Calendar
November 4, 2015, marks the one-year anniversary of the passage of Proposition 47, The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. Thousands of people have been released from prison and jail. More than 150,000 have already applied to erase old felonies from their records, unlocking opportunities for jobs, education, and more. An estimated one million Californians are eligible for relief under this new law and only have two more years to apply.
But we can’t rest now. There is a growing threat that the savings from releasing people from prison might be directed back into further incarceration and programs led by law enforcement, not services that are owned by the community. The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) has scheduled its first of seven regional meetings on the implementation of Proposition 47 right here in Oakland. It’s part of a statewide tour to gather public input on our funding priorities, and we must tell them we want care, not cages.
Will you join us for a rally and concert, and accelerate momentum for change into the future as we march over to the hearing and demand the savings be spent in the community not in jails?
4-6 pm: Concert and Rally at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater
6-8 pm: Mobilization to Public Hearing on Prop 47 at Alameda County Administration Building (1221 Oak Street, Oakland).
Sponsors: Bay Area Black Worker Center, BOCA, Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), Causa Justa – Just Cause, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), East Bay Community Law Center, East Oakland Building Healthy Communities, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Oakland Community Organizations, Oakland Rising, People United for a Better Life in Oakland (PUEBLO), Urban Peace Movement.
We hope you will join us tomorrow evening to learn about the Berkeley Fair Elections Act, a proposal that would create a small donor public financing system in our city.
In Berkeley, we need a system where candidates can successfully run for office even if they don’t have connections to wealth. The Berkeley Fair Elections Act, which is being put to a city council vote on November 10, would allow candidates to do exactly just that!
Learn what you can do to help make sure this proposal makes it to the ballot for a vote.
In order to give Berkeley voters the opportunity to create a more equitable political system, we need you, your neighbors and your colleagues to spread the word.
Together, we can amplify the voice of Berkeley voters.
Join the Oakland Privacy Working Group to organize against Stingrays being acquired by Alameda County agencies, for various privacy ordinances to be passed by the Oakland City Council, against the Domain Awareness Center (DAC), Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub, and against other invasions of privacy by our benighted City, County, and State Governments. We are also engaged in the fight against Urban Shield, and Predictive Policing.
OPWG was instrumental in stopping the DAC from becoming a city-wide spying network, and its members helped draft the Privacy Policy that puts further restrictions on the now Port-restricted DAC.
Stop by and learn how you can help guard Oakland’s right not to be spied on by the government & if you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy Working Group email listserv, send an email to:
oaklandprivacyworkinggroup-subscribe AT lists.riseup.net
For more information on the DAC check out
This award winning film documents African struggles vs colonialism. It is based on the writing of Franz Fanon and narrated by Lauryn Hill. The film: • Has documentary footage of African anti-imperialist liberation movements. • Shows rare interviews and footage from Angola to Zimbabwe, to coercive measures used to stop employees from striking in a Liberian town to women’s participation in the struggle for liberation in Mozambique. • It is timely given the questions movements for change are grappling with now. The screening is a fundraiser to help get a multi-racial delegation of grassroots women and men to the upcoming international Caring, Survival & Justice vs the Tyranny of the Market, in London, England on November 14-15. It’s rare we have the opportunity as grassroots activists from different movements around the world of coming together to share and plan. We urgently need help with airfares, which are a great financial challenge to a number of the activists who want to take part. The conference is part of the global campaign for a living wage for all workers everywhere including mothers and other caregivers. Sign Petition! Called by: Global Women’s Strike Omni Collective and Haiti Action Committee; Sponsored by: Marcus Bookstore & KPFA Radio; Endorsers to date: All of Us or None, Chiapas Support Committee, Queer Strike, US PROStitutes Collective |
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT
there will be no tickets available at the door.
