Islam today is the world’s second largest and fastest growing religion. Muslim gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma travels the many worlds of this dynamic faith, discovering the stories of its most unlikely storytellers: lesbian and gay Muslims. A Jihad for Love was filmed in 12 countries and 9 languages and comes from the heart of Islam. Looking beyond a hostile and war-torn present, it reclaims the Islamic concept of a greater Jihad, whose true meaning is akin to ‘an inner struggle’ or ‘to strive in the path of God’ – allowing its remarkable subjects to move beyond the narrow concept of Jihad as holy war.

Sponsored by the BFUU Social Justice Ctee as part of our Conscientious Projector series.

Monthly interfaith prayer meeting, held on second Sundays, dedicated to survivors and victims of violence and police terror in Oakland.

The Baha’i community of Oakland is organizing this gathering for the community to connect, share prayers, writings and poems from all spiritual traditions, reflect and recharge and build coalitions interested in healing.

Come share prayers, quotes, poems, and favorite passages from your scriptures with us. Simple breakfast will be served.

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

Inspired by Naomi Klein’s bestseller, this uplifting documentary portrays communities throughout the world living on the edge of climate change. Communities like West Oakland, now threatened by coal.

Please join the discussion at the end of the film.

Assistant City Administrator Claudia Cappio will speak at the Post Salon Community Assembly about the actions the city is taking on the Community Assembly’s 12 proposals as well as other actions of the city during Oakland’s 90-day Housing State of Emergency.

URGENT – HELP KEEP GAINS OF OAKLAND EMERGENCY HOUSING MORATORIUM

The Post Salon Community Assembly (with other local organizations) won a housing state of emergency that has lasted for the past two months. This ordinance has stopped hundreds and perhaps thousands of Oakland renters from having their rent raised above 1.7 percent (per year) and has prevented evictions without cause. But the ordinance ends on July 5. The Post Salon Community Assembly wants the city to take steps that will permanently protect the 60% of Oakland renters who typically earn less than $40,000 a year.

COME TO THE POST SALON TO DIALOGUE WITH CITY ADMINISTRATION ABOUT HOW TO MAKE THE GAINS OF THE EMERGENCY HOUSING MORATORIUM PERMANENT. (The Salon will also hear a brief report on the Police Commission initiative)

In March 2016, a delegation of 19 former prisoners, Black Panthers, activists and scholars convened by Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, professor at San Francisco State University, visited Palestine. This was the first U.S. delegation to focus specifically on political imprisonment and solidarity between Palestinian and U.S. prisoners.

Join us for slides, stories, reflections and discussion. With:

Emory Douglas, Minister of Culture, Black Panther Party, Rabab Abdulhadi, Professor, San Francisco State University, and other delegation members.

Oakland’s rents are rising faster than almost every city in the United States creating a displacement crisis that touches all of our communities.  The crisis has particular negative impacts on Black residents that manifest in lack of access to quality housing, jobs, and education, as well as increased racialized profiling.

Meanwhile, the Oakland Police continue to be out of control.

STOP the hemorrhaging of severely impacted populations.

STAY – Retain current & long-time residents of Oakland.

EXPAND opportunities for displaced persons to return to the City.

and put the Oakland Police under civilian control.

The Week of Action is Supported by: ACCE Action, Anti-Police Terror Project (APTP), Community Ready Corps (CRC) and East Bay Organizing Committee (EBOC, Fight 4 $15).

Candlelight Vigil for #Orlando in #Oakland tonight. 8-10pm #OGP 14th & Broadway. Please bring items for an altar. pic.twitter.com/CnruKCB6YH

— Bri. (@zuchinno) June 12, 2016

Beloved Ones, the times are urgent and we must remember to love and hold one another. With the recent pains of the Orlando Massacre, we are reminded of the dangers that LGBTQI family members face every day.

I will be holding space at Henry J Kaiser Memorial Park for those who need a hug, a listening ear, a smudging, an energetic cleansing. Stop by to grieve, to ground for a moment of silence, to drum, to sing a mourning song. We will send metta and lovingkindness to our relations in Orlando who are suffering. Bring an item for the #LGBTQI altar if you feel called to do so.

Even if you cannot join us, please join us from wherever you are, in sending metta and prayers to the community in Orlando, and the family and friends of loved ones lost in this senseless and violent act. Feel free to share this invitation with others who may want to attend.

Come find me near the tree and “The Remember Them: Champions for Humanity Monument” in the park.

With all my love, Brenda

P.S. No charge. This is a love offering to community, and donations will be accepted but are not necessary. ♥ Please feel free to share with LGBTQI friends who may be needing energetic support at this time.

P.S.S. If you are a healer I know, and want to also offer support please private message me. Let’s offer space and healing to community together.

Join the E12th Coalition and friends for a week of:
• Black & Brown liberation
• Decolonization
• People’s sovereignty
• Hella good food
• A right to housing
• Art, short films, comedy, land, and more!!

