (see Forum Overview folder for documentation). Forums designed to be of short-term interest (such as statements asking for donations of water or other supplies and immediate needs), general chat rooms, and personal opinions and postings were excluded as having less long-term historical value than the formal actions taken by Occupy Nashville as a whole.

print out;,2012;,Linda Barnickel

process;,2017;,Linda Barnickel

No further accruals are expected.