On Saturday November 19, an impromptu flash mob we called One People that brought together a hundred dancers disrupted the Saturday Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building in SF and later surprised the impassioned activists about to march for Occupy in Oakland. Movers from 8-80 years old, of all races and socio-economic backgrounds, converged from around the Bay Area to dance a high-energy message of connection, compassion, resilience, reconciliation, solidarity and creative response.

The dance illustrated a cry of pain against oppression, control and degradation, and invoked a powerful bridge of reconciliation between the 1% and the 99% – a bridge that can only span the chasm of class divide through the recognition of shared humanity. The dance began with a freeze, drawing the attention of passersby and showing how stuck and hopeless people have been feeling in the current socio-economic context. It culminated in a dramatic moment where two lead characters, representing the 99% and the 1%, shake hands, reluctantly then heart-fully hug, then rejoin the circle of dancers in unity, ready to celebrate and co-create a conscious future fueled by the spirit of joy. In Oakland, the whole crowd got involved in the action, yelling, “take his hand”, and “DO IT.” As the two actors came together, many people, both dancers and onlookers, had tears in their eyes, moved by the moment of reconciliation.

One People Flashmob: Occupy Wall St

Embody the Movement