Coates is recently famous for his cover story in The Atlantic, “Between the World and Me” – now a book, hailed by Toni Morrison as “required reading,” a bold and personal literary exploration of America’s racial history by “the single best writer on the subject of race in the United States.” This KPFA benefit will be hosted by Greg Williams.
Long-time McDonald’s shift lead and fast food union organizer Sandra Roman, who has worked at the McDonald’s at 4514 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland for over 2 years, was fired yesterday, Oct. 27th. In response, fast food workers, union organizers community supporters and clergy staged a 3 hour protest to demand that Ms. Roman be reinstated immediately. Despite heavy police presence, the demonstrators forced McDonald’s to close its doors for the rest of the night.
EBOC will be holding an action tomorrow to keep the pressure on, we are winning and are pushing forward further charges. The manager admittedly fired Sandra for demanding her legal sick days on the same day The City of Oakland sent a retaliation notification to the company. WE WILL MEET AT THE STORE TOMORROW AT 11AM and will keep the pressure on throughout the day. Please come out when you can tomorrow and let your networks know. We continue to win fights like these with support from the community and Sandra’s coworkers are fully behind her.
Ms. Roman is a mother of 4 children, and struggles every day to provide a decent quality of life for her family. Without legally-guaranteed paid sick days, she would have to make the difficult choice between missing a days pay or caring for her diabetic son. She has gone on strike 7 times in the past to demand a pay raise to $15/hour and the right to form a union, and is a well-known fast food organizer.
See you out there!
Please join with us, the family of Yuvette Henderson, thier legal team and supporters as we show solidarity and make public legal steps to bring justice in the case of Yuvette Henderson who was killed by Emerville Police on the Oakland/Emeryville border in February of this year.
Media Alert: Fed Lawsuit to be filed on behalf of #YuvetteHenderson. Press conf 10/29 at noon, #Oakland Federal Bldg https://t.co/JiL94E9zlP
— APTP First Response (@aptpresponse) October 28, 2015
Ditch and Switch: How California Can End Fossil Fuel Extraction and Embrace 100% Wind and Solar is sponsored by Center for Biological Diversity and features Stanford scientist Mark Jacobson and Center for Biological Diversity climate law expert Kassie Siegel. They will discuss how and why California—the country’s third-largest oil-producing state—must halt fracking, move away from dirty fossil fuel extraction, and quickly embrace a clean-energy future.
To avoid climate change’s worst dangers, most fossil fuels must stay in the ground. Yet Californians remain dependent on an industry that is killing us.
Jacobson engages in ground-breaking research on achieving a transformation to 100 percent wind and solar. Siegel is a leader in the movement to keep California’s dirty oil in the soil.
As we approach the landmark Paris climate talks, come hear about these paradigm-shifting strategies to achieve climate justice.
Space is limited so RSVP soon!
Doors open at 6:30. Moderated discussion at 7pm.
BFUU-Escalating Inequality Forum:
Define Accountability.
Who trains the Police to serve the public (is public defined)?
Who selects the Police Academy candidates?
What is the Police Academy syllabus?
Use of Force or Use of Words?
How do we end race-based policing!
Who allocates funding for your PD?
How many Police Academy candidates are ex-military?
How many served in Iraq or Afghanistan…how many of those have PTSD?
Should a Social Worker Degree be required for all Police Officers
Is karma relevant? Every action has a consequence.
Should living in Berkeley be a requirement for all Berkeley Police Officers?
Panel:
Ms. Richie Smith
Proverbial Mayor of South Berkeley/Long time member of NAACP/Retired Teacher/Great Grandmother
Ms. Amanda Weatherspoon
3rd year MDiv student, Starr King School for the Ministry/Member Black Lives Matter
Mr. Jesse Arreguin
Member of Berkeley City Council
PTBNL
*Retired Member Berkeley Police Department
Celebrate the legacy of the Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast Program and hear stories of how this legacy has inspired various food justice activists from around the Bay Area.
