Calendar

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.

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.

#SF #BayArea #Oakland All Out to #ShutItDown for #EricGarner #MikeBrown #Ferguson 5PM 14th and BROADWAY OGP OAKLAND

— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) December 3, 2014

Reminder for #Oakland #SanFrancisco: NLG legal # is 415-285-1011. That's 415-285-1011. Sharpie on you & then share it w/others #EricGarner

— Cindy Milstein (@CindyMilstein) December 3, 2014

.@blogdiva : OAKLAND: 5PM #OGP 14th and Broadway. Justice for #EricGarner #ICantBreathe #oakland2NY

— OccupythePort (@occupytheport) December 3, 2014

#OAKLAND: 5PM #OGP 14th & Broadway. Justice for #EricGarner #ICantBreathe #oakland2NY #ShutItDown #IndictTheSystem

— IO: (InterOccupy) (@InterOcc) December 3, 2014

The local CBS station just told 100k+ Facebook fans about the #EricGarner 5PM protest at OGP. Nice. http://t.co/d5PtUmBNdV

— Political Fail Blog (@PFailBlog) December 3, 2014

There will be three meetings of this class, on Wednesdays at 7 pm – Dec. 3, 10, and 17.

This class will investigate the structure of prison from three perspectives:

• Its ethics,
• Its inherent criminality as a system,
• Its role in the structures of racialization in the US.

Today, we live in a society in political and ethical crisis because it has instituted a revenge ethic and a desire to place people in internal exile in the place of justice and humanism. Having done so, it has created the largest prison system in the world.

Each of these perspectives cries out for the abolition of prisons. The structures of racialization in the US have always depended on a prison system. The topic of the “new Jim Crow” will not only encompass a discusstion of Michelle Alexander’s book by that title, but also the accumulating material evidence that Jim Crow has become our re-institutionalized reality.

Consider this:
The Broken Window theory, by which William Bratton turned New York City into a police state under the heel of “stop and frisk,” can stated as follows: “Even one broken window creates the condition for anti-social behavior.”

The ethics of prison abolition echoes in response to this: “The violence of even one person thrown in a cage by political authority creates the condition for violent behavior.”

The class will address questions such as the following:
1- what is the real structure of imprisonment, and what are the ethics of each of its components?
2- what is the political structure of the prison, and how does it relate to both its structural ethics, to the ideal of human rights, and to the society that we live in.
3- what structures does the political domain us to inhale people into its prison system, to remove them from their communities and habitats, and often to punish them for their attempts to survive physically and psychically?
4- what is the nature of punishment, and why is it even a social or cultural value?
5- what is the connection between social violence, victimless crime laws, and capitalism?
6- what dimensions of the present US prison system could be abolished right now, in the interest of justice, and what does it imply about this society that it refuses to do it?
7- what is the cyclic relation between slavery, prison labor, debt servitude, the prison industry, and Jim Crow?
8- with the prison industry actually materializing a foundation for a New Jim Crow (in Michelle Alexander’s sense), what evidence do we see of the government’s actual success in re-institutionalizing Jim Crow?
9- what is the structure of “racialization” in the US, what role did the former Jim Crow play in it, and what role does the prison today play in it?

If you are interested, contact me for links to some reading, or just show up on Dec. 3.
Steve Martinot
martinot4 [at] gmail.com

Last time we read  Positive Money’s proposal for an alternative banking system, parts 1-4.  This week we’ll finish discussing it, with parts 5-6.

Aloha.

The Politics of Debt Reading Group is a joint effort of the Bay Area Public School and Strike Debt Bay Area.

IMPORTANT ERIC GARNER DEMONSTRATION 1 PM IN THE QUAD… IRONICALLY THE VERY SITE OF THE INFAMOUS UCD PEPPER SPRAYING INCIDENT

— OccupyUCDavis (@OccupyUCDavis) December 4, 2014

Join us at Fruitvale Bart plaza to bring attention to widespread inequality and our shared struggles for a living wage ($15/hour) and the right to unionize without retaliation.

