Calendar
In the wake of the recent unjust murders of Dontre Hamilton, Corey Stingley, Derek Williams, Brandon Johnson, Larry Jenkins, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and so many more at the hands of police officers and racist vigilantes, people in cities across the nation have risen up to demand Justice in their communities. For every individual killed, there is a mother who has suffered a loss greater than any one person should have to bear. We, the mothers of this movement, are calling on all concerned community members to join us in our fight. Together we unite to stand against police brutality and racial injustice and to demonstrate our love and determination to protect our children and our country. On May 9th, 2015, Mother’s Day Weekend, The Mothers for Justice United will march on the US Department of Justice in our nation’s capitol, Washington DC. Will you stand with us?
“My name is Maria Hamilton and I am Dontre Hamilton’s mother. I am overwhelmed bearing the loss of my son to police brutality. I ask with a humble heart – Join us in Washington on Mother’s Day as we take this fight directly to our elected officials. We need you.” – Maria Hamilton, Founder of Mothers for Justice United.
Mothers for Justice United is an organization of mothers whose unarmed children have been killed by police officers and white vigilantes. It is also comprised of concerned mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, clergy, and other citizens nationwide who care about the loss of these valuable lives cut short unnecessarily. We are committed to halting the epidemic of the killing of unarmed people of color by police and white vigilantes in this country through direct action, legislation, and community building.
If you know of any mothers in your own community who have lost loved ones to police brutality and racist violence and you think they may be interested in joining us on Mother’s Day, please let us know. We are working to raise funds and to secure transportation and housing for the moms to be able to make this trip. We are also in search of people to help us in our endeavor by organizing and spreading the word in your own communities
Join us for a day long event hosted by Inter Council for Mothers of Murdered Children. Event starts at 12 pm and continues until 10 pm. The Fundraiser will be held at Humanist Hall, and includes Speakers, Games (Chess, Dominoes), snacks, brunch, and dinner, as well as video clips . Families who have lost their loved ones through Gun violence and Police Misconduct will share their stories. We are scheduling a food giveaway and Vendor’s Booths are available for rent (contact Event Coordinator for details).
The Inter Council For Mothers of Murdered Children is a Non Profit 501 (c)3 Organization. Our Mission is to assist families who are in need of support and assistance after the death of a loved one. All donations are tax Deductible.
Celebrate the victory of saving the Berkeley Post Office from being sold.
Appreciations to the attorneys who argued for us in Federal Court. Appreciations to Judge Alsup who recently ruled favorably in the lawsuits against USPS practices, lawsuits filed by the City of Berkeley and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.Music! Speakers! Cake! More Music !!!
Appreciations to our entire community!
oin in behind schedule celebration of Anka’s birthday and Gabby’s return to the bay! Both Anka and Gabby are always helping out the community, so let’s say thank you by sharing food/drinks/and stories!
Where?….. Athens Garden near the corner of San Pablo and Athens avenue
When?….. Saturday May 9th of this year
Time?….. 4:30PM
This is a potluck so bring what you can to share for food and this is BYOB as well.
If any of you have something for music, bring it along so we can shake our asses as well.
Every 1st Friday & every 2nd Sat of the month we sing, dance, and share Revolutionary Love at The Alan Blueford Center For Justice-ABC4J.
The next open mic & cypher is Sat May 9th, doors & sign-up at 7pm, show at 7:30pm, all ages, suggested donation $5, please.
Monthly interfaith prayer meeting, held on second Sundays, dedicated to survivors and victims of violence and police terror in Oakland.
We are organizing this gathering for the community to connect, share prayers, writings and poems from all spiritual traditions, reflect and recharge and build coalitions interested in healing.
In April, it will be two years since we started holding these prayer meetings at the Baha’i Center. Come share prayers, quotes, poems, and favorite passages from your scriptures with us. We will serve a simple breakfast.
