Join SURJ Bay Area for our sixth homegrown Direct Action training dedicated to teaching you the framework and the hard skills needed to take action for racial justice. This interactive workshop is designed to give you real-time experiences of being in a protest while also building our understanding of direct action from the perspective of white people participating in the movement for racial justice.

We talk about the importance of direct action, centering Black and POC voices, our perspective on relating to police, our legal rights, and more. We teach direct action skills through the use of scenarios, discussion and role plays. Space is limited to 60 people per workshop and you must pre-register through the SURJ website to attend.

Cost: The workshop has a suggested donation of $10-$35 to cover event expenses, and support future organizing within SURJ Bay Area and our partner organizations. No one turned away for lack of funds- please contact mobilization@surjbayarea.org for accommodation. Lunch will be provided.

Materials: Please take a moment if you have not already done so to familiarize yourself with the SURJ Mission, Vision and Values. Also, another document that guides a lot of our work is the BASAT Protocol and Principles for White People Working to Support the Black Liberation Movement.

Accessibility: The venue is wheelchair accessible. The entrance is a ground floor, street entrance. Bathrooms are ADA compliant. Please refrain from wearing perfume or heavily scented products our of respect for people with chemical sensitivities. There will *not* be sign language interpretation during the workshop, however, HOH folks will be accommodated with prioritized seating during group discussions and participatory activities. Inform people from our SURJ team, and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.

Contact: mobilization@surjbayarea.org with any questions or concerns.

http://www.surjbayarea.org/direct_action_training_20170611

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SURJ Mission

SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals organizing White people for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves White people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. We work to connect people across the country while supporting and collaborating with local and national racial justice organizing efforts. SURJ provides a space to build relationships, skills and political analysis to act for change.

SURJ Vision

We envision a society where we struggle together with love, for justice, human dignity and a sustainable world.

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 3 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 3:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland.  (Note: we meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months,  once Daylight Savings Time springs forward we tend to assemble at 4 PM).

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 2 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over five years! 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

1. Welcome & Introductions
2. Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
3. Announcements
4. (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

In the last few months, articles, conversations, and proposed legislation about public banking have been cropping up all over. It seems sudden – if you aren’t one of the people who have been working for well over five years to plant the seeds.

Because the topic is so new to most people, reactions range from blank looks to confusion and misapprehension about what a public bank is, what it isn’t, and what it could be.

The three speakers will cover many aspects of public banking, both potential and existing. To whet your interest, let’s just say that the Bank of North Dakota (the only currently-operating public bank in the country) has had fourteen consecutive years of profit, and that money is being reinvested in North Dakota, not funneled off to profiteers. For comparison, one reasonable estimate based on the relative sizes of North Dakota and Oakland is that an Oakland public bank could save the city $200,000 A DAY.

Come and learn more!

Craig Brandt is an attorney in the Bay Area who is deeply committed to the public bank movement. Recently featured in a public banking article in The Nation, Craig became a banking activist following the LIBOR scandal of 2015, which crystallized his opposition to Wall Street banking.

Christine McClintock has long been involved in the Green movement, from her time as an Environmental Extension Agent in the Peace Corps, stationed in Togo, West Africa, to her years as the Treasurer for the San Francisco Green Party, to her current role as a Financial and Compliance Analyst with the Sierra Club. She has been a part of the effort for the Public Bank of Oakland as well as Strike Debt Bay Area.

Debbie Notkin is a lifelong activist who veered away from public policy to feminist and body image issues in the 1980s and was pulled back by the energy of Occupy Wall Street in 2011. Since then, she has worked with Occupy Oakland Foreclosure Defense and Strike Debt Bay Area, as well as Friends of the Public Bank of Oakland, and is also working on bystander intervention projects.

SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County and are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 7 pm; council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested. Please visit our website: https://acgreens.wordpress.com/

Director Natasha Florentino will be in attendance!

Abundant Land is a one-hour documentary about a Hawaiian community on Moloka’i opposing the biotech industry’s use of the island to test genetically engineered seeds. Agrochemical biotech corporations, including Monsanto and Mycogen Seeds, are depleting Moloka’i’s topsoil and fresh water while contributing to dust storms that spread pesticides into the ocean and surrounding communities. Abundant Land also offers a historical look at the intrusion and political underpinnings of chemical-intensive farming in Hawaii while portraying the rich legacy of traditional Hawaiian land management and farming self-sufficiency.

2017 Homeless Workforce Conference

COME OUT AND SUPPORT THE J20 RESISTERS!

Why is San Francisco criminalizing dissent? Show up for the J20 resisters at the courthouse, and call DA George Gascon and tell him to drop the charges!

January 20th, the day Donald Trump was inaugurated, was marked by widespread resistance across the U.S. Five months later San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon continues to use our city’s resources to prosecute a group of 11 protesters.

We believe the City should be dedicating its resources to protecting those most vulnerable under the new administration. Instead, Gascon is squandering City resources and becoming part of the troubling national trend toward increased repression of protestors.
Call George at (415) 553-1751 or email him at districtattorney@sfgov.org. Tell George to drop the charges against the J20 Resisters! Stop the war on dissent!
#Resist #J20 #Hellnawguration #EndPoliceTerror

The Coalition to end violence and Councilmember McElhaney invite you to tell your story.

What will it take to get @Oakland to make holistic public safety a real priority? We need #DVP to get same attention as OPD. pic.twitter.com/3HoJAKv9KN

— L.Gibson McElhaney (@LynetteGM) June 9, 2017

Boom: The Sound of Eviction

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.

2017 Homeless Workforce Conference

Tomorrow! 9am! Finance Committee will vote on funding the feasibility study for the Public Bank of Oakland. #oakmtg #ourmoneyourbank

— Oakland Public Bank (@OaklandBank) June 12, 2017

Item #4

Subject: Feasibility And Economic Impact Of Establishing A Public Bank
From: Finance Department
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution (1) Amending The City Of Oakland’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17 Midcycle Budget (Which Was Adopted Pursuant To Resolution No. 86250 C.M.S. On June 21,2016) To Appropriate One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000), From The Fiscal Year 2016-17 General Purpose Fund (1010) Balance For A Contract To Complete A Feasibility Study On Public Banking In Oakland, And (2) Authorizing The City Administrator Or Her Designee To Negotiate A Scope Of Work, Terms And Execute A Contract With Global Investment Company In An Amount Not To Exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000)

The Finance Committee will be deciding on whether or not to fund our feasibility study. This is an important meeting; please come and wear your t-shirt if you have one. (Let us know if you want one.)

If you can join us on June 13,

1. Go online to https://solar.oaklandnet.com/Speaker/form and fill out a card. Choose item 4. Be sure to click Next and Register. Even if you don’t want to speak, get a card, so you can cede your time to someone who wants to speak longer.
2. Show up at 9:oo a.m.! We are early on the agenda for once.

Read the Friends of the Public Bank of Oakland mission statement.

The Public Bank of Oakland will:

• Get Oakland out from under the control of nonlocal big banks
• Reduce the cost of lending and borrowing for the City of Oakland and nearby communities that make use of the Bank
• Solve the problem of millions of dollars in cash that the cannabis industry cannot legally deposit in private banks
• Bring jobs, affordable housing, new small businesses and worker cooperatives, infrastructure, credit, and independence to our city

Sign up to speak on Item # 8
Speaker’s Card

We need a large turnout of the community to advocate for the changes that are needed to the enabling legislation proposed by Dan Kalb. Noel Gallo stands with us but we need to show strong community support to back him up, since he is representing us!

Will you stand with us? The changes we seek are important to our conviction that the Police Commission function effectively, transparently and independently and can be found on our website: http://coalitionforpoliceaccountability.com

When Kris Perry and Sandy Stier agreed to become two of the plaintiffs in the legal challenge to overturn California’s Proposition 8, which specified marriage as only between a man and a woman, they saw themselves as just ordinary people.

The couple had a great life, except they couldn’t officially marry. That bothered them, according to a new joint memoir, Love on Trial: Our Supreme Court Fight for the Right to Marry.

Perry and Stier will be talking about their story and signing books. he event is free and open to the public.

Join Oakland Privacy to organize against the surveillance state,  against Urban Shield, and to advocate for privacy and surveillance regulation ordinances to be passed around the Bay Area, including the Alameda and San Francisco County Boards of Supervisors, the BART Board of Directors, and by the Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond and Davis City Councils.

We are also engaged in the fight against Predictive Policing and other “pre-crime” and “thought-crime” abominations, drones, improper use of police body cameras, ALPRs, requirements for “backdoors” to your cellphone and against other invasions of privacy by our benighted City, County, State and Federal Governments.

