Calendar

9896
Jul
15
Sat
Know Your Rights Training: Berkeley Copwatch @ Grassroots House
Jul 15 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

Join Berkeley Copwatch on Saturday, July 15th to get training on how to…
* deal with the police
* safely assert your rights
* safely and effectively observe the police in your community.

The trainings usually last 2 – 3 hours.

This is a free event; snacks will be included! Bring your bodies and your buddies, as well as questions, concerns, stories, resources.

And in the meantime, check out the Berkeley Copwatch Know Your Rights Pocket Card here: http://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/resources/pocketguide05.pdf

63292
First Healers Collective Gathering at Qilombo! @ Qilombo
Jul 15 @ 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Join us for the first coalition gathering of the Qilombo Healers Collective! Help us build a permanent healing space with ongoing programming that promotes autonomous, accessible and holistic healthcare in our communities. The Medical Industrial Complex has never given us meaningful options for accessible holistic healing. With TrumpCare threatening to cut MedicAid to 22 million low-income people across the country, the need for autonomy from America’s failed health system is more important than ever. We want to spread health and wellness knowledge and empower our communities to care for ourselves, rather than relying on the profit-driven healthcare system that values their bottomline over our lives.

We are group of about 10 healers and health educators from a wide range of backgrounds and modalities. We have been meeting since February developing our vision for an autonomous network of groups and organizations dedicated to decentralizing health knowledge and sharing our skills, practices and traditions with the community. We are renting a room in Qilombo, and have converted it into a permanent healing space. We hope to use this space as a home base for coordinating a series of classes, workshops and healing clinics, as well as a free or low-cost space for healers to practice their crafts.

So far we have been coordinating with members of the People’s Community Medics, the Healing Clinic Collective, the Black Wellness Collaborative: Healing with the People, and several herbalist, yoga teachers, massage therapist, sounds healers and Reiki practitioners. We have also reached out to a self-defense collective, a free clinic and several HIV prevention and education organizations. We are welcoming all groups and individuals who share our vision to help us build this project and coordinate our existing work to strengthen and support each other in the hard times ahead.

Please RSVP and share this event with your friends, collectives, organizations and anyone who shares our vision who you think would be interested in participating and/or sharing their knowledge and resources.

See you on the 15th!

Solidarity,
The Qilombo Healers Collective

63354
Protest The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go! Rally & March @ UN Plaza
Jul 15 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

July 15th Nationwide Protests – Rally at UN Plaza then March to the Mission

To all who agonize and rage at what’s being done to the people, protest and demand:

THE TRUMP/PENCE REGIME MUST GO! In the Name of Humanity, We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America!

Only the people acting together in the streets and public square can force this demand before the world. Should we fail to do so, the future and values we aspire to could be brutally cut short by the actions of the Trump/Pence regime.

The Trump/Pence government has been step by step criminalizing dissent and bludgeoning the truth with worse to come. Stripping away basic rights and the rule of law is at the core of fascism. Group after group is demonized and targeted along a trajectory leading to real horrors. We must not let this be normalized. History has shown that fascism must be stopped before it becomes too late.

July 15th must be a day when every person, every group –religious, community, service, political organization – all who feel the tremendous threat to humanity posed by the Trump/Pence regime – stand together showing the world that people here are determined that this regime must go …not in two years or four, but now.

On July 15, with conviction and courage, overcoming fear and uncertainty, we will act together to resist and say NO!… Not for ourselves alone, but in the name of humanity.

Contact Refuse Fascism to volunteer or to make your organization a partner or co-sponsor of July 15th.
Get involved: 510-253-5551 norcal [at] refusefascism.org
Endorse/signup Facebook.com/RefuseFascismBayArea
Refuse Fascism 917-407-1286; info [at] refusefascism.org http://www.refusefascism.org
Price: Free

63344
Jul
16
Sun
Refinery Corridor Healing Walks
Jul 16 @ 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Walk #1:  Saturday, April 8
(Scroll down for the additional walks)
We will begin near the Pittsburg Marina at 3 Marina Blvd in the City of Pittsburg, California

8:00 a.m. Water Ceremony & Registration
9:30 a.m. Walk Begins
There are several places along the walk where folks can join the walk – please see the details of the route below.

