On Sunday, October 23, 2011, a beautiful fall afternoon in NYC, I decided to go to the now famous Zuccotti Park, in downtown Manhattan, where the Occupy Wall Street Protest is in it’s second month, to do something different photographically. I have been there documenting the marches and the NYPD arrests on different occasions. But Sunday afternoon was calm as the so-called wild protesters went through their normal daily routine.
People with their camera phones, 35mm digital and video cameras, were trying to get their own photos, as I walked through the extremely crowded but peaceful park, looking for that different image. I was amazed as to how organized they really are. There is an area for medical care, an area for cleaning the dishes, an area for getting food, an area for a library with children and adults books and an area for getting bedding supplies before 7 .pm. But when I saw a barber cutting the man’s hair, I said that’s my photo for the afternoon. It’s only a matter of time before we really know what becomes of the sacrifice these people are making by braving the elements in the open park.
Photo: Hayden Roger Celestin
