Calendar

Four days of heartbreaking testimony that revealed why many veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars had concluded that their mission was unjust.

The Welcome Home Project is a collection of stories and photographs of formerly incarcerated Alameda County residents who turned their lives around after many years in prison. Their stories are testimony to the power of resilience and determination in the face of the barriers that most formerly incarcerated individuals face.

There is a mini-exhibit of the photography show and a panel event on Dec. 11th at the Albany Library.The panel with include a few of the Welcome Home participants.

BART Police Citizen Review Board (BPCRB)

Agenda:

8.  Revised BART Police Department (BPD) Use of Force Policy.  For Discussion and Action.

#J20Resist #J20 Save the date- Court support 12/12, 9am, 850 Bryant, SF pic.twitter.com/h43wLN4zms

— Anti Police-Terror (@APTPaction) November 22, 2017

Update: The SEIU/IPTE strike has caused the cancellation of the 12-5 Public Safety Committee. New date (12-12) is tentative and will be confirmed as soon as possible.

Deport ICE: The Resolution To End Cooperation With ICE

On December 5th, Oakland’s Public Safety Committee will debate a resolution from Desley Brooks and Rebecca Kaplan to end all Oakland Police Department cooperation with ICE, after assistance in an August 16 raid violated the city’s sanctuary policy.

Video Samples from the November 28 hearing on the ICE Raid
https://oaklandprivacy.org/2017/11/29/oakland-turns-out-for-long-delayed-ice-raid-hearing/

On August 16, HSI/ICE conducted an AM raid on the 700th block of 27th Street in West Oakland with OPD assistance. The raid was advertised (erroneously) as a search warrant for the sexual trafficking of juveniles, biut there were no actual allegations of sexual abuse, no juveniles were removed from the home and the solitary arrest was for being undocumented. The 25 year old arrestee is now in the deportation process. At an October 5th investigation and hearing that the OPD Chief did not attend, Oakland’s Privacy Commission concluded that the raid violated Oakland’s sanctuary city policy and several statements made by OPD chief Anne Kirkpatrick about the raid were false.

Video of the OPAC hearing is here. https://oaklandprivacy.org/2017/10/06/privacy-advisory-commission-investigation-of-oakland-ice-raid-concludes-violation-of-sanctuary-city-policy/

East Bay Express coverage is here:
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/oakland-police-chief-made-false-statements-about-ice-raid/Content?oid=9793923

City Council members Desley Brooks and Rebecca Kaplan have now initiated legislation to end the sanctuary loophole but need our help to get it through the full Council.

Oaklanders and other Bay Area residents who want sanctuary legislation taken seriously around the Bay should attend.

Much else also of interest on the agenda for activists keeping tabs on OPD, Urban Shield and ICE.

https://oakland.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=574689&GUID=4AFF07E1-1E60-4C10-8516-7C380353658B&Options=info&Search=

• Bay Area Urban Area Security Initiative Program MOU
• Fiscal Year 2017 Urban Area Security Initiative Program Grant Agreement
• OPD Crime Analysis Software Contracts
• Regarding The HSI/ICE Raid In West Oakland On August 16, 2017
• Resolution Clarifying And Reaffirming Policy On Non-Cooperation With ICE
• Overtime Expenditures In The Police And Fire Departments For FY 2017-18

NOTE: THERE IS SOME POSSIBILITY THIS MEETING WILL BE CANCELLED DUE TO OAKLAND CITY WORKERS GOING OUT ON STRIKE.

Come to our social hour at Moxy!  Come out to connect with DSA, learn more about our single-payer campaign, and meet your neighbors!

Meditation, service & a transformative message from Minister Cherri Murphy & Reverend C. Michael Woodstock. Ro will be sharing her inspirational art & community awareness storytelling in an interactive experience as a part of the Wednesday evening service.
Open to all, would love to have you & your voice in the room

Agenda:

• Commissioner Introductions.
• Open Forum
• Election of Chair and Vice Chair
• Determination of Regular Meeting Schedule
• Role of Alternates
• Rules and Procedures
• Training and Orientation of Commissioners
• Comments – OPD Chief Kirpatrick
• Report on Transition of Pending Business of the CPRB

Note: This meeting may be postponed because of the Oakland City Worker Striker.

