CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- For two hours Saturday, more than 500 protesters in uptown Charlotte marched, chanted, and rallied against what they called "corporate greed."
The official movement to "occupy" Charlotte has begun, and organizers said it will continue for a while.
"This is just the beginning," said movement facilitator Luis Rodriguez, one of about a dozen leaders of the movement, who said they're helping people express their frustrations publicly under the First Amendment.
The "Occupy Charlotte" movement is similar to protests taking place across the country as frustrations mount about joblessness, stagnant wages for those who do work, and high corporate salaries.
Saturday's target in Charlotte was the city's biggest corporate presence -- Bank of America. Protesters marched from the grounds of the old City Hall on East Trade Street to the bank's Corporate Plaza on the uptown square.
The Charlotte-based bank was the focus of at least half a dozen other Occupy protests around the country this week. Many complained the nation's biggest bank took government TARP money, but wouldn't bail out people with defaulting mortgages. Others complained about the new $5 charge on accounts that use debit cards.
In general, organizers said the biggest complaint is that corporations can buy influence with lawmakers, without being compassionate about customers' struggles. Many said they just felt frustrated with the slow economy, in which just a few corporate leaders seem to be getting rich while average Americans can't pay bills or end up losing their homes.
"It's frustrating, it's ridiculous," said Lauren Wise, a recent technical school graduate who can't find a job, but is facing $10,000 debt from student loans. "It should not cost so much for someone to get an education, and these days you have to have a college education to get a job."
Marie Rink has lived in Charlotte for 36 years, and said she can't enjoy her retirement because of the direction the city and the nation are going.
"I have children, grandchildren," she said. Why did she join the protest? "It's for their future, for me."
Kaye Fuson, a nurse educator, summed up people's frustrations with the bank and corporate America: "Quite frankly, it's just getting a little bit old knowing that my tax money has gone to salvage these people who do nothing to salvage us," she said.
She and the others call themselves "the other 99 percent" -- with the last one percent being the top corporate earners.
They are "the people who are basically disconnected from what every day people are going through," said Fuson, "and who are going to need nurses and policemen and firemen to take care of them every day and don't want to pay to make that happen."
Protesters walked back to old City Hall after the protest, and a handful camped out on the back lawn. They plan to "occupy" the public space for an undetermined amount of time.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said the protesters are free to stay as long as they don't break any laws.
Police and protester facilitators had worked hand-in-hand to keep the march peaceful and lawful. Marchers were given handouts with the rules, and encouraged to follow them. By 11 pm Saturday., no one had been arrested.
"We believe the more open communication we can have with organizers ahead of time, the more benefit we get," said Capt. Jeff Estes.
