Occupy Atlanta Day 3

It's some kind of miracle that today has been by far the most energizing for me considering that I have had almost no sleep in the last few days. I attribute the surge of spirit and energy to a visit from the Be The Change Crew. Be The Change Crew, a group of high school aged youth organizers, had a regularly scheduled meeting at the AFSC to finalize plans for our annual "Love Bombs" event.

It ended up being a perfect opportunity to bring the whole crew down to Troy Davis Park(formerly Woodruff Park) to have a sharing session with Occupy Atlanta. The Be The Change Crew was exhilarated by the experience, especially the peoples mike, so much so that they decided to organize a youth gathering at Troy Davis Park this Sunday(10-16) from 2-6pm. During that time frame they plan to hold a youth caucus meeting and perform spoken word as well!

I also have to say that the theme of the day for my has been efficiency. Today the Occupy Atlanta movement finally feels like it's developing real systems of direct service, communication, and trust with each other. The process really feels like it's working, and people are feeling at home with each other.

For those who haven't come downtown, it's time. If you can't camp then come visit. There are needs for supplies if you have resources. We need blankets, tents, food, water, sun screen, ponchos, umbrellas, reams of paper, computers, and an 8x10 platform that could be used as a small stage. Please contact me if you're interested is contributing anything.

Our office at 60 Walton Street continues to be used as Occupy Atlanta headquarters, which is both taxing and exciting at the same time. AFSC hopes to continue to support this important movement in anyway it has capacity to facilitate.


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee
404-414-5521

Be The Change Crew Rocks The Airwaves!

This Friday marks the 10th anniversary of the longest war in US history, Afghanistan. The human cost isn't measurable and the economic cost is estimated at close to 500 billion dollars.

Our favorite radio station in Atlanta, WRFG 89.3FM, graciously devoted five hours of air time during their fall fundraising drive to the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition for programing that focuses on the war in Afghanistan.

The Be The Change Crew was asked to take the last hour of the show to focus on the effects of war on high school aged youth.

Dejah Ault and Jasmine Enadeghe hend it down for the Be The Change crew. Both focused on the realities of being raised with war. Jasmine prepared a really staggering economic breakdown of US federal budget priorities and what the resources that are taken out of our communities to pay for war could be paying for if there was no war.

Dejah spoke about the militarization of Atlanta youth, focusing on military recruitment in schools. When they opened the phones lines they were immediately jammed with traffic. I hope to get the recording of the program up in the next few days, and there's definitely talk of a regular Be The Change Crew radio show!

Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

If You Don't See The Change, Be The Change!

This past Saturday youth who attended this year's, "Be The Change" youth convergence held a follow-up meeting to discuss the direction of their campaign create awareness around the lack of accessibility to the k-12 and public higher education system for Georgia youth.

I personally would have been excited if this Year's youth convergence inspired 8-10 young people to get active and stay involved.

We ended up having 23 youth(13-18 years old) come out to a campaign strategy session on a hot summer Saturday! They not only came, they brought fresh ideas, and new energy. The "Be the Change Crew", is already working on establishing multiple high school clubs, t-shirt designs, open mic nights, and concerts! Pretty ambitious for our first follow-up meeting.

After our meeting we had a pool party with pizza! Tons of fun!

If you're 13-19 years old interested in plugging into the "Be the Change Crew" contact Dell McLean at: bethechange@gapeace.org


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee