@sanasaleem OPD is rotten to its core and Libby’s got to go. Press conference on Tuesday 6/21 at 10 am in front of OPD HQ #byelibby

— APTP First Response (@aptpresponse) June 21, 2016

OPD is rotten to its core and Libby’s got to go

On Tuesday, June 21st at 10:00 AM, the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP), in coalition with Oakland Rising ACTION, Black Lives Matter, Causa Justa, Just Cause, Black Power Network, Ella Baker Center, Asians 4 Black Lives and the Oakland Alliance will hold a press conference in front of the Oakland Police Department.

Oakland’s police department has entered its 13th year of federal oversight, and as investigative reporters, academic researchers and our own soon-to-be ex-mayor have revealed over the last month, it’s clear that nothing has changed since the Riders case.

“OPD is still a bastion of predatory loose cannons who have seen time and again that they will not face accountability for killing, abusing and exploiting our community members,” said Asantewaa Boykin of APTP.

The Oakland community condemns the Mayor’s underwriting of state violence that began when she spent her entire first day in office with OPD. Since that day, OPD has murdered 7 Black men with no consequences.

“Instead of stepping back to acknowledge her mistake, the mayor has doubled down on her support for state-sponsored executions through her words and financial prioritization of policing over the education and employment of our youth,” continued Boykin.

The police department currently squanders 60% of the City of Oakland’s budget. The City Administrator, Mayor and Board of Supervisors have shown and stated that they’re incapable of managing the “frat house” with guns and handcuffs that prowls our streets day and night.

The community demands immediate action and commits to working toward building an Oakland where all of us can live free of police terror.

Demands
1. Community-controlled policing – Establish a fully funded community-nominated and controlled civilian review board with the power to hire, fire and discipline all members of the OPD.
2. Defund OPD and invest in the community – Cut the policing budget in half and redirect those millions into community-run job centers, programming for youth, re-entry resources, mental health services, tenant protections and education and very low-income housing.
3. Address the child sexual exploitation scandal in a meaningful way – Launch a full investigation by an outside agency that will investigate criminal cases influenced by predatory officers and account for the trafficking investigations they have compromised. Additionally, OPD must Publicly state that coercion and enticement of a minor is never the fault of the child.
4. Resignation of Mayor Libby Schaaf

Speak up Oakland! Tell City Council how you feel.

Ya’ll know that “rent is too damn high”. Community has been working hard this year to put into place measures to protect renters by asking the city to enact a ‪#‎HousingMoratorium‬ (which ends July 5th!) and additional ordinances on the November Ballot. Plus, given the recent upheaval with the policy, the Mayor and City Council are looking to reallocate funding from the police budget to other things.

Key items are as follows:

1. Item 16 on the Agenda: The Renter’s Protection Ordinance will do the following:

– Require owners to file a petition for rent increases above 60% Consumer Price Index for Bay Area. Currently, if a tenant gets a drastic rent increase, they have to petition to the city for arbitration, which places the burden of time, money, stress on the renter. This item will ask the landlord to justify the rent increase.
– Modify New Construction Exemptions to apply to developments built after Jan. 2002
– Require relocation funding to tenants in Owner Occupancy Evictions.
– Limit City Council’s ability to modify ordinances
– Increase of the transparency of the Office of Rent Program, requiring regular reports to city council.
– Establish new composition of the Rent Board to have majority renters. (Currently 2 renters, 2 Landlords, 3 neutral members, 1 neutral alternate). Initiative asks for 4 tenant members, 3 other members. One per district). Kaplan’s alternate proposal asks for an increase to 6 alternates.
– Board independence from City Council, City Attorney and City Administration.

Learn more here: http://www.oaklandtenantsunion.org/protect-oakland-renters-…

2. Item 14 on the agenda. Affordable Housing preference policy for local neighborhoods (ie a percentage of affordable housing is reserved for those that live in that district), and a residency or Oakland worker requirement for participants in Oakland’s First Time Buyer Loan Program.

3. Item 13 on the agenda: City Budget adjustments.
– Money for training OPD
– Delaying (Schaaf) or Eliminating (Rebecca Kaplan) the next OPD Training Academy to hire new cops
– Set aside 1.5 Million to fund Police Commission (may soon be voted on to be placed on the ballot in November)

Article: http://m.eastbayexpress.com/…/town-business-delete-the-poli…

Join us for free weekly meditation happy hour on Wednesdays, co-hosted by the Art of Living Eastbay Berkeley/Oakland.

We will teach simple and easy guided meditation and breathing techniques to let go of stress and trauma, let your hair down, and celebrate!

