Calendar
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!Fascism: What It Is, and How to Fight It
With Gerald Smith
Secondly, Scientific Socialism has lost the allegiance of the most politically active members of the working class internationally.Faced with declining profit levels in the sixties and seventies, the ruling class has pursued a variety of strategies to enhance its share of national income, including exporting industrial production to less developed countries, which in turn undermines the bargaining power of the most organized sections of the working class.
In tandem with this, many of the most advanced capitalist states either overtly (Brasero program in the U.S., Gastarbeiters in Germany, etc.), or covertly (destabilization of third world countries and purposely lax enforcement of border controls, etc.) encouraged mass immigration of poorly paid and legally precarious workers from less developed regions, and bureaucratically distorted state-owned economies.
This in turn feeds resentment of increasingly beleaguered sections of the working-class, often providing a fertile recruiting ground for neo-fascists. Before a serious reactionary trend can be successfully eliminated, it is necessary to understand the phenomenon: its origins, its essence, its mutations.
Gerald Smith has a long history in the Black Liberation and Workers’ movements. He is currently involved with the Labor Action Committee to Free Mumia, Liberated Lense, and the Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality.
Time will be allotted for Q&A, discussion and announcements.
Justice for Richard Perkins — Anti Police-Terror Project Successfully Demands Coroners Report for Perkins Family
On Friday, March 11th, at 9:00 am on the corner of 90th and Bancroft (Where Richard was murdered), APTP will host a press conference in partnership with families that have lost loved ones to police terror and celebrate this recent victory while also raising critical questions about collusion between the sheriff’s office and Alameda County police departments to hide evidence from families who have lost loved ones to state sponsored violence.
“We don’t understand why it takes community pressure to force the coroner’s office to release the reports,” said Cat Brooks of APTP. “These families are already suffering a great loss and grieving their loved one. They rightfully want to know what happened and that report is critical in putting the pieces together.”
Yet time and time again, the coroner’s office – which is essentially the sheriff’s office – delays getting this report to the families. Yuvette Henderson was murdered by the Emeryville Police Department in February of 2015. Eight months later, it took APTP in partnership with Henderson’s family, to force them to release the report. Similarly in the case of Alan Blueford who was murdered by OPD on May 6, 2012, the community had to demonstrate at the Sheriff’s office to get the report released to family.
“They know that these reports are critical pieces of evidence,” said Dan Siegel, head legal counsel for APTP. “The longer they delay giving it to the family, the longer it takes to assess the wrongdoing on the part of OPD.”
Friday’s press conference is also the launch of APTP’s campaign for more accountability and transparency with the Sheriff’s office in relation to reports following Officer Involved Shootings. APTP will make the following demands:
– Provide families that are victims of police violence the coroner’s report within 30 days
– Investigate collusion between the Sheriff’s department and the Oakland Police Department
– Recall Sheriff A. Hearn who has a long list of egregious behaviors
– Release the ENTIRE video series to the Perkins family and their legal counsel
– Bring in an outside investigator to investigate the murder of Richard Perkins.
Ada Henderson, Richards mother and Jamison Henderson, Yuvette’s brother will speak at the press conference.
BREAKING #Oakland city council forwarding exclusive agreement with UrbanCore for E12th parcel to full city council for 3/15 vote. #SaveE12th
— E12 Peoples Proposal (@PeoplesProposal) March 3, 2016
City Hall is failing too address Oakland’s housing crisis. While thousands of working class families of color see their rents rise or face eviction, our elected officials are selling off public lands to private developers.
After a hundred people testified last week in support of A People’s Proposal in a public hearing on the future of the E 12th parcel, City Council Members are attempting to undermine democracy and community by moving forward with an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement for the UrbanCore / EBALDC proposal for E 12th, a luxury tower that includes a token amount of segregated affordable housing.
Come out Tuesday March 15th at 5 pm to oppose the UrbanCore/EBALDC proposal, fight for A People’s Proposal, and let City Council know they must create real solutions to the housing crisis now.
We want to show up BIG and LOUD and are asking supporters to:
- Pack the room for open forum at 5 pm to show City Council members right away that we do not accept luxury housing on public land. Be prepared to speak!
- Sign up online to speak during the E 12th agenda item (item #3, sign up here) and urge City Council to vote NO on an ENA with UrbanCore/EBALDC and support A People’s Proposal
- Be prepared to support the incredible organizers who have been working hard on this campaign for over a year now.
E 12th is not just about one parcel, its about the entire housing crisis in Oakland. We are inspired by the brilliance and perseverance of so many Oakland residents and everyone’s incredible support. Join us as we continue to bring the call for development without displacement and accountability from our elected officials directly to City Hall.
#SaveE12th & #publicland4publicgood!
