Calendar
Come fill the court to show love for Jean and Jean, who put their bodies on the line for the land at the #GillTract! Let’s show the judge it’d be best to dismiss all charges!
- $15 by October, 2017.
- Sick leave standards equivalent to Oakland and Emeryille.
- Prevent tip theft.
Learn about the initiative and how you can help. Brief training for signature gathering. Join a team to go out and gather signatures. Get additional petitions.
On Wednesday, February 24th, 2016, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, three young men, Adam Mekki, Muhannad Tairab, and Mohamed Taha Omar, were killed in a horrific act of violence.
Please join us on Wednesday to remember them and recognize the injustice that was committed against them.
Please note that this event is meant to be a healing space for Black Muslims and their communities.
In addition to attending, please sign this petition to bring justice to our three brothers: http://
Sponsored by:
Mills College Muslim Student Alliance
UC Berkeley Muslim Student Association
UC Berkeley Black Student Union
Homes Not Jails is a consensus-based collective of squatters and squat supporters who believe housing is a human right. Our goal is to open as much vacant housing as possible and to keep it open as long as possible. HNJ is a place to organize mutual aid among squatters and squat supporters and housing rights advocates in the bay. We actively fight to make our space inclusive and safe for everybody and combat oppression in all forms.
Time to stop the large increases in rents and out of control evictions. In 2015 rent for a two bedroom in Oakland increased 40% to an average of $2950/month.
Join us to present a resolution to the Oakland City Council demanding a moratorium on Evictions and Rent Increases.
We encourage all Oakland residents to attend the weekly No Coal in Oakland meeting.
Up until its February 16th meeting, the position of a majority of Oakland City Council members on permitting coal shipment from the city’s port may have been in doubt. Even now the proposal remains on the table. But at that meeting, council members took concrete steps toward banning coal exports once and for all. Thanks to the efforts of Mayor Libby Schaff, local clergy, State Senator Loni Hancock, and community activists, the Council has signaled its intention to enact an outright ban on coal exports. In fact, it passed a moratorium on the issuance of any permits for the terminal until the question has been resolved. Read details on the latest developmemts here.
(And for more background, see A Coaltastrophe Threatens Oakland on this website.)
n March, EBC will begin hosting mail nights at our office to respond to the increase amount of correspondence we’ve been receiving from people in prison across the Country. We are getting lots of questions about upcoming ballot initiatives, Prop 47, requests for pen pals and EBC’s work at large.
Please RSVP to emily@ellabakercenter.org
Join us for a film and discussion about the tiny home movement. A screening of “Tiny: A Story About Living Small” will be followed by a panel discussion led by members of Tiny House In My BackYard (THIMBY), an interdisciplinary collaboration of UC Berkeley students designing and building a zero-net-energy tiny house on the Berkeley Global Campus.
About the film: “The film follows one couple’s attempt to build a “tiny house” from scratch, and profiles other families who have downsized their lives into homes smaller than the average parking space. TINY is a story for a society redefining its priorities in the face of a changing financial and environmental climate. More than anything, TINY invites its viewers to dream big and imagine living small.”
Potluck snacks and meet and greet at 6:30pm; film at 7pm, followed by discussion. Purchase tickets ahead of time, or just drop in!
Event Website: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/250094
Event Phone: (510) 548-2220 x239
Event Email: carrie [at] ecologycenter.org
This event is co-sponsored by Transition Berkeley, the Ecology Centerand BFUU’s Social Justice Ctee.
Suggested donation $5-$20. No one turned away.
Wheelchair accessible.
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
For weekly notices of BFUU services etc. go to:
http://www.bfuu.org/signup.html
The time that we need you is now. Please join us in solidarity every day of the trial at the federal court building on 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco.