We believe that love is the universal language. We also believe that love is the universal cure to heal what ails societies worldwide. These meditation happy hours are our love offering to the community and are the result of a beautiful new & evolving partnership w/The Art of Living facilitated by Neelam Patil…& the universe ♥

A film about the search for truth & justice for human rights crimes committed by the Salvadoran military during the Civil War in the 1980s. The film follows the efforts by the families of the four U.S. churchwomen raped and murdered in El Salvador in 1980 to bring two leading Salvadoran Generals into a U.S. courtroom. Several Salvadoran survivors of torture are also featured who confront the same Generals in the same Florida courtroom using the same legal concept: command responsibility. 90 min.
Peter Stern, one of the attorneys, will speak after the screening.

Sponsored by the National Lawyers Guild of San Francisco;
For more info about the film: http://www.gailpellettproductions.com/
RSVP: http://www.nlgsf.org/event/justice-and-generals-screening

#Oakland! Take it 2 the streets!- Justice 4 #FreddieGray 4pm at 14th and Broadway. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/JKU9B19VNg

— StopMassIncarceratio (@StopMassIncNet) June 23, 2016

Please come to the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club on Thursday, June 23rd, 7pm, at Humanist Hall for a discussion on forming independent police commissions in Oakland and Berkeley.

Excerpts:  Full article here

It’s not a surprise that Oakland finds itself in the middle of a new police scandal-we’re becoming a bit jaded to the police-chief-musical-chairs situation. But, even those of us who’ve been working on police accountability for years, are shocked and chagrined by what is being revealed about our costly department. We had thought they were on the road to reform, albeit, a rocky, circuitous road filled with breakdowns but it turns out-the changes were only superficial…

In the wake of almost daily revelations, the Anti-Police Terror Project has proposed that Oakland establish a version of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_and_Reconciliation_Commission_(South_Africa)] and this is a brilliant and quite necessary part of a change in how our community is policed. While APTP has yet to detail its proposal, nothing less than a full process of bearing witness by the entire Oakland community will begin to turn around the horrendous situation we find ourselves in…

Oaklanders have spent years, indeed generations, dealing with police brutality, corruption and neglect and it has left a deep residue which damages every aspect of self-government. Indeed distrust, fear and hatred of our most expensive department lies at the heart of distrust and disengagement with local democracy. Our residents need a safe space to tell their stories and finally be heard by those who injured them and by officials who have chosen not to believe them or to consider their concerns in their day-to-day governing of our city…

While police operate in Oakland as they do in the rest of California, with impunity and often disregard for the real safety of our citizens, we will continue to hide ugly corruption and ignore vicious behavior. In a democracy, we should should demand better. We know the next steps, do we have the will to see them through?

MEDIA ADVISORY
California Teachers Association June 23, 2016
Protest Violence Against Oaxaca Teachers
‪#‎Oaxaca‬

Contact: Lysa Sassman at 916-813-2319 or Toby Spencer at 530-867-0594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local Educators Protest Slaughter of Teachers in Mexico
Outraged At June 21 Killings in Oaxaca, Protest

Educators, labor council members, Hispanic advocacy supporters will protest the June 21 killing of unarmed teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico

NATOMAS – Outraged by the killing of nine teachers, educators say they will protest at the Mexican Consulate in Sacramento tomorrow (Friday) afternoon. Reports indicate nine teachers were executed, 23 disappeared, 21 were arrested, and more than 100 civilians, police and bystanders were injured June 21 in Nochixtlán, located in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.

“I’m an education advocate and have demonstrated, protested and spoken out,” said Lysa Sassman, Auburn Union Teacher’s Association and one of the event organizers. “Never once did I think I’d lose my life over it. These teachers are my colleagues; they just live in a different country.”

Sassman and Toby Spencer, San Juan Teachers Association, have taken to social media to publicize the event and to share what’s happening to teaching colleagues in Mexico. “This is not just about privatization,” Spencer said. “The ‘education reform’ movement is an effort to remove teachers from rural and indigenous areas. We must stand with teachers and against violence in the Americas.”

The Stop Urban Shield coalition and Berkeley Copwatch will be facilitating an interactive forum to understand what Urban Shield is, its tactics to repress our communities through increased militarization of emergency medical services, and its place within the global context of policing and imperialism. Join us and get plugged in to the fight!

Come through on Friday, June 24 to learn how to support the state-wide mobilization against Urban Shield on Sept. 9 in Pleasanton, CA! This is the second of three Town Halls that Stop Urban Shield is holding, and we encourage all social justice organizations and individuals in Berkeley and surrounding neighborhoods to attend.

