Via Zoom: please see access info below

We will explore the Texas anti-abortion law (SB8) and the struggle against it (and similar legislation).  But we want to go deeper, by locating this struggle in the context of the polarization of politics in America and other countries.  The US is more severely divided than it has been for decades.  Trump is no longer President, but Trumpism is very much alive.  In the sixties and seventies, the last period of major polarization, our movement, including radical feminism, was growing.  Now, despite some increased numbers and visibility, the movement seems not up to the many challenges we face.  What are we to do?

Snehal Shingavi is associate professor of English at the University of Texas, Austin, where he teaches South Asian literatures in English, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of the South Asian diaspora.  He received his PhD in English from the University of California, Berkeley and has taught previously at Notre Dame de Namur University and the University of Mary Washington.  He is a long-time social justice activist and has participated in a number of campaigns and movements, including: the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, the third world Liberation Front, the Association of Graduate Student Employees/UAW local 2865, Students for Justice in Palestine, Friends of South Asia, United Students Against Sweatshops, the Green Party (where he managed Aimee Allison’s bid for Oakland City Council as a Green), the Campus Antiwar Network, the Texas State Employees Union/CWA local 6186, the Palestine Solidarity Committee, the Stop the Cuts Coalition, Occupy Austin, the People’s Task Force, and the Democratic Socialists of America.  He is the author of The Mahatma Misunderstood: the politics and forms of literary nationalism in India (Anthem Books, 2013).  He has also published widely in places like GQ India, the International Socialist Review, Postcolonial Text, South Asia, The New Inquiry, the South Asia Journal, The Book Review and the Annual of Urdu Studies.

Nancy Rosenstock is a long time fighter for women’s liberation as well as a socialist. In the early 1970s, Rosenstock was an activist in Boston Female Liberation, one of the first radical feminist organizations, and she served on the national staff of the Women’s National Abortion Action Coalition in 1971. Today she is a member of Chicago for Abortion Rights. She is the author of the forthcoming book*Inside The Second Wave of Feminism: A Participants’ Account of Boston Female Liberation, 1968�1972, which is sscheduled for publication in 2022 by Haymarket Books.
My remarks will focus on where we are at currently in the fight for the right of women to choose abortion.  Since the 1973 historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision decriminalizing abortion, right-wing forces, fueled by the government, and both major political parties, have led attack after attack on abortion rights.  Today we are at a critical juncture.  What is necessary to counter these attacks and build a fighting movement?  What lessons can we draw from the past decades?

Green Sundays are a series of free public programs & discussions on topics “du jour” sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County and held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party follows at 7:00 pm, after a 30-minute break. Council meetings are open to anyone who is interested.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82620271999?pwd=S3ZwUklteGI5YjJsMEtMSnJXRzU3UT09

Meeting ID: 826 2027 1999
Passcode: 2020

One tap mobile
+16699009128,,82620271999#,,,,,,0#,,2020# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,82620271999#,,,,,,0#,,2020# US (Houston)

Dial by your location
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

Meeting ID: 826 2027 1999
Passcode: 2020
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kgrlxBN1m   

OTU’s Mission

The Oakland Tenants Union is an organization of housing activists dedicated to protecting tenant rights and interests. OTU does this by working directly with tenants in their struggle with landlords, impacting legislation and public policy about housing, community education, and working with other organizations committed to furthering renters’ rights. The Oakland Tenants Union is open to anyone who shares our core values and who believes that tenants themselves have the primary responsibility to work on their own behalf.

Monthly Meetings

The Oakland Tenants Union meets regularly at 7:00 pm on the second Monday evening of each month. Our monthly meetings are held in the Community Room of the Madison Park Apartments, 100 – 9th Street (at Oak Street, across from the Lake Merritt BART Station). To enter, gently knock on the window of the room to the right of the main entrance to the building. At the meetings, first we focus on general issues affecting renters city-wide and then second we offer advice to renters regarding their individual concerns.

If you have an issue, a question, or need advice about a tenant/landlord issue, please call us at (510) 704-5276. Leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will get back to you.