Join our keynote speaker, internationally acclaimed urban planner James Rojas of PLACE IT! for an interactive and inspiring evening re-envisioning our water infrastructure in response to climate change. We’ll use everyday objects and our creativity to design a different water future.
Invite friends, colleagues, and neighbors and keep growing our local climate movement!
Dinner served at 6 PM. RSVP: Email rebecca@ecologycenter.org by Thursday, March 10 to reserve a meal.
Homes not Jails will be screening Shelter: a Squatumentary and hosting a panel of squatters 3/17 @ 8pm, @Longhaulinfo plz join us!
— homesnotjailsSF (@SFHNJ) March 7, 2016
“City leaders were determined to push this (Urban Core proposal for a luxury housing tower with a segregated building with some nominally affordable units) forward, even if it meant leaving the public behind.” – KTVU Reporter after Tuesday’s City Council Meeting
While the displacement of longtime Oakland residents has already reached crisis proportions (25% of Black Oakland has been displaced in the past 10 years alone), the corporate interests who are driving this crisis are just getting started. This week’s City Council meeting made it clear that our elected officials are willing to leave the public behind to serve a self-interested group.
Our voices are needed now more than ever to remind our public servants that they took an oath to serve the people of Oakland and protect our most disenfranchised community members.
To protect the people of our city, we must reject the trickle-down housing strategy, put a stop to the escalating predatory tactics of speculators, landlords, and neoliberal politicians, and provide real solutions to keep our people in Oakland. No more evictions, rent increases, school closures, service cuts, foreclosures or police killings!
Second Acts is calling for an interfaith sunrise ceremony this Friday, March 18th at Lake Merritt. We’ll gather together to tap into our collective power and call for an end to the deception, displacement & death being advanced by private interests with the support of our elected officials.
Coffee & breakfast will be provided to all the community members who show up!
It is time for black and brown to come together and demand justice for our communities. The decision in the Alex Nieto Case was a travesty of justice.
We must come together and tell SFPD, The Mayor and The City Attorney’s Office that we shall not be moved until we get justice for Alex Nieto, Amilcar Perez Lopez and Mario Woods.
We are now one in this struggle!
These officers have been joking about getting away with killing Alex Nieto and making threats against the Nieto family on Social Media. Unless we hold them accountable, they will continue to commit acts of terror against black and brown in San Francsico. We will meet on the steps of city hall and let them know they will have no peace until Chief Suhr is fired!
NO JUSTICE! NO PEACE!
Tomorrow!! Justice 4 Mario Woods & Justice for Alex Nieto !!! pic.twitter.com/yV92Xm7uO3
— Equipto (@EQUIPTO) March 17, 2016
MOVIE NIGHT
(Free Movie! Free Prizes! Free Popcorn!)
Doors: 6:00PM – Event: 7:00PM
KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON is an inspiring documentary which depicts the remarkable story of 93-year-old jazz legend Clark Terry. A living monument to the Golden Era of Jazz, having played in both the Duke Ellington and Count Basie bands. He broke racial barriers on American television and mentored the likes of Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, but his most unlikely friendship is with Justin Kauflin, a 23-year old blind piano prodigy.
Justin, fighting a debilitating case of stage fright, is invited to compete in a prestigious competition, while Clark’s health takes a serious turn. The two face the toughest challenges of their lives. The result is an intimate portrait of two remarkable men–a student striving against all odds and a teacher who continues to inspire through the power of music.
(enter through the Blue Door from back parking lot)
3/18 – Q&A with Mary Curtis Ratcliff, moderated by BAVC
3/19 – Q&A with Mary Curtis Ratcliff, moderated by Gabriel Saloman, musician and artist
In the 1960s and 70s, a group of renegade journalists known as the Videofreex democratized the future of the media as they deployed the first handheld video cameras to report and observe the world around them. In HERE COME THE VIDEOFREEX, directors Jon Nealon and Jenny Raskin tap into a treasure chest of restored tapes shot by the Freex, including interviews with icons like murdered Black Panther Fred Hampton and legendary activist Abbie Hoffman, charting the path of this underground video collective from their assignment on the counterculture beat for CBS News to their rupture with the network and creation of a radical pirate television station in upstate New York. An official selection at the prestigious Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and BAMcinemaFest, the documentary captures the pure enthusiasm and revolutionary use of technology of the Videofreex as they changed the nature of journalism through the power of portable video, forging a legacy that has evolved to become today’s all-access media environment.
Directed by John Nealon and Jenny Raskin. 79min. USA.
Here’s our first opportunity to pick up petitions for the signature-gathering phase of the campaign!
Hear now a campaign led by sex workers working with formerly incarcerated people and others, got the victim compensation law changed so sex workers can now get compensation for rape and other violence3 on the job, and people on probation or parole can get compensation if they are victims of crime.
Learn how to press for implementation and further changes.
Learn about exciting gains the local, national and international movement for decriminalization of sex work.
