Members of the protest group Occupy Charlotte carry signs to denounce what they consider to be corporate greed in the financial sector, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2001. (Photo: Glenn H. Burkins for Qcitymetro.com)
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Some came demanding an end to U.S.-led wars. Others came advocating for social or economic reforms. Whatever their cause, the hundreds of protestors who gathered Saturday under the banner of Occupy Charlotte all came apparently sharing at least one core belief – that something just isn’t quite right in America.

Reports have estimated the crowd at between 500 and 600.

The protestors – young and old with less than a dozen African Americans -- began to converge just after 2 p.m. on a grassy area in front of the old city hall building on East Trade Street. Then around 4 p.m. they marched to the Bank of America tower on Tryon Street demanding an end to “corporate greed.”

“What does democracy look like?” some shouted.

“This is what democracy looks like,” came the refrain.

A mother and daughter

Susan Taylor, 81, of Black Mountain, N.C., came with her daughter.

“I’m really thrilled that I can participate in this,” she said. “This is kind of a wonderful thing to be out here on the front line demanding fairness for all Americans.”

Indeed, what started weeks ago in New York’s financial district as Occupy Wall Street has now spread to dozens of U.S. cities. The demonstrators in general have denounced big banks, big business and the growing gap between the nation’s rich and poor. The demonstrators have no apparent nationwide leader and the objectives of their demonstrations remain fuzzy.

In New York Saturday, several thousand Occupy Wall Street protesters marched to the city's Washington Square Park for a peaceful assembly. Hundreds in New York have been arrested in recent days. Demonstrators also marched Saturday in Washington, D.C., Indianapolis and Philadelphia.

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A young demonstrator joins hundreds of Occupy Charlotte protestors on the lawn of the old city hall building on East Trade Street, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011. (Photo: Glenn H. Burkins for Qcitymetro.com)
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Taylor, the Black Mountain resident, said she is a “big fan” of President Barack Obama and blamed Republicans in Congress for blocking his efforts to jumpstart the economy.

“They’ve done every mean thing they could think of to do to not cooperate with this president,” she said. “We don’t like what the Republicans are doing.”

Like most of the Charlotte protestors interviewed by Qcitymetro.com, Taylor said she was not there to support a particular politician or political party. Some of the protestors also rejected any assumption that their movement was meant to be a counter balance to the Tea Party movement.

An 'important' movement

Judson Abraham, a political science major at Winthorp University and a member of the Winthorp University Socialist Student Union, called the nationwide movement “the most important thing to happen in this country” since the 1999 demonstrations in Seattle against the World Trade Organization.

Abraham said the anti-globalization movement had been knocked off its center by the 2001 terrorist attacks and the preoccupation that followed.

“At least we are now getting back to our core,” he said, adding that the terrorist attacks had resulted in a “watered-down form of left-wing politics.”

Curtis Heggins, who came with his wife, Mary, said all of his concerns and reasons for being there could be summed up succinctly: "The need for change, what else?" he said.

Curtis said the Saturday protest was not the first for the couple, who moved to Charlotte from New Jersey four years ago. Several years ago, he said, they marched in Washington with Al Sharpton to demand more jobs.

Curtis said he blamed much of the nation's economics on a ruling "literati" that has a vested interest in protecting the status quo.

"Somebody is bleeding and somebody is getting rich," he said. "The president  is cool and all, but he's in it, too."

'Fed up with everything'

Kyana Parker, 20, and of the few African Americans in the crowd, said the Saturday demonstration wasn’t the first time she’s gotten involved in a cause that concerned her. In 2007, she said, she traveled to Louisiana to march in support of the so-called Jena Six.

When asked what attracted her to Occupy Charlotte, Parker, a student at the Carolina School of Broadcasting, said she is tired of national politicians living on six-figure salaries while showing little regard for people barely scraping by.

“Americans are fed up with everything,” she said.

Denise Presley, an African American lawyer, said she had been intrigued with the movement since it began in New York and decided to drop by the Occupy Charlotte demonstration to get a closer look. While others crowded close to join in chants, she stood off a slight distance, taking it all in.

Despite the multitude of voices and causes, Presley said she believes the movement can make an impact. She said the Tea Party had been co-opted by the GOP and the GOP had been co-opted by big business. A movement with no single leader or cause, she said, would be harder to co-opt.

“I’ve been wondering what it would take to compel people to take to the streets,” Presley said.

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