Jackson Free Press

On the sidewalk outside Smith Park, too-small tarps covered waterlogged books, papers and canisters of food caught in Tuesday's heavy rain. A few plastic signs escaped the downpour to proclaim slogans such as "occupy America to save America" and "free hug giveaway, all day, every day." Inside City Hall a few blocks away, the signs' owners assembled to try to persuade the City Council Planning Committee to allow them to stay in the park day and night for another month.

The Planning Committee voted Tuesday to allow Occupy Jackson to stay in the park from dawn until 11 p.m. through Dec. 26. The measure must go before the full council for a vote, most likely at the Nov. 29 meeting, before it goes into effect.

Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba left the meeting when his motion to allow the protesters to stay overnight failed. The other members of the committee passed a measure to grant the protesters a permit to allow them to stay in the park after it closes at dusk, with Ward 4 Councilman Frank Bluntson and Ward 5 Councilman Charles Tillman voting in favor of the measure and Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber voting against it.

Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes is vice chairman of the Planning Committee but was not at the meeting.

The city's special events coordinator gave Occupy Jackson, which recently incorporated as a nonprofit organization, a permit to use the park from dawn to dusk, when it is normally open. Occupy Jackson appealed the decision to the City Council, however, arguing that staying in a particular location day and night is integral to the Occupy protest movement's message.

Some local property owners and downtown residents also spoke during the Planning Committee meeting, saying the protesters came into buildings and used their restrooms without permission, or made noise. They also worried about setting a precedent for future groups who might want to camp in the park overnight, and who might be much more of a nuisance than the Occupy protesters.

Lumumba compared Occupy Jackson to civil-rights leaders such as Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr. "We need to be real careful who we're aligned with in history," he said.

Ward 1 Councilman Quentin Whitwell does not vote on the Planning Committee, but he voiced his opposition. He said some of the protesters were nice, but the council would be responsible if something went wrong. "I don't think there is any human being sitting here right now that's going to do something that could come to haunt us," he said. "But there are other people out there that would like to hijack your movement ... and it could put you in a bad situation."

In a council meeting Nov. 21, City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen said allowing protesters to stay overnight for two months sets a precedent. He said if the city grants a permit for overnight occupation and the Ku Klux Klan, for example, asked for similar accommodations later on, the city would be forced to give them a permit.

Occupy Jackson has been in Smith Park since October.