Free food and short films each evening, M–Thu.
====

MONDAY: 6:30pm – 9:00pm

Honor This Land

Food, discussion, mindfully being with the land, and themes of decolonization from Huichin (Oakland) to Palestine. Screening of the trailer of “Beyond Recognition,” on Ohlone organizing to reclaim stewardship over their sacred sites and traditional homeland, here in the Bay Area.
====

TUESDAY: 6:30pm–9:00pm

Black & Brown Unity

Drumming & healing circle with Maestro Arturo Carrillo, Black & Brown communities sharing a meal, sharing space, and discussing how to get free together in the face of legacies of trauma, violence, evictions, policing, and systems that pit us against one another. Affirming one another’s beauty and indispensable value to liberation. And screening the trailer of comedian Sampson McCormick’s “A Tough Act To Follow.”
====

WEDNESDAY: 6:30pm–9:00pm

Building Our Visions

Highlighting visionary projects like Homefulness, POC Sustainable Housing Network, Sustainable Economies Law Center, La Biblioteca, Afrikatown / Qilombo, and more. While the Planning Commission rubber-stamps a segregated luxury tower (with objection from our few yet wonderful allies on the commission), we stay steadfast on the People’s Visions.
====

THURSDAY: 6:30pm–9:00pm

Healing

Blessed with an abundance of local healing pracitioners in so many modalities, we assert the right of people and land to Heal. Herbal pain patches from Shift Acupuncture Collective; Danza Azteca with CuauhTonal; South African songs with the Vukani Mawethu choir; free food, and more.
====

FRIDAY: 3:00–4:00pm

Rally & March Kickoff with #StopStayExpand

“WE DEMAND immediate protections for renters, redirecting City money to protect low wage workers & public education around connection between police terror, displacement and the impact on our schools/young people!”

More info on the Week of Action to ReClaim Oakland:
https://www.facebook.com/events/504950389694691/

We need all hands on deck in Alameda County! Despite rapidly growing community opposition, the sheriff’s department is barrelling forward to seek county supervisor approval for the proposed mental health expansion at Santa Rita jail without the community’s consent.

Mobilize with us tomorrow at the Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ meeting!

Will you help us change the tide in Alameda County?

The sheriff will be seeking approval for the expansion’s proposed architect and we are mobilizing to tell our Board of Supervisors that we need county money spent on care, not cages! RSVP here.

Let’s show the sheriff and the Board of Supervisors that the community is watching, and that we don’t support money being poured into the sheriff’s pockets.

Come support the No Jail Expansion in Alameda County Coalition as they (and you) try to convince the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to halt their plans to expand Santa Rita Jail.

The Alameda Jail Fight Coalition is gathering to call attention to the Alameda County’s $54 million Santa Rita Jail construction project that has been approved without the community’s consent.

We are expecting the Sheriff’s office to seek approval for the expansion’s proposed construction builder and we are mobilizing to tell our Board of Supervisors that we need county money spent on care, not cages!

Grassroots community organizing power to oppose the jail and prioritize mental health diversion and community-based solutions is growing rapidly. We need you there to help us stop this jail expansion in its tracks.

We encourage community members to join us outside at the Alameda County Administrative Building at 10 am. We will then move into the county chambers to collectively voice our opposition.

Press conference at 12:30 OM outside of City Hall.

Committee meeting begins at 4:00 PM.

Oakland City Council Public Safety Committee will be discussing and potentially voting on moving the Police Commission ballot measure being proposed by Dan Kalb & Noel Gallo and any of the Coalition’s proposed revisions to a full City Council vote. Attendance will be essential for ensuring community support is shown and heard, and that the measure moves forward. Mark your calendar and RSVP to optimize coordinated efforts.

And check back here for more details about the meeting as they are posted: https://oakland.legistar.com/calendar.aspx

For the past thirteen years, Oakland tax payers have spent OVER $30 MILLION on Federal oversight of the Police Department because rogue police officers profiled, harassed, abused, and planted drugs on hundreds of Black people in our city. Despite the mandate for reforms, recent events that prompted the firing of Chief Whent indicate that, while some progress has occurred, the underlying culture has not changed.

When people experience police violence and corruption, trust is broken. And without that trust, community members are unlikely to report crimes or work with police to apprehend suspects, compromising the safety of everyone.
We believe that a police commission made up of Oakland residents who have the authority to hold police accountable is necessary. While it may not prevent all abuses of power, it will allow the community a voice in the policies and practices that OPD engages in and will have the power to discipline for misconduct.
OUR MESSAGE:

We need the Public Safety Committee to move Item #3 to the full Council for consideration on Tuesday so the City Council can vote to place this police accountability measure on the November 2016 ballot.

Stand up for equitable development & community benefits for East Oakland Residents!

=====

Oakland’s rents are rising faster than almost every city in the United States creating a displacement crisis that touches all of our communities.  The crisis has particular negative impacts on Black residents that manifest in lack of access to quality housing, jobs, and education, as well as increased racialized profiling.

