Calendar
On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery in 1838 at age 20, gave one of his most famous speeches, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” to the Ladies Antislavery Society of Rochester, New York. We will begin by listening to actor and activist Danny Glover reading a six-minute selection from the speech during a performance of Howard Zinn’s “Voices of a People’s History of the United States“ on October 5, 2005, at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Los Angeles. <https://vimeo.com/1275332>
Following a brief introduction by ICSS member Gene Ruyle, we will have a group discussion of the speech and its significance for today. Come prepared to share your views!
The full text (over 2800 words) of the speech may be found at:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html
Moderator: ICSS Member Sharon Rose
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We’re looking forward to getting together with you for a regular meeting. We’ll discuss the latest developments in our fight to keep new oil and gas wells out of eastern Contra Costa County! Plus we’ll catch up on other campaigns and check in with each other. We need your participation and your voice!
RSVP to action@sunflower-alliance.org for link
The Sunflower Alliance is committed to environmental justice and the health and safety of all Bay Area communities threatened by toxic pollution and climate change. We are fighting against the poisoning of our communities and the destruction of our planet, and for an equitable and sustainable economy fueled by renewable energy sources—wind, water and solar.
We seek an end to the ruinous extractive economy and its replacement with a life-sustaining system that meets people’s real needs and nurtures the planet we live on.
Join us for our monthly member meeting as we come together to build community and practice truth telling. Learn more about our work and get plugged into our campaigns. We will be meeting virtually this month and you must register to attend. This meeting is open to non-members so we encourage you to join and get to know us.
We are named after Ella Baker, a brilliant, black hero of the civil rights movement. Following in her footsteps, we organize with Black, Brown, and low-income people to shift resources away from prisons and punishment, and towards opportunities that make our communities safe, healthy, and strong.
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
Because of the COVID pandemic we will be meeting virtually via Zoom on the first Monday of the month.
Meeting ID: 828 0976 4186
The Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality & State Repression (OGC) is a
grassroots democratic organization that was formed as a conscious united front for justice against police brutality. The OGC is involved in the struggle for police accountability and is committed to stopping police brutality.
In alliance with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) we organized the October 23, 2010 labor and community rally for Justice for Oscar Grant. On that day the ILWU shut down the Bay Area ports in solidarity. Our mission is to educate, organize and mobilize people against police and state repression. Sisters and brothers! The Oscar Grant Committee invites you to join us in this vital struggle.
We meet on the 1st Monday of each month
You can join our discussion list by sending a blank (doesn’t even need a subject) email to
oscargrantcommittee-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
Every time protests erupt after yet another innocent black person is killed by police, “reform” is meekly offered as the solution. But what if drastically defunding the police – not reform – is the best way to stop unnecessary violence and death committed by law enforcement against communities of color?
The alternative is not more money for police training programs, hardware or oversight. It is to dramatically shrink their function. We must demand that local politicians develop non-police solutions to the problems poor people face. Instead of giving them more money for pointless training programs, let’s divert that money into building up communities and individuals so we don’t “need” violent and abusive policing.
What is the origin of the modern police force? What functions do police serve in a capitalist society? What does defunding the police actually look like? Could society really function without the police?
Join us on Zoom as we discuss these questions and more, with a talk from featured speaker Brian Bean.
Priority Reading
Interview with Alex Vitale “Policing Is Fundamentally a Tool of Social Control to Facilitate Our Exploitation” Jacobin (10 min read) **New York-based sociologist Alex Vitale weighs in on the failures of police reform efforts and why reducing police power is one of the best solutions available for combating systemic racism and advancing working-class interests.**
Other Recommended Readings/Videos
Brian Bean The Socialist Case Against the Police Rampant (30 min read) **Police don’t solve, stop or prevent crime because they were never designed to. Cops are the tools of the bosses, from the day they were invented to today**
Brian Bean Abolish the Police Rampant (30 min read) **Cops are not part of the working class and perform no socially beneficial function. Only good things can result from abolishing the police.**
Where: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84783105991?pwd=Tlk5SENqWHFHV216M1lSZkRtUGk2dz09
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.
