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The Occupy Oakland Foreclosure Defense Group was formed in late January / early February of 2012, just about four years ago now. It was able to undertake a number of campaigns, some very successful, some less so, to stop foreclosures and keep people in their houses.  Numerous articles about the group’s activities can be found on this website (e.g., here, or here) Its most intensive campaign was to keep Morgan Stanley from foreclosing on Jodie Randolph (pictured on her porch, 2nd from right, with oofdg members). She was a woman … Continued

The Oakland City Council voted 6-0-1 in closed session to settle for $450K the case of the late Hernan Jaramillo, a mentally disturbed man who was dragged by OPD from his apartment “20-feet on his back to the sidewalk.” This settlement adds to the ever-growing total of police execution and brutality payments paid out by the taxpayers of Oakland, with more sure to come as four men have been killed by Oakland police in 2015, and a fifth died under suspicious circumstances while being chased by OPD. Hernan Jaramillo is … Continued

Just minutes before 4:00 PM on Martin Luther King Jr. Day DaveyD broke the news. Breaking News: folks have locked themselves on the Bay Bridge…,traffic at a massive stand still — Davey D (@mrdaveyd) January 18, 2016 Five cars moving in tandem westward on the Bay Bridge halted side by side before Treasure Island and people came out, cabling themselves and the cars together. CHP acted quite quickly. About thirty minutes after the first reports of what happened were tweeted news flashed that the protesters had been cut from their … Continued

Saturday morning, January 16th, activists participating in the #ReclaimMLK #96Hours actions arrived at Mayor Libby Schaaf’s house with symbolic coffins representing those killed by police in Oakland in 2015, SOLD signs, representing the massive gentrification that is happening and the attempted illegal sale of the 12th St. Parcel, and an eviction notice. Later, others travelled out to Brentwood, CA (near Antioch) where Oakland Police Chief Whent lives (over 90% of Oakland’s police force does not live in Oakland) with a similar, but slightly different message. Tweetpics from these events. The … Continued

More than two hundred people gathered at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater in the late afternoon of January 15th for “Can You See Me?” at the call of the Interfaith Committee in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter Bay Area. It was the beginning of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend and the first large action of the second annual #96Hours #ReclaimMLK set of events organized by the Anti Police-Terror Project et al. A number of white coffins were laid out in memory of those killed by local police this year. Songs were song, … Continued

On Tuesday, January 5th, 2016 the Oakland City Council unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance which will establish a Privacy Commission. The ordinance will become law after the second reading, which is scheduled to happen on January 19th. The Commission’s first task will be to draft and submit to the Council a Surveillance Equipment Ordinance which will deal generally with policies and procedures if and when new surveillance tech becomes available and City agencies, especially OPD, wish to acquire it. The Commission will also have the responsibility to … Continued

Mike Zint was an organizer at Liberty City, the Old Berkeley City Hall Occupation established in November in protest of proposed anti-homeless laws that were ultimately enacted by the Berkeley City Council on December 1st.  The Occupation was raided on December 4th.  He continues to fight for the homeless at the Downtown Berkeley Post Office Occupation, established in November, 2014, and still there after more than thirteen months. December 27, 2015 This email spells it out. Liberty City worked. Unfortunately, the city didn’t care. An open letter to the city council: The … Continued

Sandy Sanders, an Occupier and former resident of Oakland now living in Oregon, has produced an innumerable number of posters and other artwork in support radical and readically progressive causes over the years.  Here’s a look at some of his Bay Area-based work from 2015:         60181

The latest fight against Urban Shield and the militarization of police took place in Berkeley over the past few months. Members of the Stop Urban Shield Coalition joined Berkeley Copwatch and the Oakland Privacy Working Group in attempting to get Berkeley to stop sending police to Urban Shield training exercises for at least next year (2016). The Light Brigade’s ‘NO TO URBAN SHIELD’ lights up the space outside the Berkeley City Council Meeting on Dec 1st. They failed, but in doing so publicized the role Urban Shield plays in the militarization … Continued

Cat Brooks speaks at San Francisco City Hall on the murder of Mario Woods. My name is Cat Brooks. I’m the co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project, and a member of the Black Power Network.  I’m actually based in Oakland, but here supporting San Francisco.  After Mario was murdered- MURDERED, EXECUTED, in broad daylight in your city, I asked myself “How long…” I didn’t ask myself, I posted on Facebook as a matter of fact… “How long is it going to take for the Chief to come out and tell … Continued