The walk will end at Martinez Shoreline Park, end of Ferry Street in the City of Martinez, California

Please feel free to join us for the prayers for the water at 8:00 a.m.  We will walk to the shore and make our prayers.  Feel free to bring a small bottle of water from your area to join the waters in the Carquinez Straights  (where the Delta meets the Bay) in Pittsburg.

Registration for the walk will begin at 8:00 a.m.  Walkers will be asked to agree to the Nonviolent Principles.  For details on what to bring/not bring, please go to “What To Expect” in the tabs above.

This walk is approximately 13.5 miles from beginning to end.  There will be support vehicles available for people who wish to take breaks during the walk.  Medics will also be available.   Water will be provided – please bring your reusable water bottle.

Walk #2:  Saturday, May 20th

We will begin near the Martinez Shoreline Park at the end of Ferry Street

in the City of Martinez, California

8:00 a.m. Water Ceremony & Registration
9:30 a.m. Walk Begins
There are several places along the walk where folks can join the walk – please see the details of the route below.

The walk will end at the 9th Street Park in the City of Benicia, California

Please feel free to join us for the prayers for the water at 8:00 a.m.   Feel free to bring a small bottle of water from your watershed to join the waters in the Carquinez Straights  (where the Delta meets the Bay) in Martinez.

Registration for the walk will begin at 8:00 a.m.  Walkers will be asked to agree to the Nonviolent Principles.  For details on what to bring/not bring, please go to “What To Expect” in the tabs above.

This walk is approximately 9.5 miles from beginning to end.  There will be vehicles available for people who wish to take breaks during the walk.  Medics will also be available.   Water will be provided – please bring your reusable water bottle.

Everyone will be taken back to their vehicles at the end of the walk.  If you are coming to the walk with friends and have two vehicles, please consider leaving one vehicle at the end.

Please consider CARPOOLING – You can sign up to give rides or receive a ride here:
https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/8wh0vr

Make sure you keep this phone number with you on the walk:
(510)
  619-8279

Scroll down to see the map of the walk.

We will begin in Martinez and walk through the Shell Refinery in Martinez on the public road.  It gets exciting when we walk across the Martinez Benicia Bridge over the Carquinez Straights!  Once we get to Benicia, we head over to the Valero Refinery where we stop to pray for clean air, water, soil and safe jobs in our communities.   We then walk through town to the 9th Street Park for the closing circle, a meal and the final prayers for the waters.

All walkers are encouraged to carry the water for at least five minutes in prayer for the life of the waters around the world.

Please go to the “What to Expect” page for more information:
http://www.refineryhealingwalks.com/what-to-expect.html

 

Walk #3 – Sunday, June 11th

We will begin at Ninth Street Park in Benicia

8:00 a.m. Water Ceremony
9:00 a.m. Registration
9:30 a.m. Walk Begins
There are two places along the walk where folks can join us – please see the details of the route below.

The walk will end at Lone Street Park in Rodeo

Please join us for prayers for the water at 8:00 a.m.   Feel free to bring a small bottle of water from your watershed to join the waters that we will be carrying in prayer along the walk and putting into the Bay at the end of the walk.

Registration for the walk will begin at 9:00 a.m.  Walkers will be asked to agree to the Nonviolent Principles.  For details on what to bring/not bring, please go to “What To Expect” in the tabs above.

We also request that walkers keep the Four Agreements in mind:
1) Be impeccable with your word
2) Don’t take anything personally
3) Don’t make assumptions
4) Always do your very best
For more information:  The Four Agreements

This walk is 10.8 miles from beginning to end.  There will be vehicles available for people who wish to take breaks during the walk.  Medics will also be available.   Water will be provided – Please bring your own refillable water bottle.

