Calendar
Let’s send a clear message to the white supremacists rallying in Berkeley on August 27th!
Come help us make banners and signs to say No to Racism and No to Hate Speech in Berkeley. Bring markers and poster board if you can. We will have supplies as well.
RSVP: kaseybrenner@gmail.com
Banner Over I-80 with Our Messages to the World, Aug 19
Join Animals Against Extinction, the Sunflower Alliance art group, to get our messages out to tens of thousands of people driving on Route 80. Show them we have a vibrant progressive movement pushing hard for a just and sustainable world. Every time we banner we get lots of honks and waves.
We’ll have banners saying
RESIST PERSIST,
WTF! THERE IS NO PLANET B,
IMMIGRANTS R US,
NO BAN NO WALL and a new one,
SINGLE PAYER
Its lots of fun and a way to gauge public thinking in our bubble. We’ve done the math and figure we are seen by a MINIMUM of 40,000 people in an hour and a half.
Join us!
Please join us for a discussion on reforming Urban Shield with
distinguished panelists David Muhammad, Reggie Lyles, Tracy Rosenberg, and Elliot Hosman.
D a v i d M u h a m m a d i s a n a t i o n a l l e a d e r i n t h e f i e l d s o f c r i m i n a l
j u s t i c e , v i o l e n c e p r e v e n t i o n , a n d y o u t h d e v e l o p m e n t .
R e g g i e L y l e s i s a r e t i r e d p o l i c e e x e c u t i v e f r o m B e r k e l e y P D , w h o
h e l p e d r e f o r m B e r k e l e y p o l i c e d u r i n g t h e 7 0 s a n d 8 0 s .
T r a c y R o s e n b e r g i s a t h o u g h t l e a d e r a n d a p u b l i c p o l i c y a d v o c a t e
o n f r e e , a c c o u n t a b l e , a n d a c c e s s i b l e m e d i a s y s t e m s .
E l l i o t H o s m a n i s a B a y A r e a l a w y e r a n d a c t i v i s t .
Hosted by Berkeley Councilperson Ben Bartlett.
Please join us for a potluck lunch followed by our regular biweekly meeting of the Sunflower Alliance. Lots going on, lots to talk about — what’s happening, and what we’re doing to stop fossil fuels from doing any more damage. New people encouraged to join us! We need your participation and your voice.
This training introduces APTP first responders model for conducting independent investigations of police terror and providing support to impacted families. The training will cover:
-Preparation and building investigation team
-Conducting investigations
-Trauma focused interviewing
-Cultural sensitivity
-Providing family support
-Lessons learned from past investigations
-Know your rights
– Collecting video evidence – by Dia Kayyali of Witness.org
-Security considerations
This training is organized together with SURJ – Oakland/Bay Area as a fundraiser for Anti Police-Terror Project.
Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.
ART & SOUL will be using Oscar Grant Plaza this weekend so we will meet at 19th & Telegraph.
The Community Democracy Project is your connection to direct democracy in Oakland! Convened out of Occupy Oakland in Fall 2011, we’re gathering steam on a campaign to bring the people back in touch with the city’s resources through participatory budgeting.
Picture this: Across Oakland, Neighborhood Assemblies are regularly
held in every community. People come together to tackle the important issues of their neighborhoods and of the city. At these assemblies, people don’t just have discussions–they learn from one another, from city staff, and they make fundamental decisions about how the city should run. They decide the city budget.
Democratic, community budgeting is a powerful step toward building strong communities, real democracy, and economic justice–and it’s being done all over the world.
The budget of the City Oakland totals more than $1 billion per year. Although part of the budget must be used for specific purposes, still over half of the budget–over $500 billion per year–consists of general purpose funds paid by the taxes, fees, and fines of the people of Oakland. The Mayor and the City Council decide the city budget, with minimal input from the community.
Working together, we will not only get a seat at the table–we will REBUILD the table itself. Participatory democracy is real democracy–join us to say: Local People, Local Resources, Local Power!
Kick-off meeting to create Slingshot issue #125.
* Brainstorm articles for next issue
* Orientation on how you can submit articles, art, photographs
* Help us discuss our audience and themes for the next issue
* Discuss fundraising and distribution
* Your chance to comment on Slingshot
Everyone is welcome.
Issue #125 is due out on October 6, 2017
Deadline for Issue #125 is September 23, 2017
Facebook event here. Please share widely!
