Proposal for the establishment of a large social center for Occupy Oakland
We propose to occupy and hold a large building that will serve the purpose of becoming a social center, convergence center and headquarters of the Occupy Oakland movement on Saturday, January 28th, 2012. The building will have sufficient office space for all of the Occupy Oakland committees and an auditorium large enough to hold Occupy Oakland general assemblies and adequate sleeping space. It will be a vacant building owned either by a bank, a large corporation of the 1% or already public. The occupation of the building will take place in daylight and on a weekend to ensure more safety and aim for maximum participation. The building will be the destination of a mass march, promoted as a “Move-In Day March” starting at Oscar Grant Plaza at 1pm and finishing up in the new building. Together we will enter the space, clean it, set it up and occupy it.
Having learned from the previous attempts at occupying spaces or buildings where we weren’t able to hold space because of police crack-downs and/or poor planning we know that the only way for this to work is having massive participation and when the time comes, effective defense of the building. To work out numerous details we propose having Building Occupation Assemblies that meet at Oscar Grant Plaza on Wednesdays at 5pm and on Sundays at 1pm with representatives from the Occupy Oakland committees and individuals. The working groups of this assembly will meet to discuss the plans necessary to make the move-in successful and create a vibrant social center. The strategies for the defense of the building will be decided collectively in these meetings.
We further propose a 2-day festival at the start of the occupation which would include cultural events, workshops and strategy sessions to generate community support and participation to further the occupy movement. The Building Occupation Assembly will coordinate this weekend festival. They will plan a full schedule of events, as well as coordinate outreach.
Those writing this proposal are in full agreement that keeping the address of the building a surprise is necessary when planning an action of this scale, so that the building proposed doesn’t have a preemptive shutdown by the city. On the other hand, to make this an all-inclusive action by Occupy Oakland, the authors of this proposal have been in touch with various individuals from committees regarding the particular address of the building. These include: the Kitchen Committee, Events Committee, Supply Committee, Sound Committee, Medics, Free School, Library, Finance Committee, Occupy Legal, Anti-Repression Committee and the Facilitation Committee yet we hope to expand this list. These individuals know the exact address of the building in order to help organize this action in a coordinated yet decentralized manner.
To conclude, in talking to members of our community and upon consulting committee members, many feel strongly that it is time to get Occupy Oakland indoors. The winter and rainy season is upon us and has taken its toll on our numbers, our strength, and our will to continue. We know there is much more to do, and we are excited to see our projects and political endeavors through by fighting for a new space seized from the 1% without permission that will suit our needs, and become something cherished by Occupy Oakland, residents of the Bay Area, and beyond.
Proposal summary:
At 1pm on Jan. 28 have a massive Move-In March that starts from Oscar Grant Plaza and ends with the takeover of a new building for Occupy Oakland big enough to potentially provide a space for the committees, the G.A.s and for sleeping. Immediately after the move-in a festival/convergence will begin that continues through Sunday.
The details of the building will be shared with at least one member from each committee of Occupy Oakland.
A Building Occupation Assembly will meet on Weds. at 5pm and Sundays at 1pm (or to be modified according to future GA schedules) at Oscar Grant Plaza until the move-in day.
I’d love to help. Amanda
i’m already inquiring about using council chambers for our meetings, and committee meeting rooms for our committee meetings! we already own this building and all the space within, so we wouldn’t have to take it (though i wouldn’t mind taking it, and certainly don’t mind taking other buildings for community use.) anyone interested can help me with the process. i am doing this as an action, and if i succeed, there will be this option. if folks deem it necessary, this could be brought before the general assembly.
as far as this particular proposal, i second jeanne’s concerns. i s’pose we would, after a certain ‘taking’ period, eventually lose the space, or actually win it legally. until that point, many could not use it.
“The building will have offices for all of the Occupy Oakland committees and an auditorium large enough to hold Occupy Oakland general assemblies.” This proposal has inadvertently un-democratic consequences. Members of Occupy Oakland would be have no choice but to trespass in order to attend the GA? This would leave a great deal of people out of the decision making process including, people with children, people who cannot afford to go to jail or back to jail, or those with moral problems surrounding breaking the law. There is a time and a place for occupying foreclosed buildings, but putting yourself in danger of being sent to jail should ALWAYS be your choice. Making people choose between representing themselves and doing what they feel is right a way of alienating large groups of people. I know the group that is proposing this has several leads on legal spaces. Having a legal space would ad legitimacy to our group. Occupying homes/spaces could be done separately from the GA. Please, let this group know that power belongs to the many, and the many deserve to be able to represent themselves without moral or physical danger.