Nov. 29th marks the 2nd anniversary of when the first 100+ fast food workers, fed up with low wages, poor treatment and disrespect walked off the job in New York.

Let’s make it known that a minimum wage hike isn’t all we’re fighting for in Oakland and beyond!

Hosted by East Bay Fast Food Workers.

Protest Events in Bay Area over next 4 days. pic.twitter.com/C1pO4VCgHf

— OccupythePort (@occupytheport) December 4, 2014

OAKLAND: Non-RCP led March will begin at 7PM. (H/T @hyphy_republic)

— OccupythePort (@occupytheport) December 5, 2014

We hear there's a callout to meet at the cable cars at Powell and Market in #SF today at 6pm for #EricGarner #MikeBrown #Ferguson #BayArea

— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) December 5, 2014

March tomorrow fri 27th and Telegraph 7pm #EricGarner #MikeBrown #Ferguson #SF #oakland #bayarea #ShutItDown #ICantBreath #HandsUpDontShoot

— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) December 5, 2014

Drop the Charges, Free Them All, Shut It Down for Mike Brown!

Over the past week, brave protesters and street fighters have taken to the streets across the country igniting a brilliant revolt against the police, white supremacy and capitalism. The people of Ferguson are an inspiration to us all and their actions have sparked an unstoppable movement that has now spread nation wide. From the mass highway takeovers to the expropriation of looted goods to the disruptions of Black Friday consumerism to the street fights with police, we stand in full solidarity with all those who have put their lives and bodies on the line to help push the struggle forward and disrupt business as usual. We reject all attempts to divide those in the streets between “good protesters” and “bad protesters”. Anyone pushing this agenda is doing the work of the state and is an enemy of the movement.

Hundreds have been arrested in this rebellion including roughly 200 here in the Bay Area. All of those who are still in jail locally are facing felony charges allegedly related to the looting of various corporate stores. Not surprisingly, all of these comrades who the state has chosen to make examples of are Black.

Join us this Friday for a march and noise demo in support of the revolt and those facing state repression for their involvement in this movement.

MEET AT 27th & TELEGRAPH IN OAKLAND @ 7PM SHARP
MARCH TO THE JAIL IN DOWNTOWN
BRING FRIENDS & NOISEMAKERS

*RAIN OR SHINE*

Recent events in Ferguson have exposed shared struggles around the world, particularly in Haiti: struggles against militarization and a system of injustice.

Join us as we make connections, and discuss the work we can do right here!

From Mike Brown’s death at the hands of a white police officer in Ferguson Missouri, to the abduction of 43 students in Mexico by the government, state violence must end!

On December 6th, 1914, the joint army of Villa and Zapata took control of Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution.

One entire century later, it is sixth anniversary of the police murder of Alexis in Athens, Greece, which launched a mass uprising across the country. That rage was seen a month afterwards on the very streets of Oakland after Oscar Grant was killed by the police.

Later that year, occupations took root at universities across California, like the ones we see today at Wheeler Hall in UC Berkeley. Students were at the forefront of anti-police struggles in Greece, as well as in Mexico. This led to the abduction of 43 students by police in Ayotzinapa just over two months ago. This was only days before the anniversary of the Tlatelolco massacre, where Mexican government murdered protesting students.

Bring friends, banners, masks, megaphones, sound systems, etc.

SHUT IT DOWN FOR MIKE BROWN
GO HARDER FOR ERIC GARNER

This protest is in solidarity with the people of Ferguson, Staten Island NY, and all across the country demanding justice for Mike Brown and Eric Garner and an end to police violence.

The City of Alameda is an island city running parallel to Oakland. Alameda Police is widely known for racial profiling. The city is also notorious for housing discrimination and racial inequality in education.

Join us for a nonviolent action to declare Black Lives Matter. This peaceful, disruption at the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will shut it down for Mike Brown and remember all the stolen lives lost to police terrorism.

Update, Dec. 7, 2:43 a.m. