VOA标准英语2011--Occupy Movement, African-American Leaders Form Coalition

Occupy Movement, African-American Leaders Form Coalition¹

The Occupy Wall Street movement is gaining allies. Our reporter tells us who they are and what they plan to do.

Protesters of the Occupy movement are spreading their wings - joining forces with veterans of the American civil rights movement of the 1960s, and African-American churches.

In Washington, civil rights icon² Benjamin Chavis announced the formation of Occupy The Dream.

David Degraw is with Occupy Wall Street in New York.

“This is a very diverse movement as it stands right now," said Degraw. "But obviously we need to do more work to get into the African-American communities and to get into all different ethnic³ backgrounds, the Latino community as well.”

The African American leaders were drawn⁴ in by the issue of income inequality. More than 15 percent of black Americans are unemployed⁵, compared with an overall jobless rate of 8.6 percent.

Occupy The Dream has three immediate⁶ demands: an increase in federal grants for university education, a halt to home foreclosures, and a $100 billion fund from Wall Street banks for new jobs and neighborhood investment.

Benjamin Chavis worked with civil rights leader Martin Luther King in the 1960s, and mobilized a million-man march on Washington in the 1990s.

“The traditional civil rights movement was at its strongest point 40 of 50 years ago when it had a strong coalition between African Americans, organized labor⁷, progressive white liberal groups, all working together," said Chavis. "And that is what we have to rebuild.”

Occupy The Dream plans its first action for January 16th, the Martin Luther King holiday, at Federal Reserve Bank locations around the country. Reverend Jamal-Harrison Bryant is a spokesman for Occupy The Dream.

“Every 30 days America is going to see something until we freeze the entire economic system and they realize we are about serious business," said Reverend Bryant.

The response at Occupy camps around the country has been positive, although in the past, Occupy protesters have avoided formal links to other groups. Kevin Zeese is with Occupy in Washington's Freedom Plaza⁸.

“Having the African-American faith community hear that call and respond is a gigantic step forward," said Zeese. "The potential for that is hard to imagine.”

David Degraw says this is only the beginning. They plan to draw in other partners and build a bigger Occupy movement through the spring.

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。