Protect Our MACRO Victory & Police out of Special Events

1. The City must move MACRO forward with all deliberate speed in order to implement this critical program & framework;
2. The City must hold to their commitment to a higher pay scale for front line MACRO workers to ensure workers are able to invest long term in the program;
3. The City must implement a community oversight board that ensures MACRO works in an effective, transparent and transformational way that centers the expertise of the people of Oakland;
4. The City must pursue additional funding avenues and present a plan to expand and sustain MACRO so that this critical service can be accessible to Oakland residents 24/7.

Additionally we will be calling on the City Administrator Ed Reiskin to implement the council directive passed in July 2020 to move the handling of special events out of OPD, and have it done by civilians to end the prohibitive cost of police fees from stopping community events.

For events like First Fridays and others to continue, we must end the senseless drain by police staffing fees on events that are meant to benefit the community.
Hope to see you soon!
APTP
Anti Police-Terror Project is a Black-led, multi-racial, intergenerational coalition that seeks to build a replicable and sustainable model to eradicate police terror in communities of color. We support families surviving police terror in their fight for justice, documenting police abuses and connecting impacted families and community members with resources, legal referrals, and opportunities for healing.

Donate

=========================

The Berkeley Anarchist Study Group (aka BASTARD: Berkeley Anarchist Students [of] Attack, Revolt, & Destruction) is one of the longest running (if not the longest running) anarchist reading groups in North America. We meet every Tuesday night from 7:30-9:30pm PST (note the new time!) at The Long Haul (3124 Shattuck Ave in Berkeley).

New participants are always encouraged to stop by regardless of your familiarity with anarchist ideas or practices. We warmly welcome newcomers and encourage them to make the group their own in the same manner we all do. To this effect, we endeavor to cultivate a convivial and gregarious atmosphere where everyone can contribute in whatever ways and to whatever degree they each desire. We do not, however, incorporate fixed practices aimed at creating an artificial “safe space” or prioritize the voices of certain participants as a way of ostensibly bringing about contrived parity amongst ourselves. We have no membership, no responsibilities, and no codes of behavior. In lieu of spurious standards for relating to each other, we look to every participant to find a balance between making their voice heard and hearing those of the rest of the group, between disagreeing passionately with each other and accepting our divergences without necessarily needing to resolve them. In summary, we eschew inflexible precepts for interaction and instead embrace spontaneous and honest dialogue, while leaving it up to each individual to make their voice heard and utilize the group as they see fit.

The study group organizes an annual gathering called the BASTARD Conference. This DIY event consists of informal, autodidactic presentations on anarchy and anarchists, presented by participants in the study group along with friends, guests, and accomplices from around the world.

In addition, this group has acted as a launching point for many texts, projects, and actions in its three decades of existence. Many attendees have been and continue to be integrally involved in projects which have left enduring impacts on international anarchist milieus over the years.

We pick readings for the coming week at the end of each session, after which they will be posted here. If you have a text you’d like to suggest, come pitch it to the group, but please be ready to kick off the following week’s conversation by introducing & sharing your reasons for choosing it.

If any of this sparks your interest or curiosity, then come join us every Tuesday evening from 7:30-9:30pm at The Long Haul (3124 Shattuck Ave in Berkeley). Email birdsoffire [at] riseup [dot] net with any questions. We hope to see you soon!

Walk expropriating and igniting!
Always leaving behind me howls of moral offenses
and smoking trunks of old things.

For the annihilation of all authority!
For the refusal of all submission!
Toward the beautiful idea of anarchy!

We meet as a coalition on the 2nd Wednesday of the month from 6-7:30p. We also have a google group where we share updates. If you’d like to be added to those meetings or google group, please contact decarceratealameda@gmail.com.

​Link to General Meetings: https://zoom.us/j/96555663590

General Questions about DAC or to get involved please contact Cynthia Nunes at Cynthia@Restoreoakland.org
​
If you have a media request, please contact Ashley Chambers at ashley@ellabakercenter.org.

