Generation Occupy – Michael Levitin

On the ten-year anniversary of the Occupy movement, GENERATION OCCUPY sets the historical record straight about the movement’s lasting impacts. Far from a passing phenomenon, Occupy Wall Street marked a new era of social and political transformation, reigniting the labor movement, remaking the Democratic Party, and reviving a culture of protest that has put the fight for social, economic, environmental and racial justice at the forefront of a generation.

The movement changed the way Americans see themselves and their role in the economy through the language of the 99 versus the 1 percent. But beyond that, in its demands for fairness and equality, Occupy reinvigorated grassroots activism, inaugurating a decade of youth-led resistance movements that have altered the social fabric, from Black Lives Matter and Standing Rock to March for Our Lives, Global Climate Strikes, and #MeToo. Bookended by the 2008 financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, GENERATION OCCUPY attempts to help us understand how we got to where we are today and how to draw on lessons from Occupy in the future.

Buy the book

Readings & Events

Authors on the Move
20th Anniversary Event
March 12, 2022
Sacramento, Calif.

An evening of literary discussion featuring 40 California authors, organized by the Sacramento Literary Foundation.
Event promo

Roundabout Books & Cafe
Reading Event
January 13, 2022
Bend, Oregon

Discussion and Q&A with Julie Swearingen.
Event promo

Queen Mary University of London – Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences
“Occupy: Ten Years On”
December 7, 2021

A panel discussion with Sarah Jaffe, Sam Halvorsen and Simon Reid-Henry.
Watch the talk

University of San Francisco – Master of Arts in Urban and Public Affairs Fall 2021 Colloquium
“How Occupy Wall Street Reshaped America”
November 8, 2021

Discussion and Q&A held via Zoom
Passcode: 40zp5c.5
Watch the talk

Columbia Alumni Association NorCal/SoCal
Reading and discussion via Zoom
October 21, 2021

In conversation with Michael Stoll.
Watch the talk

Occidental Center for the Arts
In-person reading and discussion
October 17, 2021

In conversation with Tobias Snyder.
Event promo

Diablo Valley College
Reading and discussion via Zoom
October 14, 2021

In conversation with Mickey Huff, director of Project Censored, part of the DVC Journalism Speaker Series. Passcode: $5kyXC5@
Watch the talk

Copperfield’s Books
Book launch!
September 16, 2021

In conversation with Michael Howerton.
Watch the talk

Reviews

The New York Times
Was Occupy Wall Street the ‘Beginning of the Beginning’?
By Todd Gitlin

“In a fluidly written, sometimes lyrical account, quoting many activists to convey the spirit of the enterprise, Levitin argues that far from disappearing, the Occupy encampments sent out ripples that turned into cascades that transformed the American political landscape.”
Read Review

Publishers Weekly
Generation Occupy:
Reawakening American Democracy

“Abundant . . . Levitin contends that the movement galvanized a generation of activists and upended top-down models of civil disobedience. [He] includes colorful vignettes of his time at the protests, and offers fresh insights on union workers’ participation and the Rolling Jubilee campaign to abolish student debt . . . A noteworthy contribution to the discussion over why Occupy Wall Street happened, and what it meant.”
Read Review

Kirkus Reviews
Generation Occupy:
Reawakening American Democracy

“A vigorous history of the Occupy Movement by a journalist and activist . . . Occupy has spun off into numerous social justice enterprises, one of the most vocal being the movement to resist and forgive student debt, another being the battle against economic inequality . . . An evenhanded account of a political strain that remains influential, if now relatively subdued.”
Read Review

Author Blurbs

“Michael Levitin’s Generation Occupy is a much needed debrief on the Occupy Movement, one that focuses less on lofty theoretical meanings and more on nuts and bolts and human issues—who was there, what they thought they wanted to do, how they tried to do it, and how they felt about the movement later on. This documentary account about the Occupy community refreshes North American nonfiction writing, creating a beautiful collage of stories about idealism, disenchantment and influence ex post facto. The idealist in you will unfold anew over the course of these pages, again, with gratitude for the discussions started by Occupy and for the lives it changed.”

Rick Moody

Author of The Ice Storm

“Occupy Wall Street may not have changed the way the wealthy see the world, but as Michael Levitin beautifully documents, it changed everything for the 99% of us who must learn to live here, together. Occupy was less a protest than the formulation of a new approach to economics and governance, whose full impact is only being realized today. Levitin draws the connections between Occupy Wall Street and everything from Black Lives Matter to the Climate Strikes, reminding us we have a shared legacy, a common cause, and a hopeful future.”

Douglas Rushkoff

Author of Team Human

“What started as a scrappy protest camp in 2011 has lived on as a long, surprising echo through the institutions — not a march of people through the halls of power so much as an immediate and lasting influence on grassroots movements like Black Lives Matter, on policies within the Democratic Party, even on Wall Street itself. Levitin writes an elegant, hard-edged history of the American Left over the last ten years.”

Michael Scott Moore

Author of The Desert and the Sea

“In both recording his own experience with the Occupy movement and reporting on fellow activists, Michael Levitin is the observant, wise, and empathic voice uncommon in contemporary journalism. If you’re curious why a generation reared on soured promises took it upon itself to change American politics, this smart and sober book is essential reading.”

Liel Leibovitz

Author of A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen

“In an exhilarating combination of memoir, history, and political analysis, Levitin makes an airtight case: that the Occupy movement has had a profound influence on all aspects of American life. Generation Occupy is a masterpiece that illuminates our past, present, and future.”

Brian Platzer

Author of The Body Politic

“In this book, Michael Levitin makes a compelling case that the Occupy movement had a much greater impact than is typically acknowledged. Combining political analysis with profiles of key activists, Generation Occupy offers a dedicated defense of the power of mass protest.”

Mark Engler

Co-author of This Is An Uprising