BREAKING BREAKING NEWS! Witness Justin Fritz apologizes to the Nietos for calling the police on Alex Nieto! Fritz claims Alex Nieto had done nothing wrong that day. Witness Antonio Theodor testifies that police officers killed Alex Nieto in cold blood! Full news tomorrow morning. Amor for Alex!
http://missionlocal.org/2016/03/witness-testified-alex-nieto-never-drew-weapon/
The federal civil action filed by Refugio and Elvira Nieto v. SFPD and the City and County of San Francisco for the wrongful death and civil rights violations of their son, Alejandro “Alex” Nieto goes to trial on March 1.
Four San Francisco Police Department officersLt. (then Sgt.)) Jason Sawyer and officers Nathan Chew, Roger Morse, and Richard Schiff fired 48 bullets at Alex Nieto, killing him on Bernal Heights Park on March 21, 2014.
For more information about evidence in the trial check Case Status and Alex’s Story.
Amor por Alex Nieto and our community of justice and peace!
Watch our trial rally song here on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShxnYj6t-Sk
The trial will last approximately ten days.
March 1st Report filed by A. Camarena � New information learned:
59 bullets were fired. 20 and 23 by Sgt. Sawyer and Ofc. Schiff who were first to arrive on scene. Both reloaded their .40 caliber guns once and kept shooting at Alex because they claim that he took a prone tactical position and kept pointing the taser at them. Ofcs. Morse and Chew arrived and make the incredible claim that Alex was still alive and threatening them with taser in a prone tactical position on the ground and fired 11 and 5 more shots until Alex dropped his head and taser. A crime scene photo of Alex turned over on his back, riddled, and bleeding out was shown.
Day 2 WED March 2 Testimony of Officer Schiff (the he Rookie) and partial testimony of Lt. Sawyer (the Vet)
Mini update by Adriana Camarena
Summary of testimony of rookie Ofcs. Schiff and partial testimony of Lt. Sawyer Schiff shot 23 rounnds, Sawyer 20. We learned today that the guns used by the officers who killed Alex are semi-automatic. It means that the officers had to squeeze the trigger on their .40 caliber gun each time to fire each shot. It means that each of those 59 shots fired were actually 59 individual decisions. Officers testified that it is their duty to continuously assess the situation for every shot fired.
They can only draw or fire their weapons if they have reasonable cause to believe that they themselves or someone else are at risk of death or serious bodily injury. This is why today we heard sworn testimony that Alex was still standing in a punched out tactical position pointing his taser the laser light visible after these two officers unloaded each a clip (13 bullets each, 26 total) and reloaded and kept firing (another 10 and 7 respectively). At some point Alex jumps down into a prone (belly on floor) punched out tactical position with his taser laser light pointed at them. Schiff and Sawyer both unloaded each almost another clip.
The testimony is that Alex kept threatening them as if he were a supernatural being, immune to bullets. There was sworn testimony that Alex was agonizing, breathing in gurgling distressed sounds, when they approached and decided to handcuff him because they assessed he could still be a threat. There were contradictions between the two officers we heard today as to what they said they saw Alex do. More on that tomorrow I suppose.
Free with RSVP.
Spotlight California follows comedian and filmmaker Kiran Deol as she travels across the state investigating environmental, social and economic issues. She meets people taking on the drought, water contamination in farm country, air pollution and potential gas price manipulation. Finding refuge in moments of levity along the way, Kiran takes us on a California road trip unlike any we’ve experienced.
Program:
6:30 – Doors Open
6:45 – 7:30: Screening
7:30 – 8:00: Discussion
8:00 – 8:30: Reception
Following the screening, we’ll have a 25-minute panel conversation featuring:
Tom Steyer (moderator), NextGen Climate
Vien Truong, Green For All
Seth Shonkoff, PSE Healthy Energy
Byron Ramos Gudiel, Communities for a Better Environment
Come to see communities in action, stay for the free pizza and drinks.