If you still have questions, we have four workgroups to our coalition:

• If you’re interested in connecting with the Budget and Legislative Workgroup (meetings Thursdays 4:30p), please contact John Lindsay-Poland at JLindsay-Poland@afsc.org and Tash Nguyen at tash@restoreoakland.org.
• If you’re interested in connecting with the Communications Workgroup (meetings every other Wednesday 5:00p), please contact Amber Akemi Piatt at amber@humanimpact.org.
• If you’re interested in connecting with the Inreach Workgroup (last Tuesday of the month at 4:00p) (outreach to folks inside Santa Rita Jail and/or families of folks inside), please contact Jose Bernal at jose@ellabakercenter.org.
  • If you’re interested in connecting with Santa Rita Jail Solidarity, reach out to them on the contact tab of their website.
• If you’re interested in connecting with the Outreach Workgroup (meetings every other Monday at 6p) please contact Cynthia Nunes at Cynthia@RestoreOakland.org

Any other questions? Please contact ​decarceratealameda@gmail.com!

Our Green New Deal Committee meets on the second Wednesday each month. We will discuss eco-socialist issues, upcoming events and actions, committee priorities, and campaigns. All are welcome! Please RSVP to receive the URL to the meeting or email green-new-deal@eastbaydsa.org.

Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ Public Protection Committee is
taking up further AB1185 sheriff/jail oversight implementation
planning on Thursday, October 14th @ 10am. Make Your Voice Heard.
Links will be posted here: https:// bos.acgov.org/ committee-meetings/
Your emails to the Committee prior to the Oct 14th meeting can be sent
to Chair Valle, richard.valle@acgov.org and Supervisor Miley at
nate.miley@acgov.org supporting the principles that ICJJ, FIAEB, CPA
and allies are advocating (link) For additional followup information,
contact Bruce @ brucds@pacbell.net

Faith In Action East Bay, the Interfaith Coalition for
Justice in our Jails (ICJJ) and Coalition for Police
Accountability (CPA) have begun organizing broad
community support for implementation of the most
effective possible oversight of the Alameda County
Sheriff’s Office (ACSO). We know ACSO, which
includes control of Santa Rita Jail among its
assignments, has a record of the highest number of
inmate deaths and lawsuits in the region. Further the
US Department of Justice and ongoing lawsuits have
documented failure to provide adequate custodial
mental health services, and a variety of other practices
have been deemed violations of constitutional rights.
Members of the Board of Supervisors’ Public
Protection Committee, Chair Richard Valle of
District 1 and District 4 Supervisor Nate Miley, have
demonstrated serious interest in implementation of the
recent state law, AB1185, providing for communitybased
oversight boards and an office of Inspector
general, both with subpoena powers. FIAEB, CPA and
ICJJ have done extensive research.

We’ve identified several core principles:

First, we need both a community-based Oversight Board
as well as a professional, full-time Inspector General,
both with subpoena power and full access to all relevant
records and information related to ACSO law
enforcement operations in Santa Rita Jail.

Second, appointment of the community board, which
power is vested in the Board of Supervisors by state law,
should be a transparent, inclusive process with open
applications and evaluation of candidates from diverse
experience by an appointed selection panel which will
provide the Supervisors with the panel’s
recommendations. Current or former law enforcement
personnel will not be eligible to serve on the Board.

Third, it is essential that both the Inspector General
and the Oversight Board have legal counsel completely
independent of the County Counsel, which has conflicts
of interest as legal representative of the sheriff and
county in civil suits related to Santa Rita and the sheriff.

Fourth, the Board and office of Inspector General need
dedicated and adequate funding for administrative,
policy, community engagement and investigative staff –
we recommend a baseline of funding equivalent to 1% of
the sheriff’s budget.

Fifth, all Oversight Board meetings shall be open to the
public, with mandated public town halls and reports on
issues of community concern.

