Calendar
Recently, the Qilombo Collective has been ordered to move the garden, and the people feel like there should be space in the city for people to learn, organize and work free of corporate pressure. So the fight is beginning to take shape, and on May 28, everyone is invited to the Anti-Eviction Block Party at the Afrikatown Garden. I hope to see you there.
May 14, May 21, May 28, June 4, June 11, June 18, June 25, 1-5pm
Using news photographs, memorabilia, reconstructed objects, documentary fragments, and original documents, contemporary artist Kate Haug re-tells the story of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last monumental social protest prior to his assassination. The exhibition features images and objects culled from Haug’s extensive research in the archives of the Associated Press, the popular press, and eBay, which have not been seen together before, bringing to life the complex ambition of King’s vision.
King began organizing the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) in 1967 to unify America’s poor across class rather than racial lines, believing that economic parity was key to African American equality within the United States. The PPC culminated with a 3,000 person shanty town named Resurrection City, constructed on the National Mall in Washington DC. Resurrection City drew people from all over the country, was the nineteen sixties version of the 1932 Bonus March and a predecessor to “Occupy”. The exhibition time frame for this show mirrors many of the actual dates of the campaign, tracing the Resurrection City’s opening day to its final destruction.
The PPC echoes aspects of current social movements such as Black Lives Matter, Fight for Fifteen, and Our Walmart. In San Francisco, a city with one the highest rates of income inequality in the United States, King’s work asks pointed questions about the contemporary social contract and the democratic promise of America.
News Today: A History of the Poor People’s Campaign in Real Time runs from April 9, 2016 to June 25, 2016.
Gallery Talks:
Sat May 14, 2pm:
Justin Gomer Ph.D., Lecturer, American Studies, UC Berkeley
A discussion of the images in News Today as they relate to the shifting political landscape in the years after 1968.
Sat May 21, 2pm:
E.C. Feiss, Ph.D. Student, Art History, UC Berkeley
The Politics of Display
Bernie Socialist Workshop
The History of Socialism in America
from Robert Owens’ utopian experiment in 1825
to Bernie’s political revolution of 2016.
A slide presentation by Eugene Ruyle,
Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Cal State, Long Beach
As a democratic socialist, Bernie Sanders is leading a political revolution to transform a political system run by the billionaire class into one that represents working and middle class Americans and creates more opportunity for everyone. This workshop will take a closer look at Bernie’s socialism by placing it within the global context of two centuries of struggle against the capitalist system. This will allow a better understanding of how Bernie has adapted socialism to the United States in the Twenty First Century
Community Feed / BBQ and a First Amendment protest regarding police brutality. We are demanding an end to “Stop & Frisk” and other domestic terror tactics used by Stockton Police.
OAKLAND SHUTTLE BUS TO STOCKTON AT 12:30 PM FROM OSCAR GRANT PLAZA, 14th AND BROADWAY.
Join us on Saturday May 28th at 6pm for an evening of food, speakers and music to support long term Political Prisoner, Romaine “Chip” Fitzgerald, and to build solidarity around US Political Prisoners.
The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. On every last Sunday we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.
OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over four years! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally . Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.
At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.
General Assembly Standard Agenda
- Welcome & Introductions
- Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
- Announcements
- (Optional) Discussion Topic
Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.
Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area
San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv
Join David and Cindy to mark the publication of the new, 2nd edition of War is A Lie, a thorough refutation of every major argument used to justify wars, countering the theory that war is an inevitable part of human nature and drawing on evidence from numerous past wars, especially those wars that have been widely defended as just and good. This is a handbook of sorts, a manual to be used in debunking future lies before future wars have a chance to begin. Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org.
Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie, When the World Outlawed War, Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union, The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush, and Tube World (a childrens’ book). He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.
Cindy Sheehan has authored five books, including Peace Mom: A Mother’s Journey Through Heartache to Activism and Revolution, A Love Story, her latest, a love note to Venezuela. Cindy’s oldest child, Casey, was killed in Iraq on April 04, 2004 in a war that neither she nor he supported. Cindy garnered international notoriety in the summer of 2005 when she camped out at George Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Tx. Cindy is mother to three surviving children and four grandbabies. She divides her time between writing, traveling to work for peace and justice, playing with her grandchildren, and hosting The Soapbox radio show http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com/
Autographed Copies of War Is A Lie will be for sale.
"Questioning Common Enrollment in Oakland" w/ @ShanthiGonzales & @ProfessorJVH @ @RaceForward May 31, 6pm. pic.twitter.com/BFd7N1Ppg3
— annswin (@annswin) May 13, 2016
Join us for the San Francisco theatrical premiere of Killing Them Safely, an explosive 2015 Tribeca Film Festival documentary selection on the controversy over police use and misuse of Tasers.
Following the screening, stay for an important discussion featuring filmmaker, Nick Berardini, and San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi about the film and its implications for the upcoming decision of the San Francisco Police Commission to possibly start outfitting SFPD officers with Tasers.
Co-sponsored by ACLU of Northern California, San Francisco Public Defender’s Racial Justice Committee, Coalition on Homelessness, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus, National Lawyers Guild SF Bay Area Chapter, 48 Hills.
