On January 28th, a vacant building will be taken over en masse by the Occupy movement and its supporters, to be turned into a social center for our movement. The takeover will kick off with a two-day festival featuring discussions, panels, performances, music and dancing. During these two days, the building will be prepared so that we can rebuild the Oakland Commune, a public space where we come together in struggle and solidarity, providing free food, housing, healthcare, education and much more, just as we did at our camp.
The Occupy Oakland General Assembly approved this direct action on December 21st, pledging its full support. The building takeover to create a social center is a bold move, and will show to the world that, despite the repression we have suffered, the Occupy movement is alive and kicking. Occupy Oakland’s previous actions, such as the General Strike and the Port Shutdown, combined with our uncompromising stance against police repression, has gained us a reputation worldwide. With this public takeover of a vacant building, Occupy Oakland will once again break new ground.
As with the General Strike and Port Shutdown, the success and longevity of the takeover will require large numbers of committed people. We have begun to do outreach on the streets, and the response has been mostly positive. So far we’ve raised $1750 in just a few days via online donations and a fundraiser. People in Oakland are excited to see what our next move is. We strongly believe that if we can reach them, there are enough people willing to march with us on January 28th, and to keep the building occupied 24 hours a day, to make this takeover a success.
But this action requires a massive outreach campaign, and we need to be sure we can quickly get the building into shape. For this purpose we are requesting funds from Occupy Oakland. Our current request is for $2500, as per the following budget breakdown:
$1200 for publicity: 2,000 posters and 10,000 handbills; materials for multiple banner drops ($600 has already been spent by folks hoping to get reimbursed).
$500 for sound: $300 for the truck and $200 for a mixer for the march and festival. This mixer will then be used along with the other donated sound equipment for future Occupy Oakland events.
$1800 for supplies: such as furniture and bedding, fire extinguishers, a generator, porta potties, cleaning supplies, and other miscellaneous supplies needed to get the building into shape.
$500 for food and kitchen supplies. We plan to do a barbecue on Sunday and provide free food throughout the weekend.
$250 supplies for the festival, such as arts and crafts for the children’s section.
$250 supplies for the festival, such as arts and crafts for the children’s section.
$4250: Total
-$1750: Received from donations
$2500: Still needed
16229
Comments are closed.