There will be three “return” points where people can be taken back to their cars at mile 4 and mile 6 (see map) and at the end.  If you are coming to the walk with friends and have two vehicles, please consider leaving one vehicle at the end. 

Sure you’re coming?  Please carpool to the walk by offering a ride or accepting a ride  as soon as possible by signing up here:
CARPOOL

Let us know you’re coming!  RSVP BELOW!

Make sure you keep this phone number with you on the walk:
(510)
  619-8279

We will begin in Benicia, home to the Valero Refinery, and proceed through Vallejo.  Crossing the Carquinez Bridge is always a treat!  Then we head toward the Conoco Phillips 66 Refinery in Rodeo , ending at Lone Tree Park.

Walk #4 in July

Sunday, July 16th
Rodeo Conoco Phillips 66 Refinery to Richmond Chevron Refinery California

We encourage folks to walk with us the entire day.  It is truly a beautiful, profound and inspiring way to make a difference.

We will begin at Lone Tree Park in Rodeo

8:00 a.m. Water Ceremony – Feel free to bring water from your watershed!
9:00 a.m. Registration
9:30 a.m. Walk Begins
There are several places along the walk where folks can join the walk – please see the details of the route below.

The walk will end at Keller Beach in Richmond 

You can join us at any time during the day of the walks.
Call this number to find out where we are: (510) 619-8279

Make sure to keep the phone number on you if you are joining us on the walk!

Registration for the walk will begin at 8:00 a.m.  Walkers will be asked to agree to the Nonviolent Principles.  For details on what to bring/not bring, please go to “What To Expect” in the tabs above.

This walk is approximately 13 miles from beginning to end.  There will be vehicles available for people who wish to take breaks during the walk.  Medics will also be available.   Water will be provided – Please bring your own refillable water bottle.

Everyone will be taken back to their vehicles at the end of the walk.  If you are coming to the walk with friends and have two vehicles, please consider leaving one vehicle at the end.   Carpool:  Sign up to drive or be a passenger here: CARPOOL

There will be two points where folks can get rides back to the beginning in Rodeo, at the Hilltop stop in Richmond and at the end at Keller Beach.

We will begin at Lone Tree Park in Rodeo within sight of the Conoco Phillips 66 Refinery and walking to Richmond, stopping to pray at several places including the Kinder Morgan facility and the gates of the Chevron refinery.  We will end at Keller Beach in Richmond, the last natural beach left in the San Francisco Bay where we will all enjoy a delicious meal made by Mike Bear and his family and  youth from Urban Tilth in Richmond!

Can’t come but want to support?  Welcome us at Keller Beach in Point Richmond and feel free to bring a dish to share if you would like. 

62536
Museum of Capitalism: Artifact Donation.
Jul 16 @ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm


The Museum of Capitalism is hosting an in-person artifact donation event on July 16th from noon-5pm. RSVP, and bring your artifacts of capitalism to be considered for inclusion in the museum’s collection. If you live out of town and are interested in contributing, please visit our new artifact donation platform to submit an item for consideration.

Individuals who possess items related to the history or memory of capitalism, or tied to a personal experience that could help others to understand or feel life in capitalism, are invited to come forward and share their stories with Museum curators. All participants who submit an item for consideration will receive professional photographic documentation of their item, whether or not the Museum wishes to catalog the object for its collection. Donors will be asked to complete a short questionnaire about their donations, and Museum curators and volunteers will conduct short interviews with selected participants.

63361
The Current State of Surveillance: A Townhall @ SEIU Local 87 Hall
Jul 16 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

How are National Security Tools being Used for Deportation?

Since the election, Donald Trump began his campaign to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. He used racist rhetoric to target our communities. Over the course of his Presidency, there has been a sharp increase in immigration arrests.

