Cullen Montgomery counts himself among a vast majority of disaffected Americans he says are struggling in this economy because the federal government and Wall Street are not doing enough to fix the problems.
The 24-year-old Richmond resident said his parents lost their home to foreclosure in 2009 and that he almost became homeless this past summer when he was evicted because, he said, his roommates failed to pay rent. He also said he is unemployed, and he lost his most recent job partly, he believes, because his depression and anxiety affected his performance.
Montgomery has embraced a grass-roots movement called Occupy Richmond, a spinoff of the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York that sparked protests in other cities across the country, railing against social injustice and corporate greed.
Organizers in Richmond have set up an Occupy Richmond Facebook page that has more than 1,700 followers. They plan to hold a rally Oct. 15, to be held somewhere near the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond.
"A lot of Americans are fed up and disgusted with what's been going on in the past couple years," Montgomery said. "I was glad that the American people were finally trying to stand up for themselves."
The national movement began last month with a few college students demonstrating in Manhattan's Financial District and has grown significantly in New York and elsewhere. On Saturday, more than 700 people were arrested as thousands tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge.
According to its Facebook page, Occupy Richmond seeks to "collectively voice our disapproval of the intermeshing of government and corrupted capitalism. We unite as 99 percent of the American population."
"The middle class is disappearing," said Alexandria Vasquez, a Richmond organizer and a graduate student of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Vasquez said young people are led to believe that "if they get their education, they'll get that prized job. That's not the case. They're going to be graduating and fighting for a job making $7.25 an hour."
Vasquez, 23, said the local movement plans to hold a meeting Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Monroe Park to discuss plans for the Oct. 15 demonstration.
She said they plan to cooperate with Richmond police. "We want to actually work with them," said Vasquez, who is president of Students for Social Action, a student group at VCU. "This is going to be a peaceful protest."
Police spokesman Gene Lepley said Monday that he was not immediately aware of any discussions between organizers and the police department.
"We are aware of the group planning to demonstrate in Richmond, and we're certainly willing to make sure their free-speech rights are exercised," Lepley said.
Montgomery is encouraging participants to dress "as if you're going to a job interview," hoping to head off any unruly behavior.
"Let's try to focus on what's important and not try to fight a war on too many fronts," he said. "I think we need to have health care, food, shelter, education – a chance for everyone to work."
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