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.
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
The Sheriff wants to build a new $55 million jail expansion at Santa Rita for treating mentally ill inmate. It needs to be stopped in its tracks and the money redirected to mental health treatment outside of jail.
We’ve got some momentum to re-invigorate and have a lot to discuss with the decarceration plan. Here a tentative agenda for 7/28, feel free to add additional items by directly replying to me.
- Check in
- What’s happening, what’s coming up in the community
- LeeLoo Update
- Individual and org commitments
- Shared leadership structure and coalition admin.
- agenda setting
- meeting location
- facilitation
- meeting frequency
- listservs
- Decarceration Plan
•COMMUNITY ALERT•
The #Justice4MarioWoods Coalition Invites YOU to a Special Community •TOWN HALL MEETING• Details👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/Y97zgp84Dg— HipHop4Justice (@rezurxn) June 1, 2016
Transition Berkeley & the Ecology Center Present: “Occupy the Farm” film & discussion
6:30 refreshments, 7 pm event
Please join us to witness an incredible drama that took place in our own back yard in 2012 and that continues to unfold today. Occupy the Farm tells the story of 200 urban farmers who walk onto a publicly-owned farm in Albany, California and plant two acres of crops in order to save the land from becoming a real-estate development. This direct action set up a vibrant tent village on land destined to become condos, while their crops blocked the development plans of UC Berkeley.
Director Todd Darling will be present for Q&A, and the event will include updates on the current status of the farm and the developers. Copies of the DVD will be available for purchase at the event. Sponsored by: Transition Berkeley, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee, and the Ecology Center.
Bring: a local snack or refreshment to share at 6:30 pm if you like
This is the most important election in decades. The billionaire class, their media, and their two parties are trembling as the 99% rally around Bernie’s platform. Kshama Sawant, the Socialist Alternative Seattle city councilmember has launched a petition for Bernie to run independently through November and over 30,000 people have signed! We’re done playing their two-party game!
Join us to discuss questions like: can the Democrats help win fundamental change? Should Sanders run as an independent? Why are millions of people interested in socialism? Do we need a party of the 99%? What should we do next month if the Hill steals the nomination?
Speakers
Luci Riley – Movement4Bernie
Erin Brightwell – Socialist Alternative
Kevin McLoughlin – Socialist Party Ireland, General Secretary
Berkeley Post Office Defenders presents Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for US President.
In addition to Ms. Stein, there will be other speakers who will cover such topics as
– Preservation of Berkeley’s main post office and other public resources in the face of privatization manipulations by high profit corporations
– Unified protection of union jobs as USPS attempts to move postal services to Staples
– Eco-wise use of common space resiliance after destruction of our community information, clothing, book, plant and seed sharing Center
– Access to the Berkeley Post Office Community Garden -Remove the ugly metal postal police fence
– Support for tiny houses initiatives as pro developer politicians criminalize homelessness
– Postal Banking- no more bail outs, debt slavery,predatory lenders and private banking fraud
– UPSURGING Political voice/action in the face of corporate control of government and media
– An update on Berkeley’s response to Department of Justice attempt to threaten the cities ordinance to protect historic commons
– An update of community garden with over the fence seed ball planting
Join us for MUSIC with Hali Hammer and postal worker and activist Dave Welsh
Speakers may include:
– Mike Wilson from Berkeley Post Office Defenders
– Shirley Taylor, from the APWU (postal workers’ union)
– Jesse Arreguin, Berkeley City Councilor whose district the downtown Post Office is in, and candidate for Berkeley Mayor.
– Mike Zint, First They Came for the Homeless
