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While the Occupy Wall Street movement doesn’t have one specific person leading the way, the diverse assembly of organizers, volunteers, and activists has attracted one notable name eager to be the protest’s mouthpiece: Russell Simmons.

When news that the tenants of Occupy Wall Street, who have turned New York City’s Zuccotti Park into something of a tent city for nearly a month, would be “evicted” for a clean-up by the real-estate company that owns the park, it sparked outrage, particularly with Simmons. The mogul, who visited Occupy Wall Street earlier this week with Kanye West, tweeted that he has “been there 15 times” since and was more than willing to sacrifice himself so that the Occupy Wall Street movement could stay put at its main hub.

On Thursday night Simmons posted from his page, “Dear @MikeBloomberg pls do not throw out protesters at Zuccotti Park. I will pay for clean-up to avoid confrontation #OWS.” He followed up with another tweet to New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, “Dear mike I have long supported u and u have been good mayor, don’t take me to jail tomorrow I’m not 22 I don’t wanna go but I will.” READ FULL STORY »

Image Credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

On Monday, Sept. 26, NPR.org wondered if the still-growing Occupy Wall Street movement was newsworthy. When readers questioned why there was so little coverage from the news organization at that point, NPR News Executive Editor Dick Meyer replied, “The recent protests on Wall Street did not involve large numbers of people, prominent people, a great disruption, or an especially clear objective.”

What a difference two weeks makes. Not only has the movement swelled in New York City — and expanded to Boston and Washington D.C. — but Hollywood has become involved in the social and political uprising. On Monday, Kanye West and Russell Simmons visited Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters of Occupy Wall Street, to show their support. And West and Simmons are just two of the latest stars to make an appearance at the site: Susan Sarandon, Michael Moore, and Roseanne Barr have taken part in the protests, while celebrities like Jon Stewart, Alec Baldwin, Jane Fonda, and Yoko Ono have voiced their support via Twitter or other outlets. (Other artists like Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum, Talib Kweli, and members of the punk band Anti-Flag have even played music for the masses as well.)

But for a group that seemingly turned on Geraldo Rivera Monday, how do the Occupy Wall Street protesters feel about the involvement of these “prominent people”? READ FULL STORY »