MASS PUBLIC RITUAL
On the evening of Dec 5, 2013 as the sun set on the Bloomberg ere a few thousand people gathered in Foley Square to build a vision for a New Day:
A city that works for all of us.
As the New York sky settled into dusk, a team of artists, organizers and volunteers handed out thousands of tiny lanterns to the crowd that had assembled. On these lanterns, each person was asked to write: what is your personal vision for a new city, one that you are were willing to fight for? And just as importantly: who is it in your life you are fighting for? Your kids? Your school? Your neighborhood? Name them.
Then, each person placed their light within the circle.
And it began to grow.
Over the span of two hours, hundreds of people stepped forward to add their lantern to the installation. We stood around the circle and watched as all of our individual hopes amass into a giant, collective demand for a new future. Then, from a nearby stage, a number of speakers from different unions and community groups spoke about the road ahead, getting the crowd pumped up and ready to march.
Before they embarked however, people were asked to re-enter the circle once more and this time pick up someone else’s lantern to carry with them as they marched. Why? Because if we are to win, we must be willing to carry not just our own vision for a new city, but that of our neighbors, friends and fellow New Yorkers. If we truly want to bring about a new day, we must all be willing to carry each other’s light.
The illuminated procession marched down Broadway and ended in the place where so much of it began, Zucotti Park, the heart of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
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