Calendar
“There is no other force, there is no other party, there is no other real ideology out there right now that is asserting the minimum elements necessary to lead a dignified American life.” – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DSA member and likely future congresswoman, on democratic socialism in Vogue Magazine
It’s 2018 and socialism is ascendent. The political revolution that Bernie Sanders set in motion with his insurgent campaign in the 2016 presidential primary continues to build in intensity. More and more people are standing up to say that they’ve had enough with a system that puts profit over people, that puts the wealth of the few over the dignity and flourishing of the many.
Democratic socialists all over the country are fighting for an improved and expanded Medicare for All healthcare system, a federal jobs guarantee, universal rent control, tuition-free public education pre-K through college or trade school, a powerful, militant labor movement, and the abolishment of ICE.
We’re winning elections, we’re building explicitly socialist institutions, we’re training effective socialist organizers, and we’re introducing millions of people to real-world anti-capitalist politics.
Come on out to a picnic in the park to learn more about democratic socialism and get involved in our local activities here in the East Bay. New members and not-yet-members are welcome!
Join the community protest of mass incarceration and immigrant internment at the Richmond jail, aka West County Detention Facility (WCDF)! Asylum applicants from the border are often relocated there, so those who’ve had their kids taken away from them may be held at WCDF. The cruel, racist separations rent by immigration, policing and cash bail policies deal terrible emotional and economic injuries on our loved ones, neighbors, and communities. We must fight to free our peoples!
• LEARN from Pastor Rhina Ramos of Plymouth Church about her work in the LGBTQ+ immigrant community
• HEAR impacted family members share testimonials
• SHOUT with the Let Our People Go community circle
• and MORE to be announced shortly
LET OUR PEOPLE GO is a youth-and-elder-friendly action that opposes the immorality of detentions/deportations and mass incarceration with activist debriefs, music, art, stories, poetry, interactive small groups, and representation from various faith communities and faithless humanists. Accessible site with parking, plus bathrooms right inside in the visitors waiting room.
The monthly Let Our People Go protests were initiated by members of Kehilla Community Synagogue on the 2nd Sunday of every month at 11am, modeled in part on the first Saturday vigils held by our partners at Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity. A grassroots effort, Let Our People Go is organized by volunteers from Kehilla’s Immigration Committee and Congregation Beth El. The ongoing participation from regular attendees is what creates a powerful community circle, a sustained message of resistance to the powers that lets detainees and their loved ones know that estamos en la lucha con ellos. **If your school, network, affinity group or congregation is interested in getting involved, contact us at letourpeoplego@kehillasynagogue.org.**
A one-hour protest, Let Our People Go is a way for our communities—especially those with citizenship privileges—to stand up for our peoples and bring more attention to this immoral site of internment right in our community. We aim to convey a sustained message of resistance to the right wing’s racist, xenophobic, anti-Muslim, ableist, transphobic, homophobic, misogynist ramp up of authoritarian policing, mass incarceration and deportation practices—if not now, when?
NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:
occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
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 for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. 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. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)
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 six years, since October 2011! 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
Normally meeting on the 1st Thursday of the month, OPAC will meet instead on the 9th in July.
Agenda:
4. 5:15pm: Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – status update regarding department outreach for survey of existing equipment.
5. 5:20pm: Discuss and create working group for review of Federal law enforcement task force agreements.
6. 5:30pm: Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – “Large Scale Event- Warriors Parade”. Receive and take possible action on staff informational report.
7. 5:40pm: Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – Police Department – “Ride Along” software application. Review and take possible action on Anticipated Impact Report.
8. 6:10pm: Police Department proposal to amend City retention schedule pertaining to Body Worn Camera footage. Review and take possible action on proposal.
OTU’s Mission
The Oakland Tenants Union is an organization of housing activists dedicated to protecting tenant rights and interests. OTU does this by working directly with tenants in their struggle with landlords, impacting legislation and public policy about housing, community education, and working with other organizations committed to furthering renters’ rights. The Oakland Tenants Union is open to anyone who shares our core values and who believes that tenants themselves have the primary responsibility to work on their own behalf.
Monthly Meetings
The Oakland Tenants Union meets regularly at 7:00 pm on the second Monday evening of each month. Our monthly meetings are held in the Community Room of the Madison Park Apartments, 100 – 9th Street (at Oak Street, across from the Lake Merritt BART Station). To enter, gently knock on the window of the room to the right of the main entrance to the building. At the meetings, first we focus on general issues affecting renters city-wide and then second we offer advice to renters regarding their individual concerns.