On the agenda: body worn cameras – BPD presentation, use of force

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/Commissions/Commissions__Police_Review_Commission_Homepage.aspx

Interested in learning about what Urban Shield is, the work of the coalition, and how to get involved? On Wednesday, December 13, SURJ San Francisco will be hosting a public Community Meeting on Policing and Urban Shield. There will be time to hear about what organizing against Urban Shield has looked like, next steps, and how you can support us in achieving a people’s victory over Urban Shield. We encourage organizations and community members in SF to attend this gathering so that we can all be well informed and best positioned to organize and win.

Facebook page

All we want for Xmas: Community Health, Not Developer Wealth!

On Thursday, December 14th, Building Owners and Management Association East Bay – an organization of commercial building owners and real estate brokers – is holding its annual holiday party at the Oakland Rotunda Building, which is currently under boycott. Youth and workers have had enough of landlords and developers threatening our city with gentrification, pollution, and exploitation. We interrupt BOMA’s celebration to demand our rights and celebrate resilience.

Earlier this month, youth, workers, and community members launched a boycott of the Rotunda Building in response to the building owner Phil Tagami’s lawsuit against the City of Oakland seeking to build a coal terminal which would accelerate already catastrophic ecological destruction and spread toxic coal dust in predominantly working class communities and communities of color in Oakland.

Join us on December 14th for a rocking youth performance and a lively picket of the BOMA party and Rotunda Building to tell Phil Tagami to get his dirty coal out of the Town. We’ll start at 5PM with a youth-led rhythm brigade and Elfin Uprising followed by a picket and delivery of stockings full of coal.

Phil Tagami once claimed he would never ship coal out of concern for the climate his children will inherit. This holiday season, let’s remind him of what really matters most: our families, our communities, and our planet. He can either deliver on his promise to the next generation – and to the city of Oakland – or he will face an ongoing boycott until he drops his lawsuit.

#DontBeAGrinchTagami  #DeliverJobsNotCoal #KidsDontDeserveCoal #ElvesVsCoal

For more information, contact Brooke at Climate Workers at 510-846-0766 or at brooke@climateworkers.org.

If you can help with either a generator or rides for youth, please contact Carolyn Norr at 510-220-5707 or carolynclara@gmail.com.

For background about the campaign to keep coal out of Oakland, go to NoCoalInOakland.info.

Please come out to join the first in our series of spokescouncils to help plan the #96Hours of #NonCompliance to Reclaim King’s Radical Legacy.

Note that in contemplating what is happening in the world right now, and the critical importance of solidarity with indigenous peoples and peoples engages in liberation struggles around the world – the third day of #96Hours will be Indigenous/International Solidarity Day!

Here is our revised Call and please don’t forget to join our Facebook spokescouncil event series by clicking “interested” on the series, then “going” on the dates you are able to attend.

Help plan 96 Hours by attending the spokescouncils

WE.WILL.NOT.COMPLY.

96 Hours of Non-Compliance Over King Day Weekend

It’s that time again, Bay Area! For the fourth year in a row, for #96hours over the King Day Weekend, the Anti Police-Terror Project calls our comrades into the streets to stand in solidarity and say no to white supremacy, say no to state sponsored terror, say no to development over people, say no to misogyny, say no to homophobia and transphobia, say no to the targeting of immigrants, say no to the targeting of Muslims. We call on you to join us and show the Trump-Schaff Regimes that WE WILL NOT COMPLY with their corporate agenda.

We call upon groups large and small, well-established or brand new, to plan your own action(s) within a common framework:

Our #96hours culminates with a mass mobilization, and we ask everyone to come together for the Reclaiming King’s Radical Legacy March through the streets of Oakland.

