The images are jarring. Immigrant kids in cages. No room to lie down. No running water. Immigrant detention centers are the concentration camps of our time. Our duty is to #Closethecamps and give respite to and welcome those who have had to endure them. Join SURJ-BA and the Asylum Seekers Sponsorship Project for an informative “webinar” t find out how you can sponsor (host) and/or accompany folks who have arrived in the current migratory wave.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Please download the free Zoom app.

WPA Berkeley Walk

This walk will explore the “New Deal nexus” in Berkeley that includes Berkeley High School, the Community Theater, Civic Center Park, Post Office art, the old UC Press Building (now being repurposed as the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive), and the old Farm Credit Building. The tour will also include the incredible mosaic mural on the UC Berkeley campus, photographs of the California Folk Music Project, Western Museum Laboratory, WPA prints at the Berkeley Public Library, and WPA projects on the UC Berkeley campus.

See also: http://www.newdeallegacy.org

The images are jarring. Immigrant kids in cages. No room to lie down. No running water. Immigrant detention centers are the concentration camps of our time. Our duty is to #Closethecamps and give respite to and welcome those who have had to endure them. Join SURJ-BA and the Asylum Seekers Sponsorship Project for an informative “webinar” t find out how you can sponsor (host) and/or accompany folks who have arrived in the current migratory wave.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Please download the free Zoom app.

Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid at OICC

El- Hajj Malik El-Shabazz / Malcolm X & our continuum of Struggle. A comprehensive examination of the global legacy of El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz / Malcolm X, within the context of the struggle for Black Liberation, Human Rights, and the establishment of Al-Islam in America.

Join us for our monthly farm party! Enjoy farm produce cooked on the grill, tend to the organic veggie beds, and take home donation-based produce.

Activities include:
• Harvesting organic produce! This helps our weekly farm stand get fresh food to the community.
• Planting! We have lots of starts to put in the ground. Starts are available to take home, as a part of our fundraiser.
• Weeding, prepping beds, and mixing compost

Connect with the Earth while helping cultivate the nourishing fruits and vegetables that help feed the Bay Area. Create new relationships with local community members, spread happiness to the neighborhood, and promote positive change for the environment. Invite your friends; all are welcome!

* This is a monthly event so if you can’t make it this month, save the date for next!

CODEPINK GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE PEACE WALK!
Our focus this month:
Immigrants rights/getting children out of cages/family separation
Some signs provided, or bring your own.
Dress warmly. It’s often chilly and windy on the bridge.
EVERYONE WELCOME. BRING YOUR FAMILY!
Suggested messages:
LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND
FAMILIES BELONG TOGETHER
REUNITE FAMILIES
NO BORDERS ON STOLEN LAND
NO BAN, NO WALL
SANCTUARY FOR ALL
CLOSE THE CAMPS

1:45 am: Gather at the plaza at the SF end of the eastern walkway of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Arrive early for best parking. We’ll take some photos while waiting for folks to show up.

Noon: Walk on the eastern walkway, from the south end to the middle of the bridge, where we’ll stop and hold a 15 minute vigil, showing motorists our signs (Berma-shave style, at least 10 feet between each sign/person). From there, we’ll return to our starting point in the plaza at the south end of the bridge.

1:30 pm: Photo ops and Closing Circle/Open Mike (no megaphone) on the SF side after the bridge walk. We’ll probably be finished by 2:00.
BE GREEN AND CARPOOL

How do we respond to violence within our own communities without relying on the police, prisons or other state systems? This event will offer a basic introduction to and overview of the core concepts of transformative justice. It will be a space for participants to learn about transformative justice and how to begin thinking about community-based responses to violence. We will also cover the concept of “pods” from the BATJC. This will be an educational event with a Q&A.

We ask for a sliding scale donation of any amount to support the continued work of the Alternatives to Policing Coalition. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

The workshop will be led by Mia Mingus from the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective (BATJC), a local collective working to build and support transformative justice responses to child sexual abuse. Mia is a writer, public speaker, community educator and organizer working for disability justice and transformative justice. She is a queer physically disabled korean woman transracial and transnational adoptee from the Caribbean. She works for community, interdependency and home for all of us, not just some of us, and longs for a world where disabled children can live free of violence, with dignity and love. As her work for liberation evolves and deepens, her roots remain firmly planted in ending sexual violence.

ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP SERIES

A growing coalition of organizations in the Bay Area is coming together to explore alternatives to calling the police to our campuses and into our neighborhoods. Over the coming year, we will be offering a series of workshops to explore alternatives to calling the police. Some of these workshops, like this one, will provide deepening analysis and a grounding in alternative ways of thinking about community safety. Others will provide practical skills. All of them will lift up a transformative justice framework and emphasize the importance of self care.

The Coalition includes First Congregational Church of Oakland, Kehilla Community Synagogue, Agape Fellowship, Qal’bu Maryam, Jewish Voice for Peace, Skyline Community Church, Oakland Peace Center, Oakland LBGTQ Community Center, the Omni Collective, and Black Organizing Project. We are eager to partner with additional organizations so please contact us if you are interested!

Folks from the Bay Area Landless People’s Alliance will be convening once again for a grill on Sunday the 21st this month; we’re trying to make this a monthly event. If you’d like to join the festivities, feel free to come on down. And if you’re able to bring something to contribute to the food we’ll have there, it will be greatly appreciated, but don’t let it stop you from joining us if you don’t have something to bring.

Join us in offering hot food, drinks, snacks, and solidarity to releasees and visitors at Santa Rita Jail!

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/MD3k85stxBkWTfL4A

Prisons function to repress, warehouse and extract labor from those that our state deems “criminal”, primarily those of us who are Black, poor, or mentally ill. We believe that solidarity is a weapon of resistance, and that we must respond to the basic needs of our community while also confronting state terror.

In honor of Dujuan Armstrong Jr. who entered Santa Rita Jail for a weekend sentence and never came home, we’re providing material support and direct care to folks at Santa Rita Jail as a small but meaningful way to address the harm caused by incarceration in our community. We do not positively engage with the racist pigs who work at the jail, as they are willing agents of the state that criminalizes and incarcerates us.

We’d love to see you there! Meet us outside of the Lake Merritt BART station at 4pm – we’ll drive out to the jail together from there. All are welcome, no experience required. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/MD3k85stxBkWTfL4A

Free public cultural film series centered on the historic commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of the first Africans brought to British North America. The series will feature a monthly film screening over 7 months, from February 2019 for Black History Month, through August 2019.

Food at 4:30pm
Film at 5pm

Apocalyptic visions of the future pervade today’s political spectrum. One of the more popular comes in two recent works — Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century — by Yuval Noah Harari. For him multiple total crises demand that humanity come up with a “clear idea of what life is all about.”

The debate over “the meaning of life” has been going on “for thousands of years,” but now, says Harari, time is “running out” for Homo sapiens.

From the start Marx grounded his new humanism in a unifying principle that speaks to today’s impasse in human thought and human experience.

Today’s reality demands clarity on meaning be­cause, according to Harari, “the looming ecological crisis, the growing threat of weapons of mass destruction, and the rise of new disruptive technologies will not allow” delay.

What does Harari’s perspective on mean­ing have in common with most of the Left? How is Marx’s perspective distinctive from both?

OCCUPELLA will be singing at the TAX THE RICH RALLY EVERY MONDAY from 5-6 on upper Solano Ave. in front of the (closed) Oaks Theater. Songbooks are provided.

(We’ll also be LEADING SONGS ON JULY 13 at NOON in Civic Center Park (across from Berkeley High and old City Hall). The City of Berkeley will officially recognize the human rights abuses at the border.)

East Bay DSA is proud to host author Eric Blanc and OEA  2nd Vice President Chastity Garcia for a panel discussion and Q&A on July 22 from 7:00-9:00pm.

Educators across the country are rising up against low pay, privatization, and austerity. Former high school teacher Eric Blanc has been on the ground reporting on this historic upsurge for The Nation, Jacobin, and The Guardian. His new book “Red State Revolt” describes the inspiring story of the teachers’ strike wave and analyzes why it points the way forward for all working people. Join us for a discussion of the strikes — from West Virginia, to Arizona, to Oakland — and their lessons for today’s struggles to defend our schools and public services for all.