In March, ICE agents and the FBI used a stingray, an extremely invasive breach of privacy, to track Rudy Carmaco-Carranza, a 23 year old immigrant from El Salvador. A stingray, also known as a cell-site simulator tricks nearby phones into providing location data and can interrupt cell service.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2017/05/18/cell-snooping-fbi-immigrant/101859616/

Come join:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus,
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
CAIR – San Francisco Bay Area,
Centro Legal de la Raza
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF),
National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
ROC the Bay: Restaurant Opportunities Center Bay Area
SEIU Local 87

Learn more about how national security tools like Stingrays, created post 9/11 in response to to the War on Terror, are being used to target immigrant communities here.

The event will include a Know Your Rights Presentation by:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
CAIR – San Francisco Bay Area
followed by a Resource Fair with the opportunity to speak to attorneys.

On July 16th, also join Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for Movement 003: A Party to Benefit Immigrant Rights!

~ Movement ~ is a recurring gathering dedicated to inclusion, connection, activation, and transformation. It is a space that brings together diverse local artists, people who like to dance and express, and nonprofits that work every day to defend the rights of marginalized communities. Ultimately, Movement is a supportive, nurturing environment where our various communities can unite in healing, celebration, and hope.

All benefits from this event will be donated to organizations defending immigrant rights, from which representatives will be joining us and available to discuss their work and volunteer opportunities. Our beneficiary in July is Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI).

63372
Free Mumia @ Omni Commons basement
Jul 16 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm

The Labor Action Committee (LAC) is meeting to discuss what we can do to re-ignite and build the movement to Free Mumia.

We will view a short film (20 minutes) followed by a discussion on the many ways we can build the movement to Free Mumia and all victims of racist frame ups.

63379
Occupy Oakland General Assembly @ Oscar Grant Plaza
Jul 16 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 3 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 3:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland.  (Note: we meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months,  once Daylight Savings Time springs forward we tend to assemble at 4 PM).

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 2 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

ooGAOO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over five 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

62637
Film: Cincinnati Goddamn @ Omni Commons ballroom
Jul 16 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

This feature-length documentary is about police brutality, anti-black racism, and the power of grassroots activism in Cincinnati, Ohio. From 1995-2001 there were fifteen black men killed by the Cincinnati police. The film focuses on two of those murders, Roger Owensby, Jr and Timothy Thomas. Martin Luther King said that “A riot is the cry of the unheard.” Thomas’s death sparked three days of civil unrest and protests. This poignant and powerful story of injustice is told through news reports, first-person accounts and cinema verité footage of the surviving families’ long-suffering battle for justice.

“Cincinnati Goddamn” creates a platform to discuss the state executions of Black men by police and gives voice to the families who have suffered in silence and have been let down by the judicial system. In addition to laying bare the emotional toll that the deaths of Roger Owensby, Jr. and Timothy Thomas took on their families, “Cincinnati Goddamn” details the tactics used by Cincinnati’s grassroots activists groups to reform the police department. The Cincinnati Black United Front, a coalition of activists and clergy, was able to work with the ACLU, the city of Cincinnati and the Department of Justice to craft and implement new policies and procedures that drastically reformed the police department. This historic model of reform known as the “Collaborative Agreement” is now being widely used in police departments throughout the United States in cities such as New Orleans and Oakland.

In light of recent organizing around police brutality in Ferguson, Missouri and dozens of other cities, this film is a perfect tool for education and organizing in communities that have been over-policed and victimized by the justice system.

Filmmaker April Martin will be in attendance.

63334
Jul
17
Mon
Occupy Forum: Occupation as a Tactic @ Black and Brown Social Club
Jul 17 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

OccupyForum presents…

Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!

OccupyForum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!