Keynote speaker Margaret Prescod, host of Pacifica Radio’s “Sojourner Truth.”
Speakers from All of Us or None, Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders, Erotic Service Providers Union, US Prostitutes Collective.
WE NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS to gather the THOUSANDS OF VOTER SIGNATURES required to put our Charter Amendment on the NOVEMBER BALLOT!
THIS MEANS BOOTS ON THE GROUND! THIS MEANS YOU! IT’S TIME TO STEP UP and show your support.
A HUGE THANK YOU to those who VOLUNTEERED last Saturday to serve as petition gatherers and receive training.
WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH! For over two years ARC has advocated on behalf of RENTER PROTECTIONS AND COMMUNITY STABILITY. Countless hours have been invested in private meetings with City officials; researching public documents, municipal code and best practices; investigating renter complaints; advising displaced renters; demonstrating and networking; monitoring the RRAC and the Housing Authority; attending and speaking at City Council meetings into the wee morning hours.
The City Council responded with a WEAK TEMPORARY ORDINANCE that’s barely window dressing and has serious LANDLORD LOOPHOLES.
ARC’s pending ballot measure to amend Alameda’s City Charter is a compendium of BEST PRACTICES and a PERMANENT SOLUTION.
TIME IS SHORT! We have only four weeks to gather thousands of VALID SIGNATURES.
CAN’T MAKE IT? Mail a donation to P.O. Box 2322, Alameda, 94501
Spring into Action at the Gill Tract Community Farm
Join The Polish Ambassador & the UC Gill Tract Community Farm on Sunday March 20th for a day of celebration and planting for the coming Spring season. The UC Gill Tract Community Farm is a gorgeous urban farm in Albany, CA, just north of Berkeley, which grows tons of organic produce that is given away to neighbors, those without adequate nutritious food, and the surrounding community for free and by donation.
We will be digging a swale to capture rainwater and hold it in the soil, planting and beautifying the Ladybug Patch Children’s Garden, planting a hedge around the farm to stabilize the micro-climate and attract pollinators, planting out the biomass zone of the farm with a food forest of perennials, and prepping and planting the organic farm rows for Spring.
We have over 2,000 seedlings to plant!!
We will also have wonderful music and workshops throughout the day to entertain and educate, so check out the schedule below and come ready to take a break from planting and learn something new!
Detailed Workshop Schedule
10:30-11:30am Edible and Medicinal Weeds Under Your Feet
with Baruch Brian Schwardon of WateroftheVine.com
Baruch Brian will facilitate an exploration of getting to know the food and medicine all around us, as well as facilitate discussion on implications for food justice, and ecological health markers.
11:30am-1:30pm Medicinal Herb Garden Tour and Workshop
with Penny Livingston-Stark & Richard Koenig
We will be drawn to some of the 100 varieties of Medicinal Herbs and Plants on display from Traditions around the world. This will be an opportunity to become acquainted with the Herb plants, and experience how they can be successfully grown together. Penny Livingston is a world renowned Permaculturist and Leader of the Regenerative Design Institute near Bolinas California. Richard Koenig is designer and curator of Our Medicinal Herb Garden here on Our UC Gill Tract Community Farm.
12:30-1:30pm Decisive Ecological Warfare: A Workshop on Resistance Strategy
1:30-2:30pm Plant Propagation Workshop in the Ladybug Patch
w. Alexa Levy, Brooke Porter & Mallika Nair of Growing Together
(children encouraged to attend!)
2:00-2:30pm Soil Not Oil: Carbon Sequestration & Moving Away from Industrial Ag
with Miguel Robles
Hear about the connections between food production and climate change, and learn the solutions for the great transition that we are collectively undertaking, presented by Miguel Robles of the Soil Not Oil coalition.
2:30-3:30pm Nutrient Cycling with Microbes from the Wild
with Dennis Dierks
Dennis will present his techniques and experience in the wild harvesting of Lactobaccillis and other bacteria which are essential in nutrient uptake by plants, and the establishment of healthy organic ecosystems for vegetable growing as well as within our bodies. Dennis Dierks is the founding farmer for over 40 years of Paradise Valley Farm near Bolinas Ca.
3:30-4:30pm Seeds & Seed Saving
with Tali Weinberg (of Permaculture Design Course at Urban Adamah)
We’ll have some food and drinks, and please bring a potluck dish or something to share if you can!
We will have the farm stand open all day too! So come grab some produce from this urban, organic, community farm to bring home and cook; and you can even be the one to harvest produce for the streetside farm stand yourself!
Hosted by: Aunti Frances and the Self-Help Hunger Program, a self-determined food justice group
“We are here, we ain’t leavin’, so let’s break bread together!”