Meanwhile, the Oakland Police continue to be out of control.

STOP the hemorrhaging of severely impacted populations.

STAY – Retain current & long-time residents of Oakland.

EXPAND opportunities for displaced persons to return to the City.

and put the Oakland Police under civilian control.

The Week of Action is Supported by: ACCE Action, Anti-Police Terror Project (APTP), Community Ready Corps (CRC) and East Bay Organizing Committee (EBOC, Fight 4 $15).

TUESDAY: 6:30pm–9:00pm

Black & Brown Unity

Drumming & healing circle with Maestro Arturo Carrillo, Black & Brown communities sharing a meal, sharing space, and discussing how to get free together in the face of legacies of trauma, violence, evictions, policing, and systems that pit us against one another. Affirming one another’s beauty and indispensable value to liberation. And screening the trailer of comedian Sampson McCormick’s “A Tough Act To Follow.”
====

WEDNESDAY: 6:30pm–9:00pm

Building Our Visions

Highlighting visionary projects like Homefulness, POC Sustainable Housing Network, Sustainable Economies Law Center, La Biblioteca, Afrikatown / Qilombo, and more. While the Planning Commission rubber-stamps a segregated luxury tower (with objection from our few yet wonderful allies on the commission), we stay steadfast on the People’s Visions.
====

THURSDAY: 6:30pm–9:00pm

Healing

Blessed with an abundance of local healing pracitioners in so many modalities, we assert the right of people and land to Heal. Herbal pain patches from Shift Acupuncture Collective; Danza Azteca with CuauhTonal; South African songs with the Vukani Mawethu choir; free food, and more.
====

FRIDAY: 3:00–4:00pm

Rally & March Kickoff with #StopStayExpand

“WE DEMAND immediate protections for renters, redirecting City money to protect low wage workers & public education around connection between police terror, displacement and the impact on our schools/young people!”

More info on the Week of Action to ReClaim Oakland:
https://www.facebook.com/events/504950389694691/

The local filmmaker series continues!

This time, we’ve paired two short documentary films that seemed to complement each other quite well. They depict stories about gentrification on both sides of the Bay: the Bulb in Albany, and the Western Addition neighborhood in San Francisco.

All We Did Was Live: Voices of the Albany Bulb (20 mins)

Directed by Andrew Schrader and Travis Schirmer

This film follows several residents of the Albany Bulb community after they are forcibly removed from their encampments by the city, but the harassment doesn’t stop there…

Saving Midtown (13 mins)

Produced and Directed by Marianne Maeckelbergh and Brandon Jourdan

This is the story of the Midtown rent strike, the largest rent strike in San Francisco since 1978.

Doors open at 7, screening at 7:30. The films will be shown in sequence, with Q&A afterwards.  $5 donation appreciated, but no one turned away! Free popcorn and snacks, as always.

~ Sponsored by Liberated Lens ~

Target one of Alameda County’s largest landlords and demand an end to rent increases and evictions.

=======

Oakland’s rents are rising faster than almost every city in the United States creating a displacement crisis that touches all of our communities.  The crisis has particular negative impacts on Black residents that manifest in lack of access to quality housing, jobs, and education, as well as increased racialized profiling.

Meanwhile, the Oakland Police continue to be out of control.

STOP the hemorrhaging of severely impacted populations.

STAY – Retain current & long-time residents of Oakland.

EXPAND opportunities for displaced persons to return to the City.

and put the Oakland Police under civilian control.

The Week of Action is Supported by: ACCE Action, Anti-Police Terror Project (APTP), Community Ready Corps (CRC) and East Bay Organizing Committee (EBOC, Fight 4 $15).

Even if we stopped extracting and burning fossil fuels today, the wheels of catastrophic climate change have been set in motion. While reducing emissions is essential, it’s half the battle – we must also sequester carbon out of the atmosphere. The world’s soils hold roughly three times more carbon than the amount stored in the atmosphere. Carbon farming uses intensive composting and innovative land management strategies to draw down even more carbon into our soil. The Bay Area is a hub for this exciting, potentially planet-changing research and practice.

A 16 year old Black girl was killed in #Oakland last night. Tonight, we'll gather to honor her. 6 pm at 13th & Franklin. Be there.

— Nicole Deane (@sassmasterdeane) June 15, 2016

TODAY, 6pm, #Oakland: Vigil for 16-Year-Old Reggina Jefferies https://t.co/bD0dzsmmYP pic.twitter.com/NbV4ZFAiPp

— Indybay (@Indybay) June 15, 2016

My Brother Tur-Ha Ak says this:
If you have ever appreciated my work in this community, I need folks at 13th & Franklin at 6:00 p.m. this evening to let the world know we love us, we are unafraid, & we will address harm no matter where it comes from. If yall care about me, my family, our work or our people, be there. I’m takin the intersection, if I’m there by myself, so be it but 13th & Franklin belongs to our babies tonight.