The Reverend Jesse Jackson is calling on progressive activists to use Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as inspiration when protesting for the rights of the ‘99 percent’. In an CNN op-ed, Jackson writes, “As we commemorate Dr. King’s birthday this month, we occupy. We are not just dreaming, we are occupying. Occupying until justice rolls down like mighty water.”:

(CNN) — People are turning. The misery is too widespread. The privileged are too brazen. The injustice too apparent.

On Wall Street, young students have created a free democratic space in a place they call Liberty Square. They protest that Wall Street has been rescued, but there is no help for most Americans. In a moving statement, they presented their view: “We are the 99%. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we are working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99%.”

Their demonstrators were scorned in the beginning. They had no clear demands. They were organized with no formal structure. They were squatting out in the rain, not allowed tents or bedding.

Click here to read the rest of Rev. Jackson’s op-ed.