Hundreds of deaths. Zero oversight. In the early 2000s, brothers Tom and Rick Smith revolutionized policing by marketing the Taser to law enforcement agencies. This supposedly safe alternative to handguns was supposed to curb the use of deadly force—so why have over 500 people died from Taser-related injuries since? At a time when questions about police methods are at the forefront of the national dialogue, Killing Them Safely brings together startling archival footage and eye-opening interviews with experts on both sides of the debate to shed much-needed light on an urgent issue.
Directed by Nick Berardini. 2015. USA. 100 min.
Co-sponsored by the BFUU Social Justice Ctee and Task Force on the Americas
Wheelchair accessible.
For occasional email notices of peace/eco/social justice alerts and related events at BFUU, send any email to:
bfuusjev-subscribe [at] lists.riseup.net
For weekly notices of BFUU services etc. go to:
http://www.bfuu.org/signup.html
http://taskforceamericas.org/
#savemidtown #rentcontrol rally. MOH wants to codify rent increases designed to drive out long term Black community from the #Fillmore#blackhomesmatter
Calling the OAKLAND community to join as we let our voices be heard and demand affordable housing now. Be here!!
Advocates from the #SupportMalonga coalition, the Black Arts District, Chinatown, and labor allies just finished a 2-hour meeting with Wood Partners, and they disrespected our community by coming with almost no tangible commitments and details on our very specific set of meaningful community requests below.
Even though their investors, CBRE Global, earn $9 billion annually and Wood Partners as a national firm owns over $8 billion in developments across the country, they tried to pretend like they didn’t have the resources to build an inclusive development that can meet the neighborhood’s needs, and absolutely refuse to contribute to the city’s affordable housing goals, even as they stand to make over $70 million in profit on this project.
We really need to turn out at least 20-30 speakers tomorrow to ask the Planning Commission to postpone decision on the project for at least another 2-4 weeks to allow for more serious mediation, and to not approve the development without significant community benefits, so please come if you can!
5:30pm > Community Check-In In Front of City Hall
6:00pm > Sign-up to Speak at City Council Chambers
6:30pm > 226 13th Street Agenda Item Open for Comments
Each speaker gets 2 minutes each, and those who sign-up can cede their time for an additional 1 minute for a speaker who needs more time.
If you can’t make it, please send a quick e-mail to Planning Commissioners sharing why Oakland needs development without displacement:
jmoore.ocpc@gmail.com, nagrajplanning@gmail.com, amandamonchamp@gmail.com, jmyres.oakplanningcommissi
(And CC lailan.huen@gmail.com so we have a copy!)
Community Requests:
1) Target Affordable Housing as designated by the Lake Merritt Specific Plan goals for 15-28% affordable units in all new housing for low and moderate income tenants, including the need for affordable family housing with at least 3 bedrooms.
2) Include affordable retail space on 14th Street for the Black Arts Movement and Business District to have a visible presence, including a black arts collective gallery and shop, space for childcare and nonprofits, and black-owned businesses such as a bookstore and cafe that will help to bring the BAMBD to life.
3) Public open space that is accessible to members of the public and Chinatown and Black Arts Movement Business District communities. The Lake Merritt Specific Plan calls for publicly accessible open space in any development larger than half a block, this one is an entire block, and this development was designed to exclude the public from the open space.
4) A commitment to direct the Public Art Fee to support artists working with the Black Arts Movement Business District, the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, and Chinatown to honor African-American and Chinese heritage and history in Oakland.
5) Include 25 parking spaces for Malonga and Starlite staff and residents to lease, or make a $50,000 contribution to the Parking Mitigation Fund to mitigate the fact that this development will take away about 225 parking spaces currently accessible to the public for visiting the Malonga Center, an internationally renowned city-run arts institution.
6) Good Neighbor Contributions to Local Projects that will work to prevent displacement of Chinatown and the Black Arts Movement Business District and strengthen the neighborhood and its existing residents.
7) Commitment to a labor agreement that includes 50% local hire, hiring minority contractors, sub-contractors and staff, at living wages.
Today at 5:30pm, at @SFCity_Hall, let's show them how we feel about tasers.. #Frisco500 pic.twitter.com/KS3trB932Y
— Equipto (@EQUIPTO) June 1, 2016
Help Food and Water Watch stop fracking before it begins in Alameda County. They are bringing legislation before the County Board of Supervisors to outlaw the practice before it begins (there is currently no fracking in Alameda County, but you never know when it could start…)
Snacks.
Vigil for #AmilcarPerezLopez at Mission Police station 6 pm every Wed til @GeorgeGascon announces if #sfpd charged pic.twitter.com/TiyAAbsH6F
— Steve Rhodes (@tigerbeat) May 19, 2016
Meet with community advocates in the fight against homelessness, those without houses, Berkeley City Councils staffers and interested citizens to discuss progress on Tiny Homes solutions to homelessness, and starting a Tiny Homes village.
The Other Barrio, is a wonderful movie that takes on gentrification in San Francisco in a Noir setting.
Post film discussion.
Open as MANY homes as possible…
Hold them as long as possible…
Justice 4 Jessica Williams
Community Press Conference
Thursday at 11 AM
Bayview Police Station
201 Williams St. SF@MaryMad— LolaLolaLola (@Lola_Casanova) May 31, 2016