Occupation as a Tactic:
Lakeview Elementary School and OccupyOakland
With Gerald Smith

As an act of protest, occupation is a strategy often used by social movements and other forms of collective social action in order to take and hold public and symbolic spaces, buildings, critical infrastructure such as entrances to train stations, shopping centers, university buildings, squares, and parks. Opposed to a military occupation, which attempts to subdue a conquered country, a protest occupation is a means to resist the status quo and advocate a change in public policy. Occupation uses space as an instrument to achieve political and economic change, and to construct counter-spaces in which protesters participate in the production and re-imagination of urban space. Often, this is connected the right to inhabit and be in the city as well as to redefine the city in ways that challenge the demands of capitalist accumulation. In many cases local governments declare occupations illegal because protesters seek to control space over a prolonged time. Thus occupations are often in conflict with political authorities and forces of established order, especially the police.

Occupy Oakland was one of the local manifestations of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, a national phenomenon. The occupation of Frank Ogawa Plaza officially began at 4 p.m. on October 10, 2011, with a rally attended by hundreds of supporters. The first general assembly, based on Occupy Wall Street’s New York general assembly, was held in the plaza amphitheater at 6 p.m. and several dozen protesters set up tents that evening. Oakland police estimated that as of April 2012 they had interacted with over 60,000 protesters since the movement began.

The rest is history. Come hear a participant, Gerald Smith, talk about his experiences building and struggling within Occupy Oakland. Special attention will be given to the occupation of Lakeview Elementary School, which was inspired by Occupy Oakland.

Gerald Smith has a long history in the Black Liberation and Workers’ movements.  He is currently involved with the Labor Action Committee to Free Mumia, Liberated Lens, and the Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Oakland

Time will be allotted for discussion and announcements.

Donations to Occupy Forum to cover costs are encouraged; no one turned away!

This week’s OccupyForum is affiliated with Laborfest.

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Jul
18
Tue
Oakland City Council: Public Bank of Oakland Feasibility Study
Jul 18 @ 5:30 pm – 11:00 pm

Progress on Public Bank Feasibility Study

First, the good news: the City Council has budgeted $75,0000 for a feasibility study regarding establishment of the Public Bank of Oakland! This study will include the possibility of a multi-jurisdictional public bank and the possibility of accepting deposits from cannabis businesses. However, the Council still needs to vote to authorize the study. This vote will come at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 18th.

Item # 18.

Subject: Feasibility And Economic Impact Of Establishing A Public Bank From: Finance Department

Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution

  (1) Amending The City Of Oakland’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17 Midcycle Budget (Which Was Adopted Pursuant To Resolution No. 86250 C.M.S. On June 21,2016) To Appropriate One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000), From The Fiscal Year 2016-17 General Purpose Fund (1010) Balance For A Contract To Complete A Feasibility Study On Public Banking In Oakland, And

  (2) Authorizing The City Administrator Or Her Designee To Negotiate A Scope Of Work, Terms And Execute A Contract With Global Investment Company In An Amount Not To Exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000)

URGENT: Call City Council

Your support is needed now to make sure we get the five votes needed. First, Oakland residents, please call the councilmembers listed below. Say you live in Oakland and you want City Council to authorize the feasibility study for the Public Bank of Oakland. When you call your own councilmember, be sure to say you live in their district.
District 2: Abel Guillen 510-238-7002
District 3: Lynette Gibson McElhaney 510-238-7003
District 4: Annie Campbell Washington 510-238-7004
District 5: Noel Gallo 510-238-7005
District 6: Desley Brooks 510-238-7006
District 7: Larry Reid 510-238-7007
Find your district: http://mapgis.oaklandnet.com/councildistricts/

DONATE to show community support

Second, we need your help to raise the additional $25,000 needed to fully fund the study. At Tuesday’s council meeting, the more funds we can say we’ve already raised, the better our chances of getting a green light. Please use the JustGive button on our website’s homepage to make a tax-deductible donation.

