Calendar

In the wake of the Marikana mine workers massacre, leftist groups of all stripes are calling resistance inevitable.

Come see former Black Panther Gerald Smith and Berkeley PhD student Zach Levenson and recent visitor to South Africa discuss the country’s history and what’s happening now.

Join us for a one mile march around downtown San Francisco, visiting at least four Bank of America branches and perhaps artistically decorating the sidewalks out in front.

More info here

Presented by Haiti Action Committee
Sunday September 09, 2012
$5-$20 sliding scale. No one turned away for lack of funds. – 4pm

A talk by author Jeb Sprague, introduced by Nia Imara of Haiti Action Committee.

Sprague investigates the dangerous world of right-wing paramilitarism in Haiti and its role in undermining the democratic aspirations of the Haitian people. Sprague focuses on the period beginning in 1990 with the rise of Haiti’s first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the right-wing movements that succeeded in driving him from power. Over the ensuing two decades, paramilitary violence was largely directed against the poor and supporters of Aristide’s Lavalas movement, taking the lives of thousands of Haitians.

The Green Party invites you to hear two speakers about the ongoing story of police misconduct in the East Bay.

Our first speaker is Jeralynn Brown Blueford, the mother of Alan Blueford, who was killed by the OPD under very suspicious circumstances. The Blueford family has formed the Justice 4 Alan Blueford Coalition to get answers about why this young man was shot and killed. Andrea Prichett from Berkeley CopWatch will also speak. Andrea has been training people for 20 years to monitor police, document abuse, and organize resistance to police misconduct.

The new semester just recently began at UC Berkeley and there is a lot of students who want to know about Occupy around the Bay Area. The purpose of the Info Table is to inform students about Occupy Oakland, Occupy the Farm, and Occupy Cal; what actions they’ve done, what plans are in the mix for the future, and how they can get involved.

Facebook page.

Come join us, help out!

We invite you to join us for an inspiring evening of solidarity with the Colombian labor movement as we launch and fundraise for PASO International (Proyecto de Acompañimiento y Solidaridad).

Colombia suffers from the highest level of economic inequality in Latin America, with 2/3 of all workers in the informal sector. Unions defending workers’ rights face surveillance, threats, kidnapping, torture, and death. Over 1,000 Colombian union activists have been assassinated since 2000 (15 this year) and Colombia accounts for 63% of all union assassinations worldwide. Recent implementation of free trade agreements has put Colombian workers on the frontlines of the global resistance against privatization and other neoliberal economic policies. In the face of this exploitation and repression, Colombia has one of the most vibrant labor movements in the Americas. Fired General Motors workers recently inspired the world by encamping 24/7 outside the U.S. Embassy for over a year and sewing their mouths shut in hunger strike, and port workers, oil workers, teachers, food service workers, health care workers, palm workers, and miners are all in key battles.

Working with and at the request of Colombian unions, PASO is launching an on-the-ground international presence in Colombia and rapid response solidarity network. But we need your help!

Join us on Wednesday, September 12th for an evening of:

•A report on the Colombian labor movement from PASO solidarity oorganizers in the Bay Area from Bogota.
•A live Skype conversation with GM hunger strikers.
•Video documentation of recent labor struggles.
•An opportunity to fund on-the-ground accompaniment of Colombian labor leaders.
•A raffle drawing for beautiful prints of Colombian worker rights art and other goodies.
•Yummy food and beverages, of course!

In Partnership With the Interfaith Tent:

Oakland’s Faith Community Responds to Alan Blueford’s Murder by Police (Fellowship Hall): Alan Blueford, high school senior about to graduate from Skyline High School in Oakland, was gunned down fatally by police on May 6. Come to this meeting with the Blueford family to pray, act, and strategize to make sure that what happened to Alan will not happen to anyone else.

More information

See also the Blueford BBQ on Sept. 15th

On May 6th, Alan Blueford was murdered by OPD officer Miguel Masso. On May 15th, members of the City Council promised the Blueford family support for their struggle for justice. Since then, the family has received nothing but stonewalling and lies from the City of Oakland and OPD.

Join us at a BBQ and Community Meeting to take action against this injustice, and to fight to prevent further such tragic events.

Facebook Event Page

Monday September 17th, celebrating the one year anniversary of the Occupy Movement and Growing Resistance Worldwide.

At t 1pm begin gathering at Bradley Manning Plaza (a.k.a, Justin Herman Plaza) – Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco, CA.

At 2pm PARTY TAKES TO THE STREETS!