Zoom Link
Webinar ID: 979 4670 3278
Password: 611741
In 2019, with your support, we passed AB 857, the Public Banking Act, empowering cities and regions to create our own banks. In 2020, economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing local governments across the state to cut staff, services, and vital programs at a time when they are most needed. We must bring desperately needed funds into urban and rural communities ignored by Wall Street banks.
AB 310 proposes emergency COVID-19 relief by transferring 10% of California’s Pooled Money Investment Account (PMIA) into the existing California Infrastructure Bank (IBank). It then requires the IBank to convert into a state depository institution which can leverage funds and lend directly to cash-strapped local governments and small businesses. A California State Public Bank can offer emergency lending and credit to community banks and credit unions, rescue small businesses, and help historically marginalized communities.
We only have 2 months to move this bill through two committees in the Senate, the Senate floor, two committees in the Assembly, and the Assembly floor.
With such a short window, we’re targeting outreach and endorsements to: local government, Democratic central committees, labor, civic organizations, credit unions and community banks, and national, regional and statewide organizations. Just as we did on AB 857, we’ll also coordinate lobbying outreach to over 90 Senate and Assembly offices – except this time, we will do almost all of it virtually.
The California Public Banking Alliance is a grassroots, people-powered effort led by a team of volunteers. We need your help once again in the fight to take on Wall Street and bring about economic recovery for the people of California!
Support the CA State Public Bank with 3 action steps below. Endorse AB 310, send a letter to the Senate from your organization, and use our Action Network letter to email your State Representatives directly. Reach out to calpba@gmail.com with questions, ideas, and support.
3 ACTION STEPS TO SUPPORT A STATE PUBLIC BANK:
1. Endorse AB 310: Organizational Endorsement Form
2. Email your Legislators via Action Network
3. Send a Senate Support Letter from your Organization
Links to our subject-specific one-pagers, fact sheet and FAQ are below, along with our template resolutions.
AB 310 RESOURCES:
AB 310 One-Pagers
AB 310 Fact Sheet
AB 310 FAQ
AB 310 Coalition Support Letter
AB 310 Resolution for Local Government Support
AB 310 Resolution for Democratic Central Committees
Want to know more about OPD’s share of the Oakland budget? Want to learn about the history of APTP’s Defund OPD campaign?
Register for our Defund OPD Teach-In at https://t.co/yGOmYamK7D#defundopd #defundpolice pic.twitter.com/IaMyT2XcUm
— Defund OPD (@DefundOPD) July 3, 2020
We are asking OUR HOUSED neighbors to contribute hygiene supplies, canned food, bottled water, rain gear, tarps, garbage bags, $$ et al on July 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 & 12 to be redistributed on July 19 to encampments in North Oakland dealing with the COVID 19. We will sanitize and package your donations add a hot packaged meal and fresh fruit to the care kits to be distributed to North Oakland Encampments and surrounding encampments.
In order to properly sanitize and maintain social distancing we are collecting the materials a week prior to when we distribute 500 hot meals and care kits. Overflow resources will be distributed by sister orgs throughout Oakland.
Been to a “Heading for Extinction” Talk or seen us in the media? Want to get more involved? Attend a Zoom (video) Orientation Call! Note that this call is phone friendly! If you want to call in by phone, you can call in using the zoom meeting number (disclosed once you sign up).
Sign up here:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIkcuuhqzMoG9Gkaji1tKcqCT_J6bDAEEqc
We are asking OUR HOUSED neighbors to contribute hygiene supplies, canned food, bottled water, rain gear, tarps, garbage bags, $$ et al on July 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 & 12 to be redistributed on July 19 to encampments in North Oakland dealing with the COVID 19. We will sanitize and package your donations add a hot packaged meal and fresh fruit to the care kits to be distributed to North Oakland Encampments and surrounding encampments.