If you prefer, you can pledge an amount to be donated when the feasibility study is authorized. To pledge, send an email to contact@friendsofpublicbankofoakland.org before 3pm on Tuesday, July 18th, and tell us the amount of the pledge and the name of the person or organization making the pledge. In the subject line, please put ‘Pledge for PBO study.’

Thanks!

Watch our new video

Videographer and Friend of the Public Bank Maren Poitras has made an informative ten-minute video to help everyone understand the advantages of public banking. Watch it here.

Spread the word!

Finally, please tell everyone you know about the Public Bank of Oakland! And THANK YOU for your support!

63366
Lovisa and Holly’s Great and Wonderful Friend and Fund-Raiser for the Ella Baker Center! @ Joyce Gordon Gallery
Jul 18 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Join us for a evening of fun, friends, and fund-rasing benefitting the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights!

If you unable to join us, show your support through a donation.

For 20 years, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights has fought tirelessly to build the power of black, brown, and poor people to break the cycles of incarceration and poverty and to make our communities safe, healthy, and strong.

The Ella Baker Center’s work includes:

  • The Ella Baker Membership: Anyone, anywhere can join our movement to create a safe and just nation
  • Restore Oakland: A community hub opening in June 2018 with restorative justice programming, a restaurant, worker training programs, a cooperative food-enterprise incubator, and other services supporting families
  • Advocacy: Winning policies that reduce sentences, remove barriers, and restore opportunities by re/investing in jobs, education, healthcare, and housing
  • Ella’s Squad: A group of grassroots organizations across the country campaigning to end criminalization and mass incarceration, and re/invest the resources wasted on punishment into building safe and strong communities

We look forward to seeing you.

*Snack and refreshments will be provided

63360
Intro to SURJ Meeting @ Sierra Club
Jul 18 @ 6:45 pm – 8:45 pm

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability.

Want to get involved with SURJ Bay Area? Come learn about our current work and activities. You’ll also hear about SURJ’s new pathways for entering the work, including study and action groups as well as committee work, upcoming workshops, and events. We’ll answer your questions and share how you can get involved in the movement for racial justice.


Address info:
The Sierra Club is located at 2101 Webster Street between 21st and 22nd Street in Oakland. The Sierra Club Offices are on the 13th floor. There is a bank of elevators that go to the 12th floor and above.

Getting Into the Lobby:
The doors for the Sierra Club building lock right at 7pm, so please do your best to arrive prior to 7pm. We will have someone stationed at the Webster entrance to the building until 7:15 for late arrivals. If you arrive after 7pm, please use the Webster entrance.

Accessibility:
Building Accessibility: There are two entrances to Sierra Club Office building on Webster and 21st both of which are accessible for mobility devices. The building has an elevator, and the kitchen space, conference room, and restrooms can also all accommodate mobility devices.

Scents: The Sierra Club’s space endeavors to offer a scent free environment; however as the Club is currently transitioning towards the use of only scent free products, we cannot guarantee an entirely scent free space. We ask everyone to please arrive at meetings fragrance free to support access for folks who experience multiple chemical sensitivities and allergies. This means using only body products and laundry detergent that say “fragrance free” or “unscented” on the label and do not have scented ingredients.

Restrooms: Restrooms are currently labeled in a gender-binary way. The Sierra Club is working on changing this and has an office policy that all restrooms are available to anyone, regardless of lived or perceived gender identity. We ask that folks choose the restroom that is right for them, and that no one question a person’s chosen restroom.

63339
Jul
19
Wed
SF Mime Troupe: Walls @ Edoff Memorial Band Stand, Lakeside Park, Lake Merritt
Jul 19 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
WALLS asks the question:
How can a nation of immigrants declare war on immigration?
The answer: FEAR!