Sara Fonseca spends roughly 23 hours a day confined to a small concrete prison cell. The inmate, who is in her early thirties and goes by the nickname “Mariposa,” has been behind bars for nearly thirteen years, and since 2012 has been locked in a so-called “Security Housing Unit” — a highly restrictive setup commonly described as solitary confinement. That means she has extremely limited communication with anyone inside the prison — the California Institution for Women, located in Corona, forty miles east of Los Angeles — and virtually no contact with the outside world.
But this week, audiences across the Bay Area will get a chance to hear Mariposa’s story — in her own words. Mariposa and the Saint, a play Mariposa co-wrote with longtime friend Julia Steele Allen, gives viewers an intimate look at the impact of incarceration from the direct perspective of an inmate housed in what advocates describe as one of the cruelest features of the prison system. The 45-minute play, which Allen will perform at La Peña Cultural Center (3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley) on May 10, is the culmination of two years of letters between Mariposa and Allen.
This will mainly be a letter writing event. There will be a brief case overview of political prisoners that have signed onto the June 11th event, and attendees will provide direct support for long-term anarchist prisoners by selecting a pen-pal and mailing them words of solidarity. There might be drinks and refreshments.
Join California Coalition for Women Prisoners for a performance of Mariposa & the Saint and a conversation about the shocking conditions in California’s women’s prisons and what can be done to change them.
In 2012, Mariposa was sentenced to fifteen months in solitary confinement. In 2015, she is still in a special confinement unit. Through letters with longtime friend Julia Steele Allen, who met her through a CCWP prison visiting team, Mariposa brings her experience to the stage.
Written by Sara (Mariposa) Fonseca & Julia Steele Allen
Directed by Noelle Ghoussaini
A Benefit for the California Coalition for Women Prisoners.
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Doors open at 7:00 pm, play begins promptly at 7:30 pm
“It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society… And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
It turned out to be Baltimore. The police murder of Black, brown and poor people has not stopped despite the Black Lives Matter movement–if anything, instead it has accelerated. An escalation of resistance was due, and now it has begun. Oakland has its own contribution to make to the struggle. Join us in discussing the way forward.
After a period of public comment, the Oakland Public Safety Committee will again take up recommendations from the ad hoc Committee on the Domain Awareness Center Privacy Policy.
— a strong privacy policy in place for the DAC.
— creation of a privacy policy for the City of Oakland
— a surveillance equipment acquisition ordinance, demanding open and transparent processes before acquiring such devices.
The Oakland Privacy Working Group asks you to come and stand and speak in support of these proposals, which will make Oakland a model for privacy across the nation.
Join us for tabling, flyering, and door-knocking Wednesday May 13 @ 5 p.m. and Saturday May 16 @ noon. Both @ Ashby BART station. #15Now
— 15 Now Berkeley (@15NowBerkeley) May 11, 2015
Join us on May 13th, as the Boycott Sprouts campaign brings the ruckus to Sprouts in Daly City! Let’s make sure they get the message that we don’t want them building a big box Supermarket on OUR public farmland in Albany, CA.
Meet up to coordinate rides and logistics at 5:45 at 3090 King Street in Berkeley, please be on time so we can depart at 6:00 pm!
Commemorate the 30th anniversary of the horrific police bombing of the MOVE Organization in Philadelphia, by coming out to see the new film, ‘Let the Fire Burn.’ The film tells the story of the police attack on the group’s office which burned an entire neighborhood. The bombing was the culmination of an ongoing campaign against the radical Black ecological group.
This event is part of a build up to the ‘No More Locked Doors’ Conference at Qilombo in Oakland on Saturday, May 16th.
“Faith Against Fracking” is an inspirational documentary exploring the intersection of various California communities and expressing our collective responsibility to move the planet off of toxic fossil fuels and onto a truly clean energy economy. Clergy from various faith traditions call on Governor Brown, as a person of faith himself, to ban deleterious extraction practices. Throughout the film, the faith leaders expound on a number of different spiritual themes that hold true across faith traditions, including protecting creation and honoring the Golden Rule.