In order to properly sanitize and maintain social distancing we are collecting the materials a week prior to when we distribute 500 hot meals and care kits. Overflow resources will be distributed by sister orgs throughout Oakland.
We’re hosting a F*ck Your Budget Assembly to respond to the Oakland City Council’s failure to listen to the demands of thousands of people and 100 community, faith, labor organizations, and small businesses who all agree that we need to Defund the Police and Defend Black Lives.
Guest Speakers:
– James Burch of Anti Police-Terror Project’s #DefundOPD Committee
– Sharena Diamond Thomas of PEOPLE’S COMMUNITY MEDICS (Each One, Teach One)
– Jesse Wiltey of the Melanated Social Work Podcast
– Patricia Moran, Children’s Librarian, Oakland
– Sandra Rodriguez, restorative justice practitioner and trainer
You’re invited to participate in a fishbowl conversation on Zoom about how the city can better spend the $300million that we now spend on the police department.
What does a police free world look like? How can we better spend that money? How much of the city budget should go to housing? To violence prevention? To youth programs? To parks? To libraries?
Agenda:
– Introduction to “Participatory Budgeting” and Guest Speakers
– Fishbowl Conversation with Guest Speakers
– Breakout Rooms: Fill out budget survey (https://cooperative4thecommunity.com/oakland-peoples-budget-survey). A CDP Facilitator will be in each breakout room to answer questions about each city departments and to provide tech support if there are any questions about how to use the survey.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtfuuvqjMuE9NC61mDBlF7vn06Mcu-SV5P
For every victim and every death at the hands of police, there is a mother. Join the Mothers of the Movement as we discuss how to cope with grief, take care of mental health, and turn pain into purpose.
The Town Hall will happen on Zoom: https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/97524099924
Panelists to be announced.
We’ll also stream to Facebook Live. We’ll take audience questions off Zoom and Facebook.
***>> EMAIL STRIKE.DEBT.BAY.AREA@GMAIL.COM FOR ZOOM INFO A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE MEETING. <<***
Strike Debt Bay Area hosts a non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Previous readings have included Doughnut Economics, Limits, Banking on the People, Capital and Its Discontents, and How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century.
For our July, August and September discussions we will be reading ‘The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy’ by Stephanie Kelton. (Find it at your local bookstore or through this site.)
For July, we will have read the first two chapters.
For August, we will have read chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6,
For September, chapters 7 and 8.
The book is easy reading, and it would be easy to catch up. Join us – all are welcome!
Stephanie Kelton’s brilliant exploration of modern monetary theory (MMT) dramatically changes our understanding of how we can best deal with crucial issues ranging from poverty and inequality to creating jobs, expanding health care coverage, climate change, and building resilient infrastructure. Any ambitious proposal, however, inevitably runs into the buzz saw of how to find the money to pay for it, rooted in myths about deficits that are hobbling us as a country.
Kelton was chief economist on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee (minority staff) and an advisor to the Bernie2016 presidential campaign. Kelton is a regular commentator on national radio and television and speaks across the world at large gatherings of people interested in global finance, political economy and public policy. She has superb connections in all areas of print and broadcast national media. Her op-eds have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg.
For July, we will also have read two shorter pieces, following up on themes we have taken up in previous readings:
- The Neoliberal Era is Ending – What Comes Next? by Rutger Bregman
- From Banks and Tanks to Cooperation and Caring.
We are asking OUR HOUSED neighbors to contribute hygiene supplies, canned food, bottled water, rain gear, tarps, garbage bags, $$ et al on July 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 & 12 to be redistributed on July 19 to encampments in North Oakland dealing with the COVID 19. We will sanitize and package your donations add a hot packaged meal and fresh fruit to the care kits to be distributed to North Oakland Encampments and surrounding encampments.
In order to properly sanitize and maintain social distancing we are collecting the materials a week prior to when we distribute 500 hot meals and care kits. Overflow resources will be distributed by sister orgs throughout Oakland.