L. Mary Jones (Velina Brown) knows all about fear. As a top agent for I.C.E. – Immigration and Customs Enforcement – she knows how to stoke fear to keep her country safe. Fear of people like Bahdoon Samakab (Rotimi Agbabiaka), a Somali refugee escaping oppression, fear of Cliodhna Aghabullogue (Lizzie Calogero), an Irish woman yearning to be American, and fear of Zaniyah Nahuatl (Marilet Martinez), whose family comes from… here. As a foreigner in a land her people have worked for thousands of years suddenly Zaniyah is a criminal, an illegal, a “bad hombre.” What part of herself will this American give up to pass as “American?” Will she? Can she? Should she? Can someone leave part of themselves behind without losing their mind? And is it better or worse that she crossed the border to find Agent L. Mary Jones – the woman she loves?

Poster
Poster Design: R. Black

WALLS written by Michael Gene Sullivan.
Music by Michael Bello. Lyrics by Piero Amadeo Infante .
Directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe. Ass’t. Director Rotimi Agbabiaka.
Music Director Michael Bello.
Mime Troupe performers Rotimi Agbabiaka, Velina Brown, Lizzie Calogero and Marilet Martinez.
Musicians: Patrick Byers, Andrew Niven, and Daniel Savio.

Song Clip: On My Watch 2:22
Velina Brown
Song Clip: Land of Milk and Honey 1:55
Rotimi Agbabiaka

Trailer recorded by Angelica Ekeke / Check out our full schedule!

63382
Ars Live: Whistleblower Lisa Ling about working with military drones. @ Eli's Mile High Club
Jul 19 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Drone strikes and surveillance are a major component of modern warfare, but few people outside the military understand how these programs work. That’s why former military technician Lisa Ling became a whistleblower after 14 years in the National Guard. She wanted policymakers to know that drones are not reliable, and they can create more problems than they solve.

Lisa Ling joined the military in 1991, serving as an army medic and nurse before transferring to the Air National Guard (ANG). In the ANG, she became a communications technician working on various types of electronic equipment including DCGS. Besides her overseas deployments, Lisa was mobilized, during a partial unit mobilization of the 234th intelligence Squadron to the 48th Intelligence Squadron at Beale Air Force Base from October 2007 to September 2009. The 48th Intelligence Squadron provides in-garrison and deployed communications, as well as logistics maintenance for the DCGS (Distributed Common Ground System).

Lisa served six years on active duty and over 14 years as both active and inactive National Guard. She decided to speak out after traveling to Afghanistan and seeing for herself how what she participated in was not a war on terror, but a war of terror. She has testified about drones before the European Parliament, and she was profiled in the documentary film National Bird, directed by Sonia Kennebeck.

Join Ars Technica editors Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar in conversation with Ling next week on July 19 at Ars Technica Live in Oakland, California.

She’ll discuss her experiences, as well as explain technical issues with drones that have profound implications for the current War on Terror. There will be plenty of time for audience questions, too.

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Anti Police-Terror Project General Meeting @ EastSide Arts Alliance
Jul 19 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Monthly APTP meeting, held on every 3rd Wednesday of the month.

– Strategize on addressing proposed changes to the BART police use of force policy.
– Find out ways you can use your talents and resources to support APTP and get involved with the work, including how to join various committees such as the Black Leadership Committee, First Responders, Action, Policy, Media, and Security committees.
– Find out more about the #DefundOPD campaign.

The Anti Police-Terror Project is a project of the ONYX ORGANIZING COMMITTEE that in coalition with other organizations, like Idriss Stelley Foundation, Community READY Corps and Workers World Party – Bay Area, is working to develop a replicable and sustainable model to end police terrorism in this country.

We are led by the most impacted communities but are a multi-racial, mutil-generational coalition.

For the July meeting:

There will be report backs on some of our recent actions including the Defund OPD campaign around the city budget process, including our shutdown of the Council budget meeting. You’ll also hear about our action to protest the promotion of rapist OPD Cops at their “secret” promotions ceremony.