If you have an issue, a question, or need advice about a tenant/landlord issue, please call us at (510) 704-5276. Leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will get back to you.
Despite SF's sanctuary policy, SFPD raided the @occupyicesf camp early this morning–when local media wouldn't be around to document. A few injuries.
TOMORROW: Demand the SF Board of Supervisors support #AbolishICE and break up with any bank that finances private prisons pic.twitter.com/KA1OZKTJDt
— SF Public Bank Coalition (@sfpublicbank) July 9, 2018
The Ella Baker Center will host a mail night at our office to respond to the increasing amount of correspondence we’ve been receiving from people in prisons and jails across the country. We are getting lots of questions about prior ballot initiatives including Prop 47 and 57, advocacy support, requests for pen pals and the Ella Baker Center’s work at large. We will also be sending information to people inside about how they can get involved with our priority bills.
Please RSVP to Eric@ellabakercenter.org
#occupyicesf is back baby!!! @occupyicesf pic.twitter.com/6tctGyAX7v
— BITCOINTELPRO (@LiaOffLeash) July 10, 2018
KPFA Radio 94.1 FM presents
Advanced Tickets: Pegasus Books (3 stores), Books Inc (Berkeley), Moe’s, Walden Pond Bookstore, East Bay Books, Mrs. Dalloway’s
What does a middle-class democracy look like when it falls apart? When – after forty years of economic triumph – the country’s fiscal winners persuade themselves that they owe nothing whasoever to the rest of the country? With his exceptionally sharp eye for detail, Thomas Frank takes us on a wide-ranging tour through present day America, showing us a society in the final stages of disintegration, and describing the
worlds of both the winners and the losers—the sprawling mansion districts as well as the daily lives of fast-food workers.
Rendezvous with Oblivion is a collection of interlocking essays examining exactly how grotesque inequality has manifested itself in our cities, in our jobs, in the way we travel, and of course in our politics, where in 2016, millions of anxious ordinary people rallied to the insulting presidential campaign of a billionaire who had only contempt for them.
These accounts of folly and exploitation are brought together in this volume, unified by Frank’s distinctive voice, sardonic wit, and fresh, anti-orthodox perspective. They capture a society where status signifiers are hollow, where the allure of mobility is merely another con job, and where rebellion too often yields nothing. For those who despair of the future of this country, Rendezvous with Obliviion is a booster shot of energy, reality, and welcome moral outrage.
“Thomas Frank combines two things absent from most liberal commentary: muckraking reporting and satiric wit.” — New York Times’ Book Review
Thomas Frank is the author of the New York Times’ bestselling What’s the Matter with Kansas? as well as Listen, Liberal, and Pity the Billionaire, and The Wrecking Crew. A former columnist for The Wall Street Journal and Harper’s, he is the founding editor of The Baffler, and writes regularly for The Guardian.
Kris Welch is a veteran, very popular KPFA on-air host, a mother, and a devoted grandmother.
KPFA benefit
Join a live Q&A via Skype with Ken Ward, one of the valve turners who shut off oil pipelines in October 2016. This discussion of the valve turners’ multi-state civil disobedience action will follow a screening of the documentary film “The Reluctant Radical.” The film follows Ward as he confronts his fears and puts himself in the direct path of the fossil fuel industry to combat climate change.
Join Sunflower Alliance for two fundraisers for the valve turners’ legal defense fund.
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT BROWN PAPER TICKETS (sliding scale)
Richmond: https://bpt.me/3483033;
Oakland: https://bpt.me/3489485
Check out “The Reluctant Radical” trailer here
A climate change film like no other, THE RELUCTANT RADICAL is an intimate character portrait of valve turner Ken Ward, who puts everything on the line in his fight to stave off climate change. Using cinéma vérité storytelling, the film reveals both the personal costs and also the fulfillment that comes from following ones moral callingeven if that means breaking the law.
The film follows Ken for a year and a half, culminating with his participation in the coordinated action that shut down all the U.S. tar sands oil pipelines on October 11, 2016 and the ensuing trial that threatened to put him behind bars for twenty years.
There are many fronts in the vast climate fight; this film highlights the personal struggles and victories of one daring path. -Bill McKibben, Climate Advocate and Founder of 350.org
He was told he was crazy, but crazy is sitting idly by as disaster for young people is knowingly locked in. -Dr. James Hansen, Climate Scientist
ll are welcome to join East Bay DSA’s ongoing Socialist Night School for this special evening on housing politics, in connection with our chapter’s campaign to repeal Costa-Hawkins and win universal rent control & social housing in California.