At 5pm Mass Convergence at 555 California, San Francisco, CA.

…. Stay Tuned For October 10th, 2012 — One Year Anniversary of Occupy Oakland!!!

Come and support the Bluefords as they tell the City Council they have had enough of their false promises and OPD’s lies.

In Tweetspeak:

OccupythePort ‏@occupytheport
Tues. Sept. 18 5pm: Alan Blueford’s family to demand Oakland City Council fire Miguel Masso. No more excuses. #J4AB Via @OccupiedOakTrib

OccupythePort ‏@occupytheport
Sept 18th #Justice4AlanBlueford at #OAKMTG City Council 5:00 join the fight for justice #OO #OccupyOakland #osf

Alyssa ‏@alyssa011968
#Justice4AlanBlueford Sept 18th City Council 5:00 join the fight for justice #OO #OccupyOakland

Visit the Justice 4 Alan Blueford Website for more information.

On Tuesday, June 5, just before 9 PM, Derrick Gaines, a fifteen-year-old youth of multi-racial descent, was needlessly killed by an officer of the South San Francisco Police Department.

South City Police Chief Michael Massoni and the cooperative local media wasted no time in fabricating a story intended to justify the blood on their hands, in part through shamelessly smearing the victim’s character.

But there are two sides to events like these: what the cops say, and what the truth is. In this case, the
truth is that Derrick never reached for or produced a weapon, and was shot down by an officer who had brutalized and restrained him first. Derrick’s friends and family have staged multiple actions at the site of the shooting, and the anger at Derrick’s murder is combining with general discontent regarding how the South SF police treat youth, particularly youth of color locally, as well as the horrendous reality that such acts of police violence are a disturbingly common occurrence, here in the Bay Area and across the country.

The Arco Gas Station, which was the scene of the incident, is located at 2300 Westborough Blvd., at the corner of Westborough and Gellert. It is 4.4 miles from the San Bruno Caltrain Station, and 3.2 miles from San Bruno BART.

Do not let the South SFPD’s lies, and heinous actions, go unchallenged. Please join friends, family members, and other allies in the ongoing struggle against racism and social injustice as we continue to demand justice for Derrick, and for all victims of racist police violence.

Article about Derrick Gaines: They Treated Him Like a Statistic

On September 22 this month there will be a forum in Oakland to defend the right to self-defense, to educate the communities suffering from racial profiling, and to launch new organizing efforts in these communities. The Forum, “SELF-RESPECT AND COMMUNITY SELF-DEFENSE IN A LAND OF ENDLESS RACIAL PROFILING”, will feature new materials on the history and methods of community self-defense, and guest speaker Djibril Toure, a leader of the the campaign against “Stop and Frisk” in New York as well as the newly launched National People’s Self-Defense Campaign, who will bring his experience to share.

Via the Oscar Grant Committee.

Website: A People’s Hearing on Rascism and Police Violence

Show support for the Chicago Teachers Union who are on strike defending jobs and public education.

Organized by local Bay Area unions.

Now performing as Redd Welsh, he sings a dozen mostly original songs on the album, backed by some fine musicians including Joe Goldmark on pedal steel guitar; Pete Elman on keyboards and bass; John Blakeley on Stratocaster, Telecaster and acoustic guitars; Lachelle Oats on vocals; Paul Hlebcar on harmonica; and Kelly Ralston on congas and percussion.

The party gets under way at 7:00 p.m. Saturday Sept. 22 in the friendly Fellowship Hall of the Berkeley Unitarians, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita, in Berkeley – which by the way has a great piano. The Hall is only a six-tenths of a mile walk up Cedar from North Berkeley BART.

Special guest appearances at the party by Jon Fromer, Harriet and Alex Bagwell, Hali Hammer and Barbara Dane.

Don’t miss this festive musical gathering of old and new friends.

Bannering for Bradley Manning/Occupy Issues at Berkeley Pedestrian Overpass

Bring a banner or join us bannering to support Bradley Manning and related Occupy issues Sunday Sept. 23 4pm-6pm

at the Berkeley Pedestrian Overpass on I-80 near the University Ave off ramp.

Parking available on both sides of the freeway, adjacent to the overpass pedestrian entrances.

This location gets tremendous traffic congestion in the evening commute and weekend vacation travel and is a hot spot to communicate on important issues of the day.

6:00 PM: Dinner

6:30 PM: Excerpts from “Occupation Has No Future”
A Film About US Veterans Who Travel To Palestine.