SLP Occupy Baltimore

I just got back from a day spent at Occupy Baltimore!

Today was purely for research.

I arrived there at around 12 pm with just a small sketchbook. I had only been sketching for about four or five minutes when a woman approached me. Soon I was fully engaged in a conversation with three people from extremely different walks of life. Philip, Alisha, and Hykeem. When I first met Alisha she showed me a sketch she was doing from a perfume add in a magazine. She told me she was homeless and that she had only been there for three days. She said OB offered her protection all night when she was rejected from Code Blue [a local Homeless Shelter]. I asked her all sorts of questions about Occupy Baltimore and her life, and she told me about the movement from her perspective.

Philip came over to sit and talk, and told us about his participation with The Black Panther Party. He came to the movement this afternoon to help the homeless population that congregates at OB. He thinks that the OB movement is a waste of time and lacks any organization. He also said that being arrested would do nothing to help our country. He fought with Alisha on so many issues and it was really weird to be in between that. But he eventually offered her a place to stay that night and food and so they left.

Hykeem was one of the first members of OB. He joined OB October 5th when the movement began. He spoke of the lack of leadership and of the idea that he deserved to be the unofficial leader. He told me of how he takes care of the OB as a community, and how he loves everyone in the movement.

These interactions were what I wanted from today, and although I took so many notes afterwards, during our conversations I didn't want to hide away in my note-taking. I will bring my sketchbook to class, by then it'll probably be full.

I took about 15 pages of notes. and I intend to make a small illustration each day based on the ideas in the conversations I heard today. They will also be based on my research since the beginning of the Occupy Movement.

Heads up! There is a protest happening tomorrow about Homelessness in Baltimore. It will be In front of the City Hall, and it begins at 6pm. You can meet people from the Occupy The Highway movement that are walking all the way from Occupy Wall Street to The White House.