This workshop will feature collective storytelling and interactive meal preparation by activist panel members. We will be cooking a “stone soup” with the ingredients that symbolize each activists’ struggle and how it was inspired by the Panther’s Free Breakfast Program. We will break bread together afterwards. In partnership with Destiny Arts Center, part of the Ruckus n’ Resiliency Series.
There will be music provided by local artists, including Missisippi Delta reggae artist Obeyjah and a Bay Area Fandango.
RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/njetsuq
Hosted by Black Panthers Aunti Frances Moore and Melvin Dickson (head cook for the Black Panther Oakland Community School), the workshop will include panelist members:
-Brent Walker (Phat Beets CSA Coordinator and Farmer)
– Cathy Leonard (Santa Fe CAN)
– Ana Galvis-Martinez (Cafe Panamericano)
-Joy Moore (garden teacher in the Berkeley Unified School District and long-time food activist)
-Joe Liesner (East Bay Food Not Bombs)
-Haleh Zandi (Planting Justice-pending)
-More panelists to follow…
The panel will be followed by a community pumpkin/squash pie contest (Bring a pie, win a prize!) and live music.
Panel followed by a community pumkin/squash pie contest (Bring a pie, win a prize) and live music.
We’ll be hosting our first of a potentially bi-monthly pop-up bazaar featuring local artists, artisans and craftmakers. Stop by anytime between 12-8pm and peruse a phantasmagorical cornucopia of objects and imbibements to titillate the tongue, warm the belly, inspire the mind and adorn the body!
The mission of these Collabazaars is to create a sustainable model for fundraising for the Omni’s monthly expenses while simultaneously providing local makers in our community with income and visibility to support their continued creative / artistic / crafty / culinary endeavors.
As the sun sets both tonight and tomorrow, the Omni will metamorphize into a haunted house befitting of its creepy cavernous and labrynthian corners!
Collaborators:
* Francisco Jimenez, Tucan Vinegars: Selling delicious homemade Costa Rican-style vinegars. Free tastings available!
* Abby Normal Art by Antoinette Gaggero
* Liberation Food Coop: Fair trade, fresh-roasted coffee and a variety of teas to sample.
* Youth Liberation Zines by STINNEY DISTRO
* Live painting by Nikki Lee Drum (http://www.nikkileedrum.com/)
* Musical mosaics: Hand-crafted instruments that can be played and used as unique art pieces.
* Kangs’ Necklaces: Wire Wrapped Gems & Stones
* BerrytheMaker selling her household overstock of accumulated treasures, cheap!
* Sudo Room’s 3D printers will be printing out original magnet designs throughout the day
If you’re interested in running a booth (with a percentage of sales going to the Omni Commons) at future Collabazaars, please contact collabazaar@omnicommons.org
Halloween at Noon – Come to the Cal Bears football game and help build public support for People’s Park as a California State Park. Help save People’s Park and stop the housing plan.
Bring Signs! Bring your memories of People’s Park! Bring your aspirations for People’s Park!
SAVE CALIFORNIA HISTORY! SAVE PEOPLE’S PARK!
RALLY AGAINST THE STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
The UC Berkeley Department of Architecture and Chancellor Nick Dirks has announced their housing plan to replace People’s Park. The Dept of Architecture has been trying to build student support for the housing department, as have the student staff of the Chancellor.
Nick Dirks knows that in 4 years, People’s Park can be taken away from the University and made into a California State Park.
People’s Park had previously not been part of UC Berkeley’s development plan, and was going to be left as a Park until at least the year 2020. UC Berkeley had spent funds looking into altering the Park’s landscape, and possibly placing a cafe on the lot. The Park was going to be changed, but left as an open space, just under tighter control of the UC.
But Dirks is currently aware that UC Berkeley cannot wait until 2020. In 2019, the Park would go to the California State Parks. Now UC Berkeley has changed plans, and is going to clear out the lot to develop a student housing complex.