READINGS HERE: https://www.eastbaydsa.org/resources-readings-socialist-school-2018-summer-session-1
Aside from a short opening lecture, the bulk of class time will be spent in small group discussions where we’ll talk the housing crisis in the East Bay from a socialist perspective, the goal of social housing, and how fighting for Costa-Hawkins can help us unite a mass working-class tenant movement able to systemically kick landlord butt.
All participants are asked to read the readings before class. East Bay DSA members and non-members of any experience/knowledge level on housing politics are all warmly invited.
>>ABOUT SOCIALIST NIGHT SCHOOL<<
Socialist Night School is a rolling open course that provides opportunities for East Bay DSA members to ground their political work in the rich theoretical and historical traditions of the socialist left.
Classes are down-to-earth, inclusive spaces that give East Bay comrades a chance to grow their politics together, regardless of background knowledge or affiliation. You don’t have to have been to a night school before and you don’t have to RSVP to join us! You don’t even have to be a member of East Bay DSA — everyone is welcome.
>>ABOUT EAST BAY DSA’S SOCIAL HOUSING CAMPAIGN<<
Join your neighbors in the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America as we organize to win the Affordable Housing Act, universal rent control, and beautiful social housing for everyone.
Our homes should be homes, not investments for Wall Street and corporate landlords. By organizing our neighbors, standing up to prevent evictions, and winning elections, we are building a mass movement for a housing system that puts people over profit.
Nearly two years after Election Day 2016, Americans’ rights are under siege across the nation, from voter suppression and gerrymandering to police violence and attacks on immigrants. Yet there has also been a surge in civic action to protect these rights, and it is gathering dramatic momentum as we near the midterm elections.
Join America’s preeminent civil rights leader Reverend William J. Barber, architect of North Carolina’s Moral Monday movement and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, and Mother Jones’ senior reporter Ari Berman for an in-depth discussion about the current state of civil rights and democracy, and how we can energize both.
Books will be available for sale; book signing to follow the main program.
Sponsored by Ben & Jerry’s, the San Francisco Foundation, and FreeSpeechTV.
Timothy Faust is a single-payer activist with the Democratic Socialists of America. Over the past year, he has driven 10,000 miles to speak about single-payer to groups of activists, medical students, law students, and general assemblies—32 states so far. With his partner, he hosts HEAVYxMEDICAL, a podcast about health policy and metal music. His book Health Justice Now: Single Payer and What Comes Next will be published by Melville House in 2019.
Join us for a discussion about the need for single-payer healthcare, why this issue is a fight critical for democratic socialists, and what the political landscape looks like.
RSVP
Join a live Q&A via Skype with Ken Ward, one of the valve turners who shut off oil pipelines in October 2016. This discussion of the valve turners’ multi-state civil disobedience action will follow a screening of the documentary film “The Reluctant Radical.” The film follows Ward as he confronts his fears and puts himself in the direct path of the fossil fuel industry to combat climate change.
Join Sunflower Alliance for two fundraisers for the valve turners’ legal defense fund.
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT BROWN PAPER TICKETS (sliding scale)
Richmond: https://bpt.me/3483033;
Oakland: https://bpt.me/3489485
Check out “The Reluctant Radical” trailer here
A climate change film like no other, THE RELUCTANT RADICAL is an intimate character portrait of valve turner Ken Ward, who puts everything on the line in his fight to stave off climate change. Using cinéma vérité storytelling, the film reveals both the personal costs and also the fulfillment that comes from following ones moral callingeven if that means breaking the law.
The film follows Ken for a year and a half, culminating with his participation in the coordinated action that shut down all the U.S. tar sands oil pipelines on October 11, 2016 and the ensuing trial that threatened to put him behind bars for twenty years.
There are many fronts in the vast climate fight; this film highlights the personal struggles and victories of one daring path. -Bill McKibben, Climate Advocate and Founder of 350.org
He was told he was crazy, but crazy is sitting idly by as disaster for young people is knowingly locked in. -Dr. James Hansen, Climate Scientist
OccupyICE encampments and blockades have popped up all over the land called the United States and are building a National Solidarity Coalition to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. Join Abolish ICE SF as we rally and stand vigil for all those locked up and deported, and in solidarity with the #OccupyICESF blockade raided by the San Francisco Police Department on July 9th after being established on July 2nd. We also stand in solidarity with all the OccupyICE actions and blockades across the continent facing local and federal police repression.