The first thing you need to know is that Qilombo is having its FIRST of MANY Art Showcase and Gallery Nights. Our first event is March 4th at 7pm, right around the time when you are winding down (or up) from First Fridays. There will be hella dope art and music, food and beverages, as well as performances. The main goal is to have artists submit their work to get more recognition and the chance to win large cash prizes. Submission fee is $15-25 sliding scale (you can submit more than one piece, but please pay more on the sliding scale entry fee if you do so). The money we raise will go to the winning artists!
But to add a bit of context…
The question right now should be: “What is a Black Arts District without Black people?”
Last November, Qilombo Community Center of the Afrikatown and McClymonds district hosted it’s first Anti-Gentrification Block Party. The event celebrated the importance of communities standing together in solidarity against gentrification and announced that Qilombo won their fight against their own eviction. Qilombo received a lot of attention for being able to successfully fight to stay in their location— from their neighbors, from the larger Afrikan/Black communities, from dedicated local radicals…and also from the City of Oakland.
Qilombo was paid a visit from a representative from the Planning and Building Department of Oakland. She laid out their thick pamphlet of what Oakland will look like over the course of five to ten years— the much needed bike paths, turning a highway into a lane to increase business, the investors who will build high-rises of new businesses. There was even a Black Arts District. Our volunteers agreed that Oakland needed development, but the kind of economic development that would not displace low-income residents in the process.
And what of this Black Arts District the city is designating if it would be more of a museum to the past? AGAIN THE QUESTION SHOULD BE: “How can you have a Black Arts District without Black people?” These plans are designed around investors and developers and are trying to plug in social justice out of the concerns of Oakland residents rather being designed around human lives. The representative didn’t have any answers to Qilombo’s questions. Rather, she told them to take a seat at upcoming meetings “without any promises” that any of the suggestions from Qilombo and it’s community can be considered due to the City of Oakland’s current development plans.
Instead of attending those meetings, Qilombo decided it’s time to have another war-cry against gentrification. It’s time to make our own Black Renaissance and Black Arts District, one that Afrikans can be able to fight to stay in Oakland to enjoy what we have created.
***
Submit your art of any expression (from paintings and sculpture to spoken word and performances). We do not want to put restrictions on your creativity. First place winners will win cash prizes! Afrikatown is dedicated towards making spaces that can economically sustain the most vibrant parts of our community— like the arts! So here’s to making our new Black Renaissance and POC arts thriving.
Guidelines: See the flyer for more information!
1. Artists should submit a high quality image or video of their artwork to info@qilombo.org and include the artists’ name, an art title, and the name of the contest theme they are submitting for. Submission deadline is February 3rd at midnight!
2. One must pay a $15 entry fee by the deadline via the Qilombo Paypal (finance@qilombo.org) which can also be found at our Qilombo Donate Page (qilombo.org/donate). Entry money will be used for the monetary contest prizes! Waivers may be given to those in true need.
3. Use the contest themes below!! :
• “Colonialism” or “Gentrification”
• “Ceremony” or “Generational Knowledge”
• “Liberate the Land” or “Black & Indigenous solidarity”
• “Resiliency” or “Community Power”
• “Decolonization” or “Resistance”
• “Afrofuturism” or “Indigenizing”
While 1st Fri out on the street may be getting more & more co-opted by blah from Mayor Libby Schaaf,
it’s still #bythepeopleforthepeople up in Alan’s house at 2434 Telegraph Ave #Oakland.
We plan to turn up more and more every month!
So, in March, we on a whole nother level.
Surprise Line Up Coming Soon!
Your voice is needed!
Breakfast will be provided! You will be reimbursed for transit (keep your receipt).
What if confronting the climate crisis is the best chance we’ll ever get to build a better world?
Inspired by Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller, This Changes Everything is an epic attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change.
After the film, join us for light refreshments at nearby Nong Thon Restaurant and mingle with representatives from local environmental and social justice organizations. Learn how to get involved and take action now.
Take low-carbon transport (bike, transit or walk) and enter a drawing for green giveaways!
