Extinction Rebellion NYC Disrupts Wall Street with Demand for Immediate Climate Action in Global Climate Rebellion

Press Release For Immediate Release

October 7, 2019

Extinction Rebellion NYC Disrupts Wall Street with Demand for Immediate Climate Action in Global Climate Rebellion

Direct Actions Were Carried Out in More Than 60 Cities All Over the World

  • A series of mass-participation direct actions took place across New York City, beginning a week-long rebellion to save the climate.

  • Extinction Rebellion is focusing on the need for the government, the media and other key institutions to Tell the Truth and Act Now.

  • Highlights included die-ins at the Wall Street bull, the Stock Exchange and on Broadway near Wall Street. 

  • Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RCrDqs8bmAqaxbek7eNo3WtJhPG_Dkql

New York, NY -- People from all walks of life - youth, working people, the elderly and numerous others, many of whom had never previously participated in activism - today declared their participation in the ongoing Global Rebellion. The event was organized by Extinction Rebellion, an international movement engaged in nonviolent direct action to force governments to respond to climate change and environmental degradation.

Starting today and lasting until the weekend, citizens of New York will disrupt business-as-usual to draw the government’s - and the entire city’s - attention to the magnitude of the climate crisis and of environmental degradation. Members of Extinction Rebellion NYC have utilized nonviolent civil disobedience to demand urgent, transformative action to address the climate and ecological emergency. Extinction Rebellion NYC’s four demands are here. 

The action began at 9:00 am at City Hall, where members of Extinction Rebellion Youth read out a Declaration of Rebellion, affirming that “we are in the sixth mass extinction event and we will face catastrophe if we do not act swiftly and robustly.” The declaration cited, as reasons for the reciters’ alarm and grief, the wildfires, storms, famines and droughts caused by excessive greenhouse gases in the atmosphere produced by the current economic and political system. “We, in alignment with our consciences and our reasoning, declare ourselves in rebellion against our Government and the corrupted, inept institutions that threaten our future.”

From there the group moved to Battery Park, where the same readers led a large and gathering crowd in another collective reading of the declaration. The Red Brigade, a street-theater troupe, and the people at Battery Park then proceeded north in an elaborate funeral procession for the dead humans and species victimized by the climate emergency. The procession’s route took it to the iconic Wall Street Bull sculpture, where protesters engaged in a die-in. They covered the bull and themselves with a blood-like liquid and portrayed actual people who died in events, such as Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Dorian, whose extreme severity has been attributed to climate change. 

At the same time, another part of the same group of held another die-in at the New York Stock Exchange, in protest against financial institutions that invest in and support the fossil fuel industry and other environmentally-destructive entities. The direct action part of the event concluded with a third die-in on Broadway at Pine Street, which blocked traffic for over an hour. All told, there were 93 arrests during the three actions. 

The disruptions will continue through the week. In addition, Extinction Rebellion NYC began “Rebel Fest” in Washington Square Park at 2:00 PM which will continue daily through the week. This location holds a range of non-arrestable and family-friendly events, such as teach-ins, art-making, meditation, yoga, a “climate café,” talks and live music. For an updated schedule, visit xrebellion.nyc.

After demonstrations from Extinction Rebellion NYC this summer, as well as through the efforts from other environmental organizations, the New York City Council adopted a resolution proposed by Extinction Rebellion declaring a climate emergency. Since then, XR members have engaged in numerous nonviolent direct actions across the city. 

Actions are taking place today in more than 60 cities around the world, including Paris, Berlin, Los Angeles, Santiago, Washington DC, Montreal, Buenos Aires, Dublin, Madrid, London, Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna, Cape Town, New Delhi, Mumbai, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Wellington. Extinction Rebellion is now active in more than 72 countries, with 485 groups active in 473 cities and towns.

https://www.xrebellion.nyc/global-rebellion 

https://twitter.com/xr_nyc

https://facebook.com/events/684704261957207

https://www.instagram.com/xr_nyc/


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oct rebellion, presseve mosher