On Oct. 15, the day of the global Occupy Wall Street protests, World War 4 Report editor Bill Weinberg produced the third Internet edition of the Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade in the Lower East Side's Tompkins Square Park. While waiting to see if the OWS protesters would come down from their big rally at Times Square to gather in Tompkins Square, Bill discusses the history of civil unrest on the Lower East Side going all the way back to the 1850s. Later, when word arrives that the OWS protesters had instead gathered in Washington Square, Bill and cameraman Stephen Sherman head there for footage and interviews.

ANNOTATION: The Tompkins Square bandshell that was built in 1967 to promote cultural exchange and tolerance in the neighborhood was, of course, destroyed in the "renovation" of the park in 1991. St. Brigid's Church is currently surrounded by scaffolding because it is being renovated following a successful campaign by parishioners to save it from deconsecration and demolition. ERRATUM: Of course, when I refer to the "anti-immigrant legislation of the 1820s," I really meant the 1920s. SELF-PROMOTION: Our illustrated pamphlet, Tompkins Square Park, Legacy of Rebellion: A Century and a Half of Protest & Resistance on New York's Lower East Side, is available for $6, payable through PayPal or by check. —Bill Weinberg

 

See our last post on the struggle in New York City, and the last episode of the Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade.

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