Love and Rage by Tracie Williams (Archive)

Tracie Williams is raising funds for her photography book that offers a glimpse into a year of her life documenting the Occupy Wall Street movement. In order to receive contributions, the project must be funded in full by 5/29/13. To help: tinyurl.com/LOVE-RAGE
From Tracie: To fully understand something you have to live it and breathe it. I guess you could say I have been in the trenches for the past year, physically battered and mentally bruised. I've seen things and met people that have altered my way of thinking and opened my mind exponentially. I've smashed a few flashes, been run over by fleeing mobs, struck by police batons, slept on cardboard to diffuse the cold concrete, surfed couches, rode on day long over-packed bus journeys, marched through torrential rains and sweltering temperatures, and even found myself arrested.
Living an activist, transient life I emotionally, physically, and financially invested a solid year documenting Occupy Wall Street daily - leading up the one-year anniversary on September 17, 2012.
Love and Rage chronicles this unique period of US history; from protests and civil disobedience to the more personal moments, conversations, and comradery that erupted in communities across the country.
On September 17, 2011 Occupy Wall Street emerged as a new kind of people-powered social movement revolving around social and economic injustice. The initial home of OWS was Zucotti park (renamed Liberty Square) -- a 24-hour privately owned public space in the heart of the financial district in Lower Manhattan. Occupy Wall Street transformed this space into a radical platform where ideas could be freely exchanged.
The encampment offered a new form of protest by emulating an idealistic community based on mutual aid; fully equipped with a kitchen, a library (with over 5000 books), a medic tent, and a media outpost. The idea was to create a non-hierarchal, transparent, accountable community that made decisions utilizing the tools of direct democracy. People who had never previously engaged in activism found themselves holding signs on their lunch breaks, participating in General Assemblies and carrying out civil political conversation with those on the opposite side of the political spectrum.
This new form of protest spread throughout 1500 cities worldwide. Although all the encampments were destroyed, protests and grass roots organizing continued on local, national and global levels. Occupy Wall Street's current focus is directed towards relief efforts for communities affected by Hurricane Sandy -- in New Jersey and New York - with an emphasis on both immediate needs and long-term strategies for community development.
Occupy Wall Street is an ever changing evolving social movement. A network has been created - connecting every day people with long term activists - united the by the ideology that greed has manipulated every aspect of our society. Healthcare, education, war, the environment, employment, housing, and the banking industry are a few examples of where profit has taken the center stage to people, and now people are finally taking a stand.
See the website for more details about rewards and the project.
Bio: I am a street and social documentary photographer currently based in New York City. Over the past year, I have been working on a long-term documentary project on Occupy Wall Street titled "Love and Rage." Prior to braving the streets of the big apple, I lived overseas for 10 years. I called Melbourne, Australia home for 8 years and spent the latter 2 volunteering and freelancing for humanitarian NGO's in Laos. During my time there I worked on a personal photo project titled "Broken Bodies. Broken Hearts." (which began in 2007) documenting the impact of the CIA led Secret War waged on Laos. Despite the war ending over 30 years ago, the unexploded bombs that litter the landscape still continue to kill and maim approximately 300 people annually.