We’d also love to have you get involved with APTP on a regular basis, by joining one of our committees. We will have committee breakouts as part of Wednesday’s meeting, so you can learn about what the different committees do. We know you all have lots of ideas and talent, so please contribute to further APTP’s on-going work.

Some of the committees include:
– Black Leadership
– First Responders
– Action
– Comms/Media
– Policy
– Security
– Fundraising

See you all on Wednesday!

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Jul
20
Thu
Sanctuary for All: Mobilizing to Resist Mass Incarceration and Mass Deportation @ The Greenlining Institute
Jul 20 @ 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Our communities are under attack from Trump administration policies ushering in a new era of mass incarceration and an unprecedented increase in the criminalization, detention and deportation of our immigrant families and neighbors.

Join us for a conversation about the intersection of the criminal justice system and immigration and how we can stand together to protect our communities and our deeply held values of justice, inclusion and equity for all. Part of the #LeadingEdgeIdeas series, this event is co-hosted by the Rosenberg Foundation and Heising-Simons Foundation.

The conversation will be moderated by Marisa Lagos, Reporter on state politics for KQED’s California Politics and Government Desk, with a light reception to follow. Panelists include:

  • Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland)
  • Raha Jorjani: Director, Immigration Representation Project, Alameda County Public Defender’s Office
  • Raj Jayadev: Founder and Director, Silicon Valley De-Bug
  • Abdi Soltani: Executive Director, ACLU Northern California
  • Yadira Sanchez: Northern California Organizer, California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance

Limited seating, please RSVP.

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SF Mime Troupe: Walls @ Edoff Memorial Band Stand, Lakeside Park, Lake Merritt
Jul 20 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
WALLS asks the question:
How can a nation of immigrants declare war on immigration?
The answer: FEAR!

L. Mary Jones (Velina Brown) knows all about fear. As a top agent for I.C.E. – Immigration and Customs Enforcement – she knows how to stoke fear to keep her country safe. Fear of people like Bahdoon Samakab (Rotimi Agbabiaka), a Somali refugee escaping oppression, fear of Cliodhna Aghabullogue (Lizzie Calogero), an Irish woman yearning to be American, and fear of Zaniyah Nahuatl (Marilet Martinez), whose family comes from… here. As a foreigner in a land her people have worked for thousands of years suddenly Zaniyah is a criminal, an illegal, a “bad hombre.” What part of herself will this American give up to pass as “American?” Will she? Can she? Should she? Can someone leave part of themselves behind without losing their mind? And is it better or worse that she crossed the border to find Agent L. Mary Jones – the woman she loves?

Poster
Poster Design: R. Black

WALLS written by Michael Gene Sullivan.
Music by Michael Bello. Lyrics by Piero Amadeo Infante .
Directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe. Ass’t. Director Rotimi Agbabiaka.
Music Director Michael Bello.
Mime Troupe performers Rotimi Agbabiaka, Velina Brown, Lizzie Calogero and Marilet Martinez.
Musicians: Patrick Byers, Andrew Niven, and Daniel Savio.

Song Clip: On My Watch 2:22
Velina Brown
Song Clip: Land of Milk and Honey 1:55
Rotimi Agbabiaka

Trailer recorded by Angelica Ekeke / Check out our full schedule!

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Omni Commons General Assembly @ Omni Commons
Jul 20 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Come by our open Delegates Meetings every First and Third Thursday of the month at 7pm! We’ll give space to brief announcements, updates from working groups, proposals up for consensus, and discussion around important issues. The schedule is created weekly at the following url: https://pad.riseup.net/p/omninom

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Omni General Assembly @ Omni Commons ballroom
Jul 20 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Come by our open Delegates Meetings every First and Third Thursday of the month at 7pm! We’ll give space to brief announcements, updates from working groups, proposals up for consensus, and discussion around important issues. The schedule is created weekly at the following url: https://pad.riseup.net/p/omninom

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