Please join us from 6-7pm for an informal meet and greet, mingling, and refreshments!

Accessibility Information: 2nd Floor, accessible by stairs only

The East Bay Sanctuary Covenant are the lead plaintiff suing the Trump Administration regarding the Third County Transit Ban. There will be a hearing on their REQUEST FOR A TRO (TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER) For more information https://ebsc.nationbuilder.com/?utm_campaign=ebsc_v_barr&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ebsc 

FACTS ABOUT THE THIRD COUNTRY BAN LAWSUIT

According to Michael Smith, EBSC’s Director of Refugee Rights, “Trump’s policy is illegal and usurps the power of Congress to make laws. Seeking asylum is clearly protected under U.S. and international asylum law. EBSC’s asylum clients are fleeing horrific violence in their home countries. EBSC has one of the largest affirmative asylum programs in the U.S. and has successfully helped almost 4,000 people to obtain asylum.

Over 97% of EBSC’s asylum cases are approved, showing that these claims are meritorious. These are people fleeing persecution and seeking safety under the law. Contrary to what the administration is claiming, this population is not safe in Guatemala or Mexico, where they are vulnerable to their persecutors and other forms of oppression. Many of EBSC’s clients, including LGBTQ people and survivors of gender-based violence, are fleeing persecution in Mexico. Asylum seekers crossing the U.S. southern border are not only from Central America. They may be from Russia, Africa, and Asia; some have traveled through South America, the jungles of Panama and Central America, with the hopes of reaching safety. Nearly all of EBSC clients are victims of atrocious forms of persecution – 80% have been raped or sexually abused, including male and female children. Going forward, 80% of EBSC clients would be unable to apply for asylum.

The ramifications of the Trump administration’s actions will be long-reaching for people who are genuinely deserving of asylum protection. EBSC’s 37-year old asylum program reaching the most traumatized populations would be terminated. Act Now! Write your congressional representatives! Join EBSC’s social media networks. Share accurate news and articles so more people are informed of the detrimental impact of these attacks on asylum law. Support EBSC by volunteering or donating – your support matters!

PG&E wants to make you PAY for their destruction! Come to this special CPUC Public Hearing and say HELL NO to this terrible idea. NO to the increased utility fees! NO to PG&E-caused deadly megafires! Let’s Own PG&E!

Agenda.

Of special interest:

VII. SB1421 Compliance Update
Commissioner Thomas Lloyd Smith has requested several updates: from OPD as to what
has already been disclosed and what the plan is for future disclosures, and from CPRA on
what their process is for reporting to the Commission on what is being publicly released.

XII. OPD’s Use of Force Policy
The Commission will discuss the next steps in addressing OPD’s Use of Force policy. The
Commission may discuss scheduling a public hearing on Use of Force. This is a new item.

You’re invited to the global premiere of “The Response,” Shareable’s 30-minute documentary about community-led disaster response and recovery featuring on-the-ground efforts in communities across Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

In the midst of all the hurricane-driven chaos, a quiet revolution has been slowly percolating on the island. The film explores how an impromptu community kitchen meant to help feed survivors in the town of Caguas quickly grew into an island-wide network of mutual aid centers (Centros de Apoyo Mutuo) with the ultimate aim of restoring power — both electric and civic — to the people.

Launching at Oakland’s legendary Pro Arts Gallery & COMMONS with the Northern California Resilience Network and film producer, Tom Llewellyn, this benefit screening for Shareable will also feature an all-star panel discussion and celebration afterwards.

We’ll also celebrate NorCal Resilience Network’s ‘Resilience Hubs’ initiative (a community-led network of spaces ready for anything). To catalyze more community action, all participants will get Shareable’s new guide, “How to Create a Resilience Hub in Your Community”.

One night only on July 24th. Buy your tickets today to join a celebration of “disaster collectivism,” those instances when communities make the bold decision to make transformational social change in the wake of disasters.

#ShutDown850 NOW! Join us for this day of action to pressure the Board of Supervisors to take action and stop delaying on passing legislation to close county jail #4 at 850 Bryant. #NoNewSFJail #AbolitionNOW pic.twitter.com/bHsz3SFy8M

— #ShutDown850 | No New SF Jail Coalition (@ShutDown850) July 17, 2019