Calendar
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.
In April, it was two years since we started holding these prayer meetings at the Baha’i Center. Come share prayers, quotes, poems, and favorite passages from your scriptures with us. We will serve a simple breakfast.
The Oakland City Council has the power to block coal exports out of a new terminal under development at the former Army Base. But despite an avalanche of community opposition to the prospect of dirty coal trains traveling through Bay Area communities, the Council has pushed action again and again. We need to let Council members know that we’re watching and we won’t let them delay on this critical issue. Join us on February 16th and show your support for immediate action to block coal from being a part of the Army Base redevelopment project.
At 4:30, an interfaith group of clergy will hold a press conference on the steps of City Hall to voice their opposition to coal. This will be followed by a brief theatrical dance piece, “The History of Coal.” A half-hour prayer vigil will follow, before going in to the city council meeting.
The council meeting begins at 5:30. A group of clergy will speak during open forum, which is the first agenda item, voicing their opposition to coal. Later in the agenda we will have a chance to comment on the administrative update delaying a vote and on the allocation of funding for experts to review testimony regarding the dangers of coal.
The Oakland City Council has the power to halt a reckless proposal to bring in coal by rail and ship it overseas from its port. It can do that on the basis of the proposal’s significant health and safety impacts. At its Feb 16 meeting the council will discuss the issue and there may be a vote on options. We need to make sure the council votes for the option to ban coal outright.
Three Ways to Help Ensure the Council Bans Coal
These are not mutually exclusive. But you need to act now.
1. Help the No Coal in Oakland campaign campaign do outreach and build pressure on the Oakland City Council. To find out more about joining the Sunflower Alliance team, contact Margaret Rossoff, margaretmft@gmail.com
2. Sign up ASAP to be a speaker at the Feb. 16 city council meeting. You don’t need to speak but we ask you to cede time to No Coal in Oakland activists and supporters so they can speak. You do have to be present to cede time. Sign up here. For Item, enter “coal” You don’t need to say if you are for or against. You can also sign up for open forum instead or on a second card.
3. If you live in Oakland, write a letter to your city council member and to Rebecca Kaplan, the at-large council member (districts, names, contact information). Urge him or her to vote to ban coal outright. If you live in another Bay Area city, write Mayor Libby Schaff (contact information).
Background
For meeting updates, flyers, media coverage and more, please visit our No Coal in Oakland campaign page. And for more background on this hazardous proposal, see A Coaltastrophe Threatens Oakland.
The Alameda City Council will once again consider various proposals for tenant protection, including rent control, just cause eviction and moving-out compensation. Come support the Alameda Renters Coalition in its battle against the powers-that-be in Alameda.
Gather at 4:30, rally at 5!
Bring your cellphone or tablet tuned to www.protestsign.org and stand up for your privacy!
This is really dangerous. The FBI just got a judge to order Apple to build a software “backdoor” to help them hack into an iPhone. They’ve been wanting to do this for years, but now they’re exploiting the tragedy in San Bernardino, CA to push their agenda to weaken the security of all of our phones to enable more government surveillance.
Our basic safety and security is at stake! So we’re gathering at Apple stores nationwide with two simple messages: “Don’t Break Our Phones!” and “Secure Phones Save Lives!”
We’re not protesting Apple, they are fighting back against this too. We’re protesting the government’s dangerous attempt to undermine our security by demanding a backdoor.
See our main site for nationwide protests next week: https://
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT:
Breaking the security features of our iPhones won’t just hurt our privacy, it puts all of our safety at risk. Once a backdoor is built, it won’t just be used by governments or law enforcement. It will enable malicious hackers, foreign governments, terrorists, thieves and stalkers to use our data against us.
What the FBI is doing is dangerous, but it’s also illegal. Apple has a right to offer customers secure devices that protect our most sensitive information. According to the ACLU, forcing Apple to hack their own customers is unconstitutional and will undermine our privacy and safety without improving national security.
So far, Apple is vowing to fight this unlawful and reckless demand by the government, but we need to show them that they’re not standing alone. Join us at one of these important events to stand up for everyone’s safety.
Join CURB on Thursday, February 18, from 12pm-1pm (PT) for a webinar about how the No New SF Jail Coalition stopped San Francisco’s proposed new jail, and learn valuable lessons on how to stop a jail in your town!
Since early 2013, CURB members and allies have fought tirelessly to stop plans for a new jail in SF, building an incredible network of allies and encountering obstacles of all shapes and sizes. Almost three years of organizing came to fruition in December when the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected funding for the new jail.
While this was a historic victory, the fight is not over. SF won’t be building a new jail any time soon, but more than 40 other counties are still trying to build new jails, and the governor is looking to allocate another $250 million for jail construction in the upcoming state budget.
During this webinar, community leaders who have been at the center of SF’s jail fight will share their strategies, stories, victories, failures, and advice on what ultimately made their fight successful.
Panelists:
Mohamed Shehk, Critical Resistance
Lisa Marie Alatorre, San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness
Roma Guy, San Francisco Taxpayers for Public Safety
Click here to register for the webinar.
Join us for the Bay Area premiere of Dear Governor Brown, the film that will reignite the California anti-fracking movement.
California is an oil-producing powerhouse, and Governor Brown has ushered in a new era of fracking and extreme extraction, all the while claiming to be a climate leader. We’re building a movement in California to take power back from Big Oil and jumpstart a clean-energy future. But even as we’re fighting fossil fuels in communities from Porter Ranch to Livermore—yes, Virginia, there are oil wells in Livermore—Big Oil is expanding its reach.