Furthermore, we call upon both individuals and groups in our community (whether you’re planning an action or not) to come together in a series of spokescouncil meetings in order to coordinate and support the many actions that will be planned:

Even before Trump took office and the KKK took off their hoods, we saw open displays of white supremacy and state-sponsored violence in the Bay Area. We saw police agents murder our Black and Brown community members in broad daylight with no repercussions. We saw local city governments embolden law enforcement departments with unlimited overtime, paid leave after murdering residents, militarized equipment, and a blank check to use dangerous and “non”-lethal devices to crack down on our culture and political dissent.

Even before the Oakland Police Department received national news coverage for the rape of a young teen sex worker by tens of law enforcement agents across the Bay Area, we saw the open sexual harassment and exploitation of our Black and Brown community members in broad daylight with no repercussions.

Even before the GOP-controlled U.S. Congress began its warpath to destroy healthcare and public education and exacerbate poverty, we saw our local city governments do NOTHING to aid long-time residents at risk FOR YEARS as the housing crisis continues to grow worse and worse.

That’s why we are telling all agents of our oppression, from 45 to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf that WE WILL NOT COMPLY with their corporate agenda.

What About Islam?

In this time of anti-Muslim propaganda, what about hearing from real Muslims who live among us? Come hear activist Ahmed Salah speak about how Islam has deeply influenced his philosophy, which is to create social change while preserving life on both sides. Ahmed Salah was one of the primary organizers of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 where hundreds of thousands of protesters filled Tahrir Square, leading to the resignation of an oppressive president. Mr. Salah is the recipient of the Center for Justice and Accountability’s 2013 Champion of Justice Award. There will also be live Middle Eastern music at the event. Let’s listen and discuss together. The event will be held in the historic Fellowship Hall at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists (BFUU).
Program:
7:00 pm – 7:30 pm Middle Eastern music
7:30 pm – 7:45 pm Break
7:45 pm – 8:45 pm Talk by Ahmed Salah
8:45 pm – 9:00 pm Q&A
9:00 pm – 10:00 pm Socializing, book signing
Suggested donation $10-20; no one turned away for lack of funds
Co-sponsored by the BFUU Social Justice and Music Committees

With White Nationalist/Alt-Right activity and racist harassment on the rise in our public transportation system, Community Ready Corps (CRC) is calling for a campaign to make BART safe for all.

In just the last month, there were several sightings of BART passengers openly displaying Neo-Nazi symbols (as tattoos, pins, or patches on outer clothing), and one incident of racist harassment that went viral after being caught on tape.

In this video (linked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLCRq0gGg30), a white BART passenger repeatedly called an Asian passenger a “Chinese n*****” and even physically assaulted him. It took far too long for any bystanders to intervene – and one cowardly white man actually got up and got out of the way, leaving the target of harassment even more vulnerable to the attack.

As a community, we need to prepare ourselves to intervene safely in these situations. Public transportation needs to be safe for all of us. 430,000 Bay Area residents rely on BART to get to work every day. We need to organize collectively to create a climate of safety on BART and send the strong message that the Bay Area is united against hate – that our community won’t tolerate racist intimidation and harassment on BART!

In our next workshop, held Saturday, December 16th from 1 – 4 pm at the ACCE office, we’ll apply the proactive response model we introduced in the first series of workshops (Self Defense, Digital Security & Intelligence Gathering, and Hearts & Minds) to the physical space of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system.

The first half of this workshop will be a training for safe and effective bystander intervention and self defense by Field Marshall Tur-Ha Ak and Deputy Field Marshall Che Bowe. This training is appropriate for anybody of any skill level, and will equip community members with skills they can use to intervene, de-escalate, and defend themselves against racist harassment and violence. We strongly encourage anti-racist white people to come to this training and get skilled up.

In the second half, we’ll break into working groups to begin growing this campaign to #TakeBackBART. Hope to see you there! Please invite your friends to this workshop!