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2011 Occupy Wall Street Logos and Posters

You can hide ‘neath your covers
And study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers
Throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain
For a savior to rise from these streets…
Sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road…

–From Springsteen and Thunder Road

This post features more than 100 logos from Occupy Wall Street protests from around the globe including Occupy OKC and Occupy Tulsa as well as 60 examples of digital poster art from Occupy Wall Street.

Gen Y Leads Occupy Wall Street

There is an interesting protest movement underway across the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and Europe that has for the most escaped national media coverage. It’s called Occupy Wall Street and it was inspired by the Arab Spring. Populated primarily by jobless or underemployed members of Generation Y (1983-2000), it has spread to cities across the globe.

Occupy Oklahoma City, Occupy Tulsa

Initiated by the Canadian anti-consumerist magazine, Adbusters, it began September 17, with an occupation of Wall Street by about 1,000 people. There are now mirror movements in virtually every major city in the aforementioned nations. Occupy Oklahoma City and Occupy Tulsa movements have Facebook pages with more than 1,000 fans collectively. Their purpose is to “stand in solidarity with those occupying Wall Street.”


There are no disclosures on either page (that I could find) revealing Oklahoma’s de facto leaders or at a minimum the page administrators. The federal government requires full disclosure of page administrators for government organizations.

Freak Factors and Greed

It’s easy to sympathize with Generation Y’s disillusionment. It’s been hardest hit by the Great Recession. Nearly 50 percent of Americans between 16 and 29 are unemployed. Still, some of the groups associated with the New York protests are anti-capitalist and leftist in nature, which contributes to the movement’s freak factor. This reality does not help legitimize a protest ignited by the very real Wall Street corruption and greed that helped devastate our economy.

Occupy OKCPhoto by Jennifer Chronicles | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Generational Inventory

Let’s take a quick generational inventory. Four generations are still reeling in the wake of the financial instability and global economic meltdown that began in September 2008. Generation Y (1983-1996/2000) simply can’t find jobs. They’re graduating from college with massive student loan debt and a scant spattering of decent career opportunities.

Wages for Generation X (1961-1981) have stagnated. Calculating for the recession, we are the first generation to make less than our fathers made. Promotions are unheard of and everything costs twice as much as it used to cost.

Baby Boomers (1943-1960) have had their 401Ks gutted on the eve of their planned retirements. Those members of the Silent Generation (1925-1942), dependent entirely on Social Security, worry from one month to the next if their checks are going to hit on the third of every month.

And who can say what the future holds for Generation Z (1997-present), my children’s generation?

But, I digress…

Occupy Wall Street conducts regular general assemblies and Occupy Tulsa has one planned for October 1, Newblock Park, Tulsa. It looks like Occupy Oklahoma City will host one the following week.

There is an Occupy Wall Street listing on Wikipedia that provides key information about the movement. The New York Times has covered the protest calling its aim “faulty,” however, Keith Olbermann and Michael Moore have discussed its validity.

It’s going to be interesting to see how all this evolves over time. Will it become a flash-in-the-pan protest or a consuming fire on par with the Arab Spring? So far, no Oklahoma media outlets have reported on the movement.

100 Occupy Wall Street Logos

Here are more than 100 Occupy Wall Street logos that were created at the beginning of the 2011 movement.

200 Cities and Counting

Generation Y and younger members of Generation X lead the Occupy Wall Street movement, however, all generations are represented in the movement which spans more than 200 cities worldwide. 

Prior to Prohibition beer makers were running ads in newspapers extolling the virtues of alcohol for mothers and their babies. One ad even had a cherubic baby in a high chair drinking from a mug of beer.

These ads make it easy to understand why so many people were desperate to rid the American family of the ills of alcohol.

Using elements of graphic design (even if executed crudely) can be an effective way of telling a story. That is what the protesters of the Occupy Wall Street movement have sought to do through their digital poster and street art. All of the images posted below were sourced from Facebook pages of movements in cities across the globe.

If you could use one word to describe the collection below what would it be?

According to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, Americans favor Occupy Wall Street over the Tea Party movement by a margin of 2 to 1.

Numerous demonstrations are scheduled for Saturday, October 15, 2011, in cities around the world including a large rally by Occupy Tulsa and a rally in my hometown of Oklahoma City. While some have called this the American Autumn, one of the largest demonstrations planned for Saturday is at the London Stock Exchange. At 8 p.m. tonight on Dame Street in Dublin some of Ireland’s most renowned poets will participate in an anti-Dame Street poetry slam.

Occupy Wall Street Posters, Street Art 

Which Occupy Wall Street logos are the most memorable?

Gen X Blog Jennifer Chronicles

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