We will be celebrating Black History by celebrating it all year ’round: from the revolutionary events of Black August to the current struggles and organizing of people at Driver Plaza to resist gentrification. Let’s fight for Black Futures in the Ohlone Bay Area by celebrating through food, culture, story-telling, history and community!
*Come through and enjoy BBQ, speakers from different struggles, drummers from Ashby Flea Market, Danza Azteca, Live Mural from Community Rejuvenation Project, youth performances, Healing Circle, Waterless Compost Toilet demonstration, and more! Bring a dish to share for our 3rd Annual Celebration!*
Sponsored by: Self-Help Hunger Program, POOR Magazine, Farms to Grow, Phat Beets Produce, APTP, with support from members of North Oakland Restorative Justice Council
Wanna Sponsor? Volunteer? Donate? Table? Contact: Aunti Frances: auntifrances@yahoo.com (510) 395-5988
On the heels of continuing development on the Southernmost portion of the Gill Tract, we invite you to join us for a VIGIL (at the end of the Permaculture Action Day on the Farm).
Let’s MOURN together the destruction that UC Berkeley insists on carrying on, the loss of arable soil & its accompanying beneficial biology, and the many attacks on Mother Nature all over the globe. Let’s take this moment to express our SORROW while watching over the land in PROTECTION, knowing that this community gathering will STRENGTHEN us to defend the rest of Gill Tract even more fiercely.
To Bring:
1) Please BRING an IMAGE for the altar that represents a loss (either at the GIll Tract or any other part of the natural world).
2)Also bring FLOWERS to add to the altar.
3) You’re invited to WEAR black, or any other color or attire that may represent your mourning tradition.**
* * * * *
UC Berkeley is Paving Over This Farm Land to Build an UNaffordable Luxury Elderly Housing.
Defend Gill Tract – Restore Soil & Justice – Local Food Over Corporate Profits & Privatization of Public Land.
#DefendGillTract #BoycottSprouts #BoycottBelmontVillage
* * * * *
To particiate in the Permaculture Action Day at the Gill Tract Farm from 10-5pm prior to the Vigil, check out: https://www.facebook.com/events/1690270454519676/
OccupyForum presents…
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
Indigenous and Tribal Issues
in the United States and around the world:
Regarding Sovereignty and Self-Government
with Deni Leonard
The issues of Indigenous Sovereignty relate directly to the colonization of all Indigenous peoples around the world. The pathology of the predatory hegemonic imperialism of Western consciousness has been the experience of all contacts with Indigenous people, based on the assimilation to Bankrupt Morality within Western Public Policies in which they are now committing Filicide– destroying their own children to obtain objects which promise evidence of power.
As Chief Seattle stated, “What you do to Mother Earth, you do to yourself.” We are all connected, and in the context of interconnectedness, that consciousness is necessary for all of us to create the social revolution to protect the living species and the physical bioconnectedness of our existence.
We must all be the power of change!
Deni Leonard is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon and has lived in San Francisco since the middle 1970s. He arrived to teach at U.C. Berkeley and stayed to develop new initiatives for economic and political strategies for the Indigenous people. He has taught many seminars on finance, sovereignty, and business development.
Time will be allotted for Q&A, discussion and announcements.
On Friday, March 11, the City Staff published two reports for the Community and Economic Development Committee. One dealt with the proposed Impact Fee ordinance and another dealt with the reprogramming of funds originally budgeted for new affordable housing. The changes proposed in these reports threaten to gut much-needed funding for affordable housing for low-income Oakland workers and residents and disproportionately impact communities of color.
Will you contact Mayor Schaaf, Councilmember-at-Large Rebecca Kaplan, and your council member? (sample email). Will you attend the Prayer Vigil and Committee meeting next Tuesday?
Tuesday Vigil and Committee Hearing
1pm – Prayer Vigil on City Hall Steps
1:30pm – Community and Economic Development (CED) Committee, City Hall, Sgt. Mark Dunakin Room – 1st Floor
Be sure to mark item 3 (Impact Fee) and item 4 (NOFA). Contact Matt@ebho.org for suggested talking points.
Please join SELC, the East Bay Community Law Center, and NoBAWC on Tuesday, March 22 in Berkeley for a participatory training and Q&A with legal experts on employee handbook basics for democratically run, worker-centered businesses.
In this teach-in on employee handbook basics for worker cooperatives, nonprofits, and other social enterprises, we will discuss a short list of essential policies for employee handbooks and why your organization should have them, especially from a legal and risk management perspective. After a short training, we will have an open discussion about novel employee policies and lessons learned from employee policies enacted at worker-centered organizations.
This event is intended for current worker-owners, social enterprises, and non-profits who want to start drafting or improve their organization’s Employee Handbook. If you need to develop policies and want to discuss how employee policies have (or have not) been successfully implemented in a worker-centered organization, this teach-in is for you!
Co-hosted with the Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives!