San Francisco by the real estate boom. Inspired by the clarion voices and acerbic, puckish humor
of Earth Firsters! Daryl Cherney and Judi Bari (R.I.P.), we’ll renew our commitment to claiming
the earth as the birthright of all . . . and that means claiming the socially-generated value of
“location, location, location” as a community property right.
So, bring your tales of those who have departed, and we’ll honor those good folk, but anticipate
a renewal of your own spirit in challenging the pip-squeak, anemic, relativist housing rights attitudes of
San Francisco politicos and activists who demur demanding socializing market land values as
the property of the people!
Kids and live music welcome. RSVPs are welcome in our planning the vegetarian menu portions.
RSVP: info@TheCommonsSF.org
In “Killing Mockingbird” (Nov/Dec News & Letters) C. Safos shows how today’s Black Lives Matter movement totally shakes up the ground for debates about iconic American novels that deal with race like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Come participate in discussing this timely exciting topic.
The Community Democracy Project is your connection to direct democracy in Oakland! Convened out of Occupy Oakland in Fall 2011, we’re gathering steam on a campaign to bring the people back in touch with the city’s resources through participatory budgeting.
Picture this: Across Oakland, Neighborhood Assemblies are regularly
held in every community. People come together to tackle the important issues of their neighborhoods and of the city. At these assemblies, people don’t just have discussions–they learn from one another, from city staff, and they make fundamental decisions about how the city should run. They decide the city budget.
Democratic, community budgeting is a powerful step toward building strong communities, real democracy, and economic justice–and it’s being done all over the world.
The budget of the City Oakland totals more than $1 billion per year. Although part of the budget must be used for specific purposes, still over half of the budget–over $500 billion per year–consists of general purpose funds paid by the taxes, fees, and fines of the people of Oakland. The Mayor and the City Council decide the city budget, with minimal input from the community.
Working together, we will not only get a seat at the table–we will REBUILD the table itself. Participatory democracy is real democracy–join us to say: Local People, Local Resources, Local Power!
Free Movie: Concerning Violence (2014 documentary directed by Göran Hugo Olsson – 85 minutes) Olsson artfully elucidates Frantz Fanon’s (“The Wretched of the Earth”) psychiatric and psychological analysis of dehumanizing effects of colonization on the individual and the nation.
COME OUT to support friend and comrade Janye during his preliminary hearing in court this monday! The lawyer says this is an IMPORTANT day to have a big turn out, so let’s PACK THE COURTROOM!
Details:
Janye was arrested a few weeks ago in an obvious case of racial profiling, the cops saying he ‘fit the description’ for a crime he had nothing to do with (which the witness immediately confirmed). While he was in custody, detectives questioned him about his involvement in the protests last year that followed the non-indictment of the murderers of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. After thousands took to the streets, Janye is the only person currently facing charges, and the charges are serious. He has been singled out, and we can’t let them divide and conquer us like that! PLEASE COME OUT ON MONDAY 9AM at WILEY MANUEL COURTHOUSE! Dept 115.
IF YOU CANT COME, or you are able, please considering donating to Janye’s support fund, he owes some money for his hefty 8,000 bail, and might be facing lawyer fees as high as 10,000. https://rally.org/f/
ALSO Janye is looking for work, he has begun college and was studying accounting. Do you know of any job opportunities for him? get in touch!
November 10th’s City Council Meeting could be a historic point in the struggle against poverty wages in America, with Berkeley possibly passing the first ‘more than 15’ in the country. This would not only carry on the momentum of the fight for fifteen nationally, but would remind folks that 15 isn’t the end goal. We want more, as much as we can win.
On November 2, join 15 Now Berkeley for its final planning session prior to the city council meeting. We will discuss outreach actions leading up to Nov 10, our plans for Nov 10, and possible next steps. This is a really important meeting and it would be great to have lots of folks show up to it. Consider coming and having some input!