Download flyer (PDF)
Iceland bailed out its citizens and jailed the bankers. Now they are thinking of a new system for their monetary policy. Join us for a discussion about Iceland, this proposal, and their recovery from their financial collapse.
Reading:
The Politics of Debt Reading Group is affiliated with the Bay Area Public School and Strike Debt Bay Area.
Phil Tagami, developer of the new Global Logistics Center at the former Oakland Army Base in West Oakland, promised in 2013 that “CCIG is publicly on record as having no interest or involvement in the pursuit of coal-related operations at the former Oakland Army Base.”
Now, in 2015, Tagami is poised to allow four Utah Counties to use public money to invest $53 million to turn the new Oakland port project into a massive coal export terminal. If allowed to move forward, millions of tons of dirty, toxic, climate-killing coal will roll through West Oakland on mile long trains, creating toxic pollution in a community already overburdened by heavy industry.
Tagami hopes to close the deal with Utah by June – so NOW is the time to act! Join us to demand that Tagami keep his promise and say NO to coal in Oakland!
This action is being organized by Diablo Rising Tide (DiRT) in collaboration with many allies.
On May 14, just six days before the current contract expires, postal workers across the country will hold events organized around the theme, “I Stand with Postal Workers.” Join us!
With the union’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with the U.S. Postal Service set to expire in less than a month, APWU negotiators and union members are turning up the heat. Postal workers are demanding Good Postal Service! Good Jobs! Good Contract! As negotiations draw to a close, postal workers need a strong demonstration of support.
CSU East Bay Department of Communication and the Graduate Communication Society Presents:
#BlackLivesMatter: Civil Rights Social Justice in the 21st Century
Featuring: Dr. Andreana Clay, Families Seeking Justice panel, three student panels, and a hosted reception.
The Graduate Communication Society at CSU East Bay hosts a graduate student conference surrounding themes related to social justice issues in a 21st Century context. Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Andreana Clay, Associate Professor at San Francisco State University, Her book, The Hip-Hop Generation Fights Back: Youth Activism and Post-Civil Rights Politics (NYU Press, 2012) explores how youth of color organize and identify as activists in the post civil rights era. Her articles on hip-hop culture, queer sexuality, youth activism, and hip-hop feminism have appeared in several anthologies and academic journals, including Home Girls Make Some Noise!: A Hip-Hop Feminist Anthology, the American Behavioral Scientist, and Meridians: A Journal of Race, Feminism, and Transnationalism. Read her blog, QueerBlackFeminist, at queerblackfeminist.blogspot.com.
Also presenting is the panel Families Seekig Justice with 2015 Gene Young Award Recipient and Oscar Grant’s uncle, Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson; mother of Alan Blueford, Jeralynn Blueford; mother of James Rivera, Dionne Smith Downs; and Angela Naggie, mother of O’Shaine Evans. Families Seeking Justice panel will be moderated by Cat Brooks, co-chair of the Onyx Organizing Committee.
There will be three student panels discussing research on topics related to the following broad themes:
Online activism
Identity and race in the 21st Century
Feminism and gender activism in the hashtag era
Schedule
Noon-12:30 — Check-in
12:30-3:30pm — Student panels
4-5pm — Families Seeking Justice
5-6pm — Keynote speaker Dr. Adreana Clay
6-7pm — Reception
Check back for more info at the conference web site: http://commgscon.blogspot.com
Bay Area comics perform STAND UP! Comedy: Featuring Natasha Muse, with Veronica Porras, Lalique D’Bruzzi and Emily Van Dyke. Natasha Muse is a performer and writer of comedy in the Bay Area. She is also a skeptic, an agnostic, and at least the second funniest trans-sexual you know––guaranteed. Come to the emerging and energizing OMNI COMMONS and laugh with us while you support autonomous education for indigenous Zapatista children.