Full AB1185 Advocates Coalition Letter HERE:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BLgER7G2KMraT1mV_XyKG7GKLVfVHf3i/view

The post 9/11 war on terror framework further legitimized the targeting and criminalization of Muslim, immigrant and Black communities and produced techniques, agencies, and concepts of policing that are increasingly being used on all communities of color and protesters.  We will look at militarized policing, the development of ICE, fusion centers, “pre-crime,” the use of community leaders and social service organizations in surveillance, and what local communities are doing to push back.

Register: https://www.afsc.org/action/policing-and-war-terror

Join us for a screening of the KQED-produced documentary “Dear Homeland” by award-winning Colombian documentary filmmaker Claudia Escobar. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the film’s director and singer-songwriter Diana Gameros, whose story is the heart of this film, and a live musical performance.

—–Unete para la proyeccion del documental producido por KQED “Querida Tierra” (o “Dear Homeland” en ingles) de la galardonada cineasta documental colombiana Claudia Escobar. La proyeccion sera seguida de una conversacion con la directora de la pelicula y cantautora Diana Gameros, quien compartira algunas canciones.

About the Film

“Dear Homeland” tells the story of Bay Area-based singer-songwriter Diana Gameros as she finds her voice as an artist and fights to define home for herself as an undocumented immigrant. Told in part through Diana’s hauntingly beautiful music, we learn of her nearly 20-year journey that takes her from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to San Francisco, California, where we watch Diana assert herself not only as a musician, but as an immigrant seeking citizenship and as an advocate for immigrant rights. It is through song and finding a community of artists and immigrants that she finds the courage to share her own story of being undocumented. She channels her fears and the weight of her separation from her family into powerful songs and activism – navigating the world she left behind in Mexico while finding a home in the United States. This lyrical and poetic film gives audiences a unique look into the challenges, aspirations and opportunities Diana experiences, providing a counter-narrative to the dehumanizing language that dominates present-day narratives about immigrants. Dear Homeland is a deep reflection on family, resilience and what it means to call a place home.

Sunday at the Marxist Library (online)

So, what does Lenin take from Marx’s vast works and summarize it succinctly? And specifically on Socialism. Some of us thought that last week’s discussion on socialism did not deal aqequately with Lenin’s scientific concept, so we invited Raj Sahai to lead a Group Discusion on this important topic. Raj will be joined by Gary Hicks and Eugene Ruyle to begin our open discussion. In preparation, folks are invited to read V. I. Lenin’s Karl Marx — a Brief Biographical Sketch with an Exposition of Marxism (1914), available at:

https://libcom.org/library/karl-marx-brief-biographical-sketch-1914-vladimir-lenin
LOGIN INFORMATION

We Intend to start the presentation as close to 10:30 am as possible, but the Zoom room will be opened up, as usual, at 10:15 for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

THIS ZOOM LINK IS GOOD FOR

Raj Sahai is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2591082607?pwd=WXc2dUlJcGNJektTcGlmSWhBMHZwdz09

Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: ICSS1017rs
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,2591082607#,,,,*4131413530# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,2591082607#,,,,*4131413530# US (Houston)

Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: 4131413530

Please join us for our October General Meeting! Stay tuned for more information. We’ll post the agenda here when it’s released.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87237433481?pwd=aGNVV1ZGVHl5RjdTY3RGWUhGR25XQT09

Meeting ID: 872 3743 3481

Passcode: 814562

One tap mobile

+16699006833,,87237433481#,,,,*814562# US (San Jose)

+13462487799,,87237433481#,,,,*814562# US (Houston)

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

Welcome & Introductions
Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
Announcements
(Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

Every 1st and 3rd Monday from 6:30-7:30pmPT,we host a virtual meeting space for questions and direct conversation with current members. It is a chance to find out about what we do and get involved in this work. Zoom link: https://t.co/Lz3K39zXGH
DM us with any questions! pic.twitter.com/EkyNJT33cF

— Berkeley Copwatch (@Copwatch411) September 19, 2021

We meet over Zoom. If you’d like to join us, and aren’t on our organizers’ list, drop us an email and we’ll send you an invitation.

If you would like to join the meeting early and get an introduction to the concepts of public banking, or more locally to who we are and what we do, please email us and we’ll see you online at 6:30.

Donate to keep us moving forward