Film Screening: 10:30am – 12:30pm
Mingle: 12:30pm – 2pm @ Nong Thon Restaurant
Event hosted by the City of El Cerrito Environmental Quality Committee and the Ecology Center.
Co-sponsored by Breakthrough Communities, League of Women Voters, Transition Albany and Transition Berkeley.
For more information contact the Ecology Center at rebecca [at] ecologycenter.org, or the City of El Cerrito at green [at] ci.el-cerrito.ca.us or (510) 215-4350
For far too long, our political leaders have failed to represent Oakland’s true values. It is time for the Oakland Left to unite, recruit our own candidates and build political power to achieve meaningful change.
At our last meeting we discussed:
1) Ballot initiatives as an organizing strategy – tenant protections, living wage and police accountabiity
2) The process for selecting candidates,
3) Developing a progressive campaign platform
4) Which races to focus on
At our last meeting we also announced the formation of a new coalition with members including the Anti Police-Terror Project, the Oakland Education Association, the Coalition for Police Accountability, the Green Party, Socialist Alternative Bay Area, Community READY Corps, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, the Community Democracy Project, Oakland Tenants Union, Oakland Livable Wage Assembly and more. We also discussed support for three ballot initiatives – a package on real rent control with other tenant protections, the creation of a police commission with hiring and firing authority over the police chief, and a workers rights bill that includes a $20 minimum wage.
Oakland Alliance seeks to unite the progressive movement in Oakland behind a slate of candidates who will challenge the institutional power structure that has failed to represent the interests of the people over the powerful. Come and connect with dozens of organizations interested in building long-term political power and holding our elected officials accountable to the needs of their constituents.
In honor of International Women’s Day
Rasmea Fights Back:
The struggle of Women, Immigrants & Political Prisoners
Featuring:
Nadine Naber, University of Illinois at Chicago & Rasmea Odeh Defense Committee
#Justice4Rasmea
Hosted by:
The Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC)
Rasmea Odeh is a 67 year old Palestinian American community leader who was tortured and falsely convicted by an Israeli military court. As a direct result, years later the US government convicted her of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization, sentenced her to 18 months in prison and imminent deportation. The appeals court heard oral arguments on October 14th and recently granted the appeal!
What does the court of appeals’ decision mean for her case?
What are the implications for her and the Arab and Muslim community?
How can you get involved in her defense and in the defense of all people facing state repression?
If Iowa and New Hampshire have shaken the political establishment, how will things look after Super Tuesday, March 1? We are inviting speakers from different political perspectives (including Progressive Democrats of America, Peace and Freedom Party, Socialist Alternative, and UC Berkeley Students for Sanders) to share their views about Super Tuesday 2016 and listen to ours.
Seating is limited, so plan to come early. We start promptly.
FREE – but hat will be passed for donations to NPML
About Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library
A weekly discussion series inspired by our respect for the work of Karl Marx and our belief that his work will remain as important for the class struggles of the future as they have been for the past.
Housing for the Rest of Us
Introducing the Berkeley Progressive Alliance
and our Affordable Housing Platform
- There is a solution to the Affordable Housing Crisis
- Berkeley could build at least 100 units of affordable housing a year, if we raise funds for the Housing Trust Fund. Hear about practical solutions that will raise the money needed. Prepare for the 2016 Election by making plans to elect a mayor, city council members, and rent board commissioners who will represent all of us, not just the 1%.
- Speakers include:
- ● Max Anderson ‐ Berkeley City Councilmember
- District 3 (South Berkeley)
- ● Ben Bartlett ‐ member, Berkeley Planning Commission and District 3 City Council candidate
- ● Kate Harrison, Berkeley Progressive Alliance and National/State Politics Chair of the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club
- ● Community Activists to update us on the upcoming 2016 Berkeley Tenant Convention, Minimum Wage efforts, the Proposed Landlord Tax and Public Campaign Financing