Arriving at this crucial moment is Dear Governor Brown, a short film directed by Jon Bowermaster that exposes the governor’s oily record, challenges the climate legacy he’s so desperate to create, and pressures him to stop fracking and other extreme oil-extraction methods.
Admission is FREE, compliments of Californians Against Fracking. The film will be followed by a panel of experts and residents of frontline communities across the state. Seating is limited, so RSVP to reserve your seat now. Doors open at 7 p.m., show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Please RSVP on Facebook.
Watch the trailer here.
DOORS 6:00PM – EVENT 7:00PM
FREE MOVIE! FREE POPCORN! FREE PRIZES!
SELMA chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement.
This stirring historical drama highlights the courage of the marchers as they withstand racist and violent attacks by the police.
Selma tells the true story of the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his brothers and sisters in the movement that prompted change that forever altered history.
(enter through the Blue Door from back parking lot)
Q2 is a political project that bring people together around musica tropikal – cumbia, merengue, salsa, norteñas, banda y más! We raise funds to support organizations/collectives doing work on issues impacting the community.
We are all people of color, community organizers aiming to create a queer/trans friendly space that is open to chavxs, cumbierxs, and allies who support the struggle for justice in our hoods.
We are Festive. We are Fierce. We are the Qumbia Qrew!!!
Come support and enjoy the company, music, and dance.
- $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.
Come celebrate Gigi’s birthday!
Friends, music and good cheer!
BBQ provided. Pot luck BYO drinks and side dishes.
Part of the day will be cleaning the Kitchens which is a first and easy step. That means cleaning out the fridge, sweeping and wiping down the area. Any food out in the open has to be either sealed in airtight containers or thrown out.
1. Volunteer your time on Sunday Feb 21st
2.Bring cleaning supplies if you have any to spare – garbage bags, cleaning supplies, gloves and even air filter masks if you’re sensitive to dust or cleaning supplies. Remember to wear clothes and shoes you are okay cleaning in.
3. Help Keep the Omni Clean Every Day – if you use the kitchen, please be respectful and clean up after you prepare food. This doesn’t mean just washing dishes and throwing away food but also, cleaning any surface or appliance you use. Also, please throw away food you may have left in the fridge.
This is only the first step towards cleaning and improving the Omni so please contact the Omni on how you can help with future projects to protect the Omni.
Thank you!
Your Omni Volunteers
Bismillah.
Please join us for a special event for El Hajj Malik Shabazz (RA) Sunday February 21st, 2016. 51yrs to the day of his martyrdom.
There will be presentations on the following topics:
“Malcolm the Muslim”
“Malcolm and the Youth”
“Malcolm the Family Man”
“Malcolm and the Media”
“Malcolm the Internationalist” and a special tribute to his grandson, the late El Hajj Malcolm Shabazz (RA)
Also OICC will be having a survival needs drive that will be distributed to houseless folks in West Oakland so please bring any hygiene items, feminine products,new socks/underwear and any other items to donate for this charitable cause ISA.
Last year, on November 15th, 39-year-old Richard Perkins was tragically murdered by Oakland police near 90th and Bancroft. Richard Perkins is the 5th person to be killed by OPD this year. His murder has been extremely difficult for the family and they have put out a call to the community for support.
We will be showing our support for the Perkins family at Eastside Arts Alliance where there will be performances, art, and speakers by the incredible voices of our community. We are asking for a $10 dollar donation at the door. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. All proceeds will go to the Perkins family.
There is an option to donate online if you cannot attend:
https://www.youcaring.com/
Please share with you fam, friends, and loved ones.
PERFORMERS:
AFROFONIX
This event will be updated with more performers, vendors, and artist set to share their magical brilliance in the spirit of community love and solidarity.
organized by members of Anti Police-Terror Project & black.seed
OccupyForum presents…
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
OccupyForum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue on all sides of these critically important issues!
Malcolm X: Make it Plain
The early articulation of the global, anti-colonial struggle
Occupy Forum observes the 50th plus Anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination with the screening of the film Malcolm X: Make It Plain.
Articulating concepts of race pride and black nationalism Malcolm X was an African-American leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam in the 1950s and ’60s. Dynamic orator and militant minister, and the leader and potential leader of the black power concept, Malcolm X exhorted blacks to cast off the shackles of racism “by any means necessary,” including violence.
Avoiding the life-of-a-saint tone that characterized much of Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, this documentary is a careful exploration of Malcolm X’s life and thought. Directed by Orlando Bagwell, (The Great Depression and Eyes on the Prize), the film takes care to place Malcolm X’s political leadership in a context that includes not only the by-now-familiar run through his time spent as the zoot-suited hustler Detroit Red, but also his childhood as the son of Earl Little, a Michigan minister and organizer for the black-nationalist Marcus Garvey Movement. The complexity and contradictions of Malcolm X’s philosophy are discussed and debated by diverse interview subjects, ranging from Malcolm’s brothers to the New York police officer who infiltrated Malcolm’s Nation of Islam chapter in the hope of discrediting him.
After Malcolm X made the Hajj, the traditional Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during which he converted to traditional Islam, he placed the American Civil Rights Movement within the context of a global anti-colonial struggle, embracing socialism and pan-Africanism. “The true brotherhood I had seen had influenced me to recognize that anger can blind human vision,” he said. “America is the first country … that can actually have a bloodless revolution.”
Make It Plain is a first- rate piece of journalism, presenting a figure obscured by the historical context, and one who we do well to study in today’s racist emergency.
Q&A and Announcements will follow. Donations to OccupyForum
to cover our costs are encouraged; no one turned away!
Come out and support our comrade Nailah who is currently facing charges after the wave of resistance in solidarity with Ferguson