Oakland Privacy (nee Oakland Privacy Working Group) originally came together in 2013 to fight against the Domain Awareness Center (DAC), Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub. OPWG was instrumental in stopping the DAC from becoming a city-wide spying network; its members helped draft the Privacy Policy that puts further restrictions on the now Port-restricted DAC, and made Oakland’s new Privacy Advisory Commission to the City Council happen.  We were also the lead in having Alameda County pass the most comprehensive privacy and usage policy in the country for deployment of “Stingray” technology (cell phone interceptors).  Oakland and Fremont have followed suit. In conjunction with other groups we fight against Urban Shield and other killer-cop trainings.

We have presented our work at RightsCon in San Francisco and at Left Forum and HOPE in New York City.

If you would like to attend our meeting and would like a quick introduction to what we’re doing before we dive right into the thick of our agenda, send email to  contact@oaklandprivacy.org and one of us will arange to meet you before the meeting.

Stop by and learn how you can help guard our right not to be spied on by the government. Look on the whiteboard inside near the entrance to the OMNI for our exact location within the OMNI.

If you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy Working Group email listserv, send an email to:

oaklandprivacyworkinggroup-subscribe AT lists.riseup.net

or send a request to contact@oaklandprivacy.org

Check out our website.

For more information on the DAC check out

• DAC FAQ
• Oakland Wiki Domain Awareness Page
• Oakland Privacy WordPress

Volunteer with us!

The Prisoners Literature Project is based in Berkeley, California, and we’re always looking for volunteers to help answer letters, send out books, learn more about the prison system, and assist in other ways.

We currently meet on Sundays from 2-5pm and on Wednesdays from 6:30-9:30pm at the Grassroots House.  This is located at 2022 Blake St. (at Milvia), Berkeley, CA 94704.  (Map – there’s plenty of local parking, and the office is walkable in 11-15 minutes from downtown Berkeley BART or Ashby BART  – also, AC Transit bus #18 stops nearby.)

(Please note that we can’t accept prisoner book requests at this address.  Book requests from U.S. prisoners must be mailed to PLP; c/o Bound Together Books, 1369 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117.)

We welcome helpers of any age and experience at our volunteer sessions (here’s what they look like!), and are also very happy to host students looking for community service.  You should read a lot, have neat legible handwriting, and be able to follow the rules to get books into prisons. We don’t make the rules, but we do have to follow them!

Bringing more than four people? Please contact us first so we can better accommodate your group. (BTW, we maintain ‘call for volunteer’ listings on VolunteerMatch.org, on Idealist.org, and on AllForGood.org, so you might have seen us there!)

A Panel of Health Professionals will answer all your questions on the Healthy California Act [SB562] Free event.

Sponsored by the City of Alameda Democratic Club, which has endorsed the bill.

Looking for more ways to plug in after Decarcerate Alameda County’s Town Hall?

Come join us on June 15th to talk about our next steps to getting care not cages for our community. We’ll talk about why we’re fighting the jail expansion in Alameda County, and how you can plug in.

We will also be preparing for the joint public safety/public health meeting on Monday, July 24th at 9:30am. Here the committees will be discussing the state of mental health in Alameda County- this appears to be a tepid replacement for the public forum we have been demanding for months. We need to show up and let them know that we will be heard!

Building is wheelchair/ADA friendly.

Feel free to reach out if you have questions. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

Richmond Leaders to Host Town Hall,
Rally to Save Historic Downtown Richmond Post Office

Richmond, CA — Following a public hearing convened by the United States Postal Service on May 31, Richmond leaders have announced a community-wide Town Hall meeting.

The town hall meeting is being hosted by the Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council and co-organized by the Office of Mayor Tom Butt, the Office of Congressman DeSaulnier, and Richmond Main Street Initiative.

“The community really spoke loud and clear at the public hearing. They were very concerned about the USPS proposal to relocate the Richmond Main Post Office and the lack of information about the whole process, especially the public comment portion,” says Alicia Gallo, Outreach Coordinator, Richmond Main Street Initiative.

In January a notice announcing that the historic Richmond Main Post Office had been “determined to be in excess by the Postal Service and is no longer necessary for Postal operations” was posted. The notice advised the public to submit written comments no later than February 8. Upon receiving inquiries from local leaders and elected officials, the USPS reverse course citing an error in procedure.