Calling all teachers, educators and anyone else with those first day of school blues! Come pick up a drink for a rad cause. 15% of all bar proceeds go directly to support the work of Critical Resistance. @SUP! TV Street Food from 6pm onward. Starline kitchen open from 3-6pm on.
– Free screenings of CR’s new “Breaking Down the Prison Industrial Complex” video series & learn how to bring the video + curriculum into your classroom
– Free copies of The Abolitionist bilingual newspaper
– And many more resources for bringing abolition into your classroom!Not an educator or student? Just down for abolition? Come through to chill with some rad organizers, activists and other cool folks trying to dismantle the prison industrial complex!
Occupella organizes informal public singing at Bay Area occupation sites, marches and at BART stations. We sing to promote peace, justice, and an end to corporate domination, especially in support of the Occupy movement.
Music has the power to build spirit, foster a sense of unity, convey messages and emotions, spread information, and bring joy to participants and audience alike. See spirited clip of an action at BART. Check out the actions calendar and come add your voice. There are lots of ways to participate and everyone is welcome.
Moving ahead with the feasibility study
The next Oakland City Council meeting is set for Tuesday, September 18th. On the agenda is authorizing the feasibility study on establishing the Public Bank of Oakland. But authorization is only half the battle; it is contingent on finding an additional $25,000 from outside the city coffers to supplement the budgeted $75,000.
If you live outside Oakland, you can help establish PBO so it can bring beneficial banking to the whole bay area. Whether you live in Berkeley, San Leandro, Alameda, Newark or another town, let your local councilmembers know that you support PBO. Tell them to put money into funding this study.
Of course, you can also support PBO by donating or pledging financial support on our website.
How public banking can help address climate change
We’re excited to announce the next forum on public banking! Visiting from Berlin, Wolfram Morales of the Sparkassen public banks will discuss the role of public banking in financing renewable energy projects. Joining him on the panel will be Nicholas Chaset, CEO of the brand-new East Bay Community Energy agency, and renewable energy activists. Hosted by councilmembers Dan Kalb and Rebecca Kaplan, the forum is set for Monday, September 25th, from 7 to 9pm, at the Oakland City Hall.
FPBO at the Laurel street fair
Our outreach efforts got a major boost at last weekend’s Laurel street fair. We spoke with hundreds of fair-goers who hadn’t yet heard of public banking and collected 300+ signatures for our petition to the Oakland City Council.
Coming up in Oakland
We’ll continue to build public support for PBO at two more August events. On the 19th look for our table at the Latinx Cultural Festival at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park.
And on Saturday the 26th, we’ll be at the Freedom Farmers’ Market at 5316 Telegraph Avenue. This market’s mission is to bring traditional legacy foods from Black farmers and other socially disadvantaged farmers into Oakland. We hope to meet you there!
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
OccupyForum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
With unprecedented access, filmmakers Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack trace Dr. Angelou’s journey, shedding light on the untold aspects of her life through never-before-seen footage, rare archival photographs and videos and her own words. From her upbringing in the Depression-era South and her early performing career, to her work with Malcolm X in Ghana and her many writing successes, including her inaugural poem for President Bill Clinton, Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise reveals hidden facets of her life during some of America’s most defining moments.
The film also features exclusive interviews with Dr. Angelou, her friends and family, including Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Common, Alfre Woodard, Cicely Tyson, Quincy Jones, Hillary Clinton, Louis Gossett, Jr., John Singleton, Diahann Carroll, Valerie Simpson, Random House editor Bob Loomis, and Dr. Angelou’s son, Guy Johnson.
This is a beautifully constructed documentary that gives a total picture of the amazing Maya Angelou. It goes back to her roots, which included being raped as a child, to her dancing and singing. It wasn’t long before she began to become the voice of humanity and blackness. It includes the cream of the black artists. There is a bit where they list a series of black performers who play before sold out audiences and then are not allowed to go out and mingle with the crowds. But Angelou faced off against authority and kept to her African roots (Viewer review).
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise premiered to critical acclaim at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. It won the Audience Award at AFI Docs and was featured at notable film festivals worldwide, including Full Frame, Sheffield, IDFA and Seattle, winning 17 awards on three continents, and has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award.
Time will be allotted for discussion and announcements.
