BELLINGHAM - Parts of Cornwall Avenue were blocked as hundreds of protesters gathered downtown Friday afternoon, Oct. 7, to rally against economic inequality and corporations with too much power.

The rally was the first major local showing inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests that have been going since September in New York.

Protesters gathered on all four corners of Cornwall Avenue and East Magnolia Street at 4 p.m. and marched to the Bank of America on Holly Street, chanting "Banks got bailed out, we got sold out."

While the signs varied - some calling for an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, some for an end on the war on immigration - many referred to the 1 percent of Americans who own so much of the nation's wealth to the detriment of the other 99 percent. Others called for an end to corporate welfare and greed.

"I came out because corporations have far too much power and working people all over our country are suffering," said protester Betsy Pernotto. "I think we need to stop corporate tax breaks, and we need the government to start creating jobs to get people back to work and get money into the economy and into people's pockets."

The group gathered briefly in front of Bank of America before heading back to Magnolia. Once there, some of the protesters gathered in the crosswalks and blocked Cornwall, confronting a truck with a "We the People" sign after the passenger gave them a thumbs down. Police directed traffic away from that section of Cornwall to keep protesters safe.

Pernotto said she hoped the protest would send a message to politicians.

"I think we need to demonstrate to elected officials that we're tired of corporate greed," she said. "They bailed out the banks and people got foreclosures and lost their jobs."