Occupy Wall Street is a protest organized by Adbusters, a Canadian magazine, whose main goal is to stop corporate greed and raise awareness about the 1% who are the wealthiest people in America. On September 17, 2011, people gathered in front of the charging bull on Wall Street and moved into Zuccotti Park which is a privately owned public space. Seemingly in seconds, a community of tents sprouted up in the park.

    During the OWS protest in Zuccotti Park, people were arrested for having masks, which caused the protest to have little early success. However, on October 5, 2011 labor unions like the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Labor Institutions (AFL-CLO) began supporting the protests, giving them some momentum and more members.

     The labor unions planned a Wall Street Millionaire March through the Upper East Side of New York which took place on October 11, 2011. According to a report in the New York Times, the protesters were chanting, “Hey you millionaires, pay for your share!”

    On October 15, 2011 the protest went global. There were OWS protests throughout the U.S. and the world, from Occupy Chicago to Occupy London. The OWS protest started on university campuses in the U.S. as well, from Harvard University to the University of California, Berkley. All over people protested against the 1% wealthiest Americans.

    November 2011 saw the end of the big Occupy protests. Some of the OWS protests became deadly. In Occupy Rome, protesters started vandalizing business buildings, and in Occupy Oakland someone was shot and killed.  

    Many protests were shut down because of health and safety concerns in the encampments. On November 13, 2011 the police began evicting the Occupy Portland protesters from the city park, and on November 15, 2011 the original OWS protestors were removed from Zuccotti Park.

     Despite their eviction, the protesters have said that the spirit of the protest will still live on and that small protests and encampments around the world will continue even in the face of opposition.   

Full Timeline of the Occupy Protest:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/features/2011/occupy_wall_street/what_is_ows_a_complete_timeline.html