Hosted by the Stop Urban Shield coalition and Berkeley Copwatch, we’ll be facilitating an interactive forum to understand what exactly Urban Shield is, its tactics to repress our communities through increased militarization of police and emergency medical services, and its place within the global context of policing and imperialism. As we always must, we’ll be highlighting the voices and deep insights of those who have lost loved ones to police violence and lifting up the ways our communities are building resilience against militarization.

In 2014, communities united to kick Urban Shield out of Oakland.

In 2015, we converged on the Sheriff’s office in downtown Oakland to let them know that Urban Shield is not welcome in Alameda County.

And In 2016, we’re taking it state-wide and putting Urban Shield on notice that we don’t want them in California or anywhere else for that matter.

ABOUT URBAN SHIELD:

Urban Shield is a weapons expo and war-like police training that brings together law enforcement agencies from across the country and world to learn how to better repress, criminalize, and militarize our communities.

Urban Shield is a key player in creating militarized emergency response systems that make police the first responders to everything from climate disasters to uprisings. But as we saw during Hurricane Katrina, when “public safety” relies on armed emergency management, communities of color — and particularly Black communities — become an “emergency” that need to be controlled and managed with a military response.

COME JOIN US at this Town Hall to learn how WE can shrink Urban Shield — and policing as a whole — out of existence.

Access: Entrance and bathrooms are wheel chair accessible.

http://stopurbanshield.org/

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

We need a massive demonstration so the Council clearly hears the voice of the people. Let them know we want NOTHING SHORT OF A BAN.

Meet UCR candidates for KPFA’s Local Station Board.

Kris Stewart, LaTasha Warmsley, Jeremy Miller, TM Scruggs, Marilla Arguelles, Tom Voorhees.

KPFA needs new people with new ideas and energy to bring more community news, public affairs,  cultural programming and new technology to the KPFA and the Pacifica network. United for Community Radio is seeking candidates to run on our free speech radio slate which represents individuals and organizations throughout KPFA’s signal range and beyond.  We particularly seek those with geographic, racial and cultural diversity to join in our campaign as candidates and campaigners.

2016 Platform

KPFA and Pacifica are irreplaceable, strategic and transformative resources for amplifying the voices of millions who are overlooked, marginalized or silenced by corporate media in the face of police militarization, racism and housing, health, water, economic educational and environmental depredation. We force a vital radio station and network by balancing often difficult news reports with programming that heals and facilitates human connections.

• Insure Relevant Programming
• Decreased pro-corporate perspective
• Join the global media revolution
• Support all staff
• Responsible financials
• Strengthen the Pacifica Network

Don Pageler will give his first hand account of how the USS Liberty, a virtually unarmed American navy ship, was attacked by Israeli planes and torpedo boats on June 8, 1967. 34 American sailors were killed and 174 injured that day, a casualty rate of 70%. This is among the highest casualty rates ever inflicted upon a U.S. naval vessel. President Lyndon Johnson recalled the planes that responded to the distress call, saying he didn’t care if they all died, he did not want to embarrass an ally.

Hear about one of the biggest cover ups in American military history.

Sponsored by the BFUU Social Justice Cmte

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

Rally for Housing! pic.twitter.com/WEzBx6hj8F

— East Bay Forward (@EastBayForward) June 9, 2016

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

1. Welcome & Introductions
2. Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
3. Announcements
4. (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

Support the Oakland Justice Coalition, have a great soul food buffer dinner, and listen to Jazz.

• Putting people committed to economic, social, racial, and environmental justice into power in Oakland.
• Advocating for policy and legislation to implement an Oakland People’s Agenda.
• Putting people committed to economic, social, racial, and environmental justice into power in Oakland.

The Oakland Justice Coalition is a coalition of organizations and individuals that came together around common goals for the 2016 Oakland elections. Our aim is to build people power and advance radical change through the arena of electoral politics. It is time for us to unite around the causes we all believe in ­ stronger protections for workers and renters, an end to displacement and police violence, a public education system that serves all its students well ­ and act in solidarity together to advance a political agenda that serves the people of Oakland.

We’re building a people’s movement driven by the power of organizations with different goals coming together as one to support each other and build collective strength. We have anchored our 2016 work in three demands, all captured in ballot initiatives proposed by community-led grassroots organizations.

• Strengthen rent control and other tenant protections to stabilize rent prices and stop displacement of Black, Brown and poor people from the community they helped to build; as proposed by the Oakland Tenants Union and Citywide Network
• Create a police commission with the authority to fire the police chief and conduct independent investigations of incidents of police violence; as proposed by the Coalition for Police Accountability
• Establish a $20 minimum wage by 2020 and fair scheduling regulations, and mandate enforcement for both; as proposed by the Oakland Livable Wage Assembly