December 17, 2010 (Tunisia): Twenty-six-year old produce vendor Mohammed Bouazizi sets himself on fire in response to years of petty police harassment in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. His self-immolation sparks a wave of protests against the decades-long autocratic rule of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. After four weeks, Ben Ali is forced to dissolve parliament and flees to Saudi Arabia.
January 25, 2011 (Egypt and the Arab Spring): Using door-to-door canvassing and social networking, the people of Cairo organize a mass protest on Police Day demanding an end to harassment, repression and torture. What follows is an 18-day uprising against President Hosni Mubarak's dictatorship. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians stream into Tahrir Square after the regime blocks internet traffic and send thugs to attack protesters, swinging world opinion against Mubarak. On February 11, the regime falls, inspiring an Arab Spring of pro-democracy activism from Yemen to Bahrain to Syria.
February 17, 2011 (Ohio and Wisconsin): More than 20,000 Wisconsinites protest Gov. Scott Walker's austerity budget and his attack on collective bargaining Carrying signs and Egyptian flags, protests draw a parallel between their struggles. In the weeks long rebellion, hundreds of thousands occupy the state capitol in Madison; hundreds of students are arrested. In Columbus, Ohio, nearly 4,000 protest against similar attacks on the public sector and workers' rights.
May 15, 2011 (Spain): Protests against austerity and unemployment erupt in 58 Spanish cities, beginning the 15-M Movement. More than 1,000 indignados, occupy the central square, Puerta del Sol; in the weeks that follow, hundreds of thousands gather in public spaces, holding mass assemblies and peaceful sit-ins to demand greater say in the political process. Embracing participatory democracy, they reject traditional parties and the rule of finance that imploded the country's economy.
May 25, 2011 (Greece): Tens of thousands gather in Athens after plans are announced to dramatically cut public spending and raise taxes in exchange for a €110 billion bailout. Sustained Strike and demonstrations many of them organized on Facebook, rage across the country. The aganaktismenoi, or indignants, are met with tear gas and police violence.
July 13, 2011: The #occupy movement, originally initiated by a call from Adbusters to "Occupy Wall Street," was inspired by several international protests, most notably, the Arab Spring protests. Thousands answered the call and arrived in Zuccotti Park, at the heart of New York City's financial district, to protest the damaging influence of corporations on politics as well as social and economic inequality. Hundreds stayed every night for two months and created an encampment in the park, a model that was adopted by people all over the country as the movement spread to well over 500 cities.
September 17, 2011: Occupy Wall Street begins as 2,000 people respond to the Canadian magazine Adbusters' call for an end to corporate influence in the political process. After police block them from Wall Street, then One Chase Manhattan Plaza, a few dozen occupiers regroup at Zuccotti Park several blocks north of the New York Stock Exchange. They rename it Liberty Square as an homage to the Egyptian uprising that began in Tahrir Square in January.
September 29, 2011: Declaration. Through a consensus-based process, the New York General Assembly approves the Declaration of the Occupation, a founding document that speaks to the "feeling of mass injustice" that brought people together. Calling out illegal foreclosures, exorbitant student debt and the outsourcing of labor, the document of grievances is delivered "at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments." In San Francisco, protesters attempt to occupy Citibank, Chase and Charles Schwab; the Transport Workers Union urges members to join the movement.
October 14-15, 2011: The Sweep. Following Mayor Bloomberg's announcement that the NYPD would enforce a "cleaning" of Liberty Square starting at 7 a.m., occupiers rally by the thousands in the dawn hours to protect the park. At 6:15, Bloomberg backs down. Occupiers celebrate with a rousing victory lap through the financial District. The next day millions rally in an international day of solidarity in more than 900 cities, including Hong Kong, Athens, Rome, Nairobi, and Johannesburg. In the U.S., Occupy Wall Street spreads from coast to coast.
October 25, 2011: Police Violence. Police raid Occupy Atlanta and arrest 53. In Oakland, police fire tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bang grenades at peaceful occupiers, fracturing the skull of a two-tour Iraq War veteran. Thousands rally at the renamed Oscar Grant Plaza to protest police brutality, and retake their encampment. Occupations in Denver, Los Angeles, Atlanta and San Francisco all successfully resist eviction by local police.
November 2, 2011: General Strike. Building for a general strike, Oakland occupiers call to "Liberate Oakland, Shut Down the 1%." Teachers and students strike. With a bike bloc trailblazing the way, thousand march to the nation's fifth largest port, climbing on signs and big rigs. The Port of Oakland issues a statement calling the port "effectively shut down." Thousands march in solidarity across the country.
November 5th, 2011: #occupy held its first National Bank Transfer Day, encouraging individuals to transfer money from their accounts with major corporate banks to local credit unions. The event was a success as over $50 million dollars were withdrawn and accounts were closed with big banks. On an even larger scale, Occupy Buffalo pressured the City of Buffalo to withdraw $45 million dollars from JP Morgan Chase and start a new account with a smaller regional bank.
November 15, 2011: The 1% Attacks. Hours after the Portland and Oakland encampments are again raided, NYPD, including officers from the Counter-Terrorism Bureau, stage a federally coordinated raid on Liberty Square at 1 a.m. Sporting riot gear and brandishing pepper spray and a 'sound cannon' about 1,000 cops descend on the park and toss books, laptops and tents into dumpsters, forcibly clearing the encampment. Bridges and subways are shut down as lower Manhattan is deemed a "frozen zone." More than 200 arrested. Oakland Mayor Jean Quan admits later that day that she was on a conference call strategizing with mayors of 18 cities, while and official from the Department of Justice indicated that each action was coordinated with help from the DHS and the FBI along with other federal agencies.