Friday, July 13th Candlelight Vigil across the land called the United States to show solidarity with families detained by ICE and announce a national movement going forward together to #AbolishICE
Rally from 7-9pm
Vigil from 9-10pm
Please bring candles, altar materials, photos, song, and medicine to share. Art and signs are welcome.
#OneMillionFlames #AbolishICE #MeltICE #OccupyICE
Other #OccupyICE #OneMillionFlames vigils:
– Detroit: https://www.facebook.com/events/251955815609518/
– Philadelphia: https://www.facebook.com/events/284412115628635/
– Los Angeles: https://www.facebook.com/events/2186903004876420/
– New York City: https://www.facebook.com/events/289738918266462/
Friday July 13th 2018 will mark three turbulent years since our sister Sandra Bland was found dead in a Texas Jail cell. We all know the brutal details of her story and thousands of our fellow Americans have suffered her fate since that mournful day. We will be commemorating Sandra’s life with a silent candlelight vigil this Friday evening in Oakland, gathering at 7:30 pm, followed by a criminal justice reform rally at 8pm. Please take a moment out of your busy schedules to join community activists and leaders, who will be addressing the state of the the movement and a vision for the future.
All criminal justice reform advocates are welcome to attend. Please bring a candle for yourself and bring a friend. California Assembly Candidates Jovanka Beckles, Maria Estrada and James Ellia will be speaking out on why we need to lead a Progressive platform with criminal justice reform. They will be joined by local CJR activists and community leaders. They will be sharing their perspectives on the issues and their vision for the future.
Many allies have become awakened to the suffering our black and brown brothers and sisters face on a daily basis as members of “The Other America” where the simple act of walking with color has grave consequences under the oppressive boot of a corrupt criminal justice system. Many of those Allies have stepped up to become accomplices in the moral awakening of a nation, split into Two Americas.
This issue has galvanized millions across our country to stand up and be counted on the right side of history. This is the Civil Rights issue of our generation. This is our Edmund Pettus Bridge. Do your part by showing up for racial justice. Many hands make light work. This is what Democracy looks like.
Join us as we talk to residents and ask for their support for SB 562, the bill that would establish a single payer, Medicare-for-All healthcare system in California.
We’re turning up the heat across the state to educate the public and continue to build the powerful grassroots support for SB 562. Join us on Saturday July 14 at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland to talk to our neighbors about what Medicare-for-All could do for their lives and ask for their support.
Thanks for joining us in this fight for justice!
Come get trained by Silicon Valley Debug on how you can show up at court in support of those facing a bail hearing. You’ll learn about the bail system in California, how to provide court support, and concrete ways that you can help expose how exploitative money bail is in our state.
Everyday, in county courts across the state, decisions are made that dictate the size, scope, and demographic make up of incarceration in California. It’s at first court appearances where one of the most important decisions is rendered — whether someone will be released while going through the court process or asked to pay bail for their freedom. Because bail amounts are often impossible to reach for many, over 60% of our county jail beds in California are occupied by those who haven’t been convicted of a crime, but rather are there simply because they could not afford the bail amount.
Silicon Valley Debug has been at the forefront of the fight to end money bail in California. One tactic is by witnessing, documenting, and sharing stories about the bail system in our state as part of a statewide campaign called “A Day in Court”.
Observing Arraignments and Bail Hearings can be extremely useful for two key reasons:
1. The courtroom dynamics change and is more accountable when community is present.
2. Monitoring and sharing the activities of court actors across the state can give the public an informed snapshot of the California Court System.
Childcare is available during this event. For those in need of childcare services please email policy@surjbayarea.org for more information.
Silicon Valley De-Bug is a community organizing, advocacy, and a multimedia storytelling organization based out of San José, California. Since its’ inception in 2001, De-Bug has been a platform for Silicon Valley’s diverse communities to impact the political, cultural, and social landscape of the region, while also becoming a nationally recognized model for community-based justice work.
We are meeting at the Lake Merritt Pergola. We are joining in a circle of compassion and clarity to announce that FAMILIES BELONG TOGETHER! #endICE
Co-Sponsors/Endorsers Include:
Anti Police-Terror Project
Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
SURJ – Oakland/Bay Area
The East Oakland Collective
Youth Together
Spectrum Queer Media
The Center for Political Education