On Memorial Day, protesters prepare to confront police on Avenue A. May 27, 1991.
The Tompkins Square Park movement mixed working-class with upper-middle class people, people who were young and old and of all different races. In order to defend Tompkins Square and its homeless inhabitants, and to appeal for housing rights, the protesters banded together, joining hands, spending nights in the park, and often clashing with riot-geared police.