Joey Gibson and hid Patriot Prayer group who are often accompanied by White Supremacists are planning a Demonstration of White Power on 08/26 at Crissy Fields San Francisco
* We will paint a few very GIANT banners with messages against Hate/fascism/white supremacy and for solidarity, dignity and justice that will be placed at key high visilbity spots around Berkeley next Sunday, as visual support for the public mobilizations.
* When you arrive at Bridge Art and Storage (23 Maine–like the State–Ave at 1st St, Ricmond, CA) facility look for the “ART BUILD” sign w/instruction on how to get in gate. Please park on street and walk in (bring bikes in). It’s 1 1/2 miles from Richmond BART.
* We will be painting outdoors, so dress for sun, and possilbe wind, some on tables, some on the ground. Wear clother you may get paint on.
* We wont be set up for any sign making or painting additional banners (there are other art parties for that UCB Thurs. https://www.facebook.com/
* Thanks to 350.org and Greenpeace for helping with banner supplies.
* Snacks and drinks to share with other painters welcome.
Do you have an idea to change your community for the better? Do you have questions about policymaking on a local or state level? Do you want to explore your inner policymaker?
Come get answers, ideas, and strategies from our center’s staff, experienced attorneys and policymakers!
This is a two-part event (You can come to both, or either!)
1. From 5:00PM – 5:45PM, there will be a DIY Policymaking teach-in facilitated by Sustainable Economies Law Center’s Policy Director, Yassi Eskandari, and Executive Director, Janelle Orsi. They’ll present best practices for engaging in local and state-level policy issues.
2. From 5:45PM to 7:30PM, we’ll be hosting a Policy Cafe and offering individualized consultations for folks who want to discuss their specific ideas and get advice on questions such as:
- What are the next steps after I have come up with my policy idea?
- How do I draft a policy proposal?
- How do I approach council members, county supervisors, or other legislators about my idea?
- How do I navigate the legislative process?
- In what ways can my nonprofit participate in policy advocacy?
Their deportation is a devastating blow to our community. Maria and Eusebio are model neighbors and friends. Maria has dedicated her life to caring for cancer and cardiac patients at Highland Hospital. Eusebio has worked as a truck driver for the last twelve years. Just last year, they fulfilled their dream of purchasing a home in Oakland. In their spare time, they give back to our community.
But despite their contributions, ICE rejected our calls for compassion and targeted Maria and Eusebio for deportation. I am saddened beyond words by this decision, but my commitment to protecting our immigrant community remains unshaken.
Next week, I will be holding a community forum to discuss this administration’s enforcement and deportation policies, as well as next steps for immigration reform. I hope you and your family will be able to join me for this important discussion. Immigration experts and translators will also attend to contribute to our conversation.
Panel Discussion: “Equity in the Time of Trump.”
We’ll focus on how we can advance justice and build community at a time when exclusion and hate are so prominent in the news. I’ll be joined by Kat Taylor, co-founder and CEO of Beneficial State Bank; Mauricio Miller, author of The Alternative: Most of What You Believe About Poverty Is Wrong; Nwamaka Agbo, senior new-economy fellow at the Movement Strategy Center; and journalist and author Pendarvis Harshaw.
Admission is FREE but space is limited so you have to RSVP: (get there at 6 p.m. if you’d like to order food from their kitchen to take into the theater!)
We’ll gather every Wednesday at 6 pm. Please join us at our first ‘Show Up’ on Wednesday August 23 from 6 to 7:30 PM at the west entrance to El Cerrito Plaza, intersection of San Pablo Ave & Carlson Ave. We’ll meet on the side nearest to Daiso. If there are enough of us some can stand on other corners.
Our goals are to create a significant community presence to speak out in favor of equality, justice, inclusiveness and more. We say NO to hatred, racism, white supremacy and nationalism, bigotry, and anti-Semitism.
We’ll have two large poster-board signs, one that says “YES” and one “NO.” You can bring your own sign with your own words expressing what you stand for and against. Use BIG lettering so people in cars can see! We’ll also have sign-making materials.
We are from the El Cerrito area. Our first Show Up location is at the borders of El Cerrito, Richmond and Albany — all are welcome!
We will assemble lawfully, and won’t block the sidewalk. All locations we select will be wheelchair-accessible. To participate you must commit to non-violent and respectful conduct.
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.
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.