In mid-May, a second notice and two-page letter to Richmond Mayor Tom Butt was posted at the office. This notice announced a proposal to relocate retail post office operations from the Richmond Main Post Office (1025 Nevin Avenue) to the McVittie DDU facility (2100 Chanslor Avenue), as well as details regarding a public hearing and a public comment period.

More than fifty community members attended the public hearing, with roughly half offering comments to Dean Cameron and Augustin Ruiz of the USPS. Attendees included Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, representatives from John Gioia and Mayor Tom Butt’s office, Councilmember Eduardo Martinez, Richmond Main Street Initiative, Downtown businesses, residents, and retired postal workers. Also in attendance were organizers from Save the Berkeley Post Office.

All speakers passionately spoke out against the proposed relocation, citing that the relocation proposal would create severe hardships for residents and businesses. Many expressed concerns about the environmental and human impact of relocating services to the McVittie site, which is not accessible by public transportation, is located in a residential area, and sits at the intersection of two dead-end streets.

In addition to praising the Richmond Main Post Office for its central location, longtime residents also spoke about the local landmark for its historic and cultural value. Built in 1938 as a New Deal project, the building is a rare example of a one that has retained both its original form and function.

Amanda Elliott, Executive Director of Richmond Main Street Initiative, spoke about new development projects planned for the Downtown district. In the next five years, new infill projects will bring nearly 1000 new housing units and 60,000+ square feet of retail, all located just blocks from the current main post office.

Community members also questioned the decision making process used by the USPS to arrive at the relocation proposal. Data supporting the USPS assertion that the Downtown post office is not economically viable was not presented. Also not provided were reasons for deciding against relocating or consolidating services of other post offices in the area, including the McVittie facility, or exploring creative revenue generating ventures.

All community members are invited to attend this town hall to learn more about the USPS proposal and how to submit public comments. Organizers will have instructions and sample letters available. Those who are not able to attend the town hall meeting are encouraged to visit www.RichmondMainStreet.org/Save-Richmond-Main-Post-Office to learn more, read letters of support from local leaders and others, and to access the online petition.

About
Richmond Main Street Initiative is a community based non-profit dedicated to revitalizing historic Downtown Richmond. RMSI partners with the City of Richmond, merchants, and residents to develop and improve downtown Richmond as a pedestrian-friendly urban village that offers products, services, arts and entertainment that reflect the community’s rich and diverse heritage. www.richmondmainstreet.org and www.facebook.com/richmondmainstreet.


Letters of Support:
Mayor Tom Butt, Congressman DeSaulnier, Supervisor John Gioia, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Richmond Main Street Initiative

Stay Connected

       
www.richmondmainstreet.org

Richmond Main Street Initiative
Revitalizing Historic Downtown Richmond
1015 Nevin Avenue, Suite 105

Richmond, CA 94801
(additional entrance at 402 Harbour Way)

A History of California Prisons

Every month, we invite members, non-members, activists, organizers, lawyers and legal workers to join us for the NLGSF “Join the Conversation” Membership Meeting

Each month will feature a political discussion. This month we will hold a discussion onBodies and Bondage A History of California’s Prisons with Jared Rudolph of the Prison Advocacy Network. Jared Rudolph is a criminal defense attorney and the founder of Prisoner Reentry Network,a nonprofit that supports successful transitions from incarceration to the community. California’s prison system started as a privately-run barge anchored in the Bay, and was embroiled in corruption, political scandal, and violence. Since then, our system has grown to incarcerate more people than the population of Berkeley. Prisons represent the power of the state in its most raw and basic form, and 165 years later Californians are still confronting the same fundamental questions: Why do we incarcerate people, what happens when they leave, and can we do better?

Refreshments Provided

NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR!!!

Click HERE for the job description.

Applications due June 15th!

Though we didn’t make our fundraising goal by our intended deadline … we have decided to extend our campaign.

We must extend our campaign because it is solelythrough the generosity of our members that we are able to sustain ourselves. This means we are not accountable to corporations or foundations.

We are accountable to the people. We are accountable to you.

If you didn’t donate, stop what you are doing and donate today.

If you did donate, forward this request with a personal note to all of your contacts and ask them to donate today.

The work demand is high. Our coffers are low. Resistance requires resources. If we don’t support our movements – who will?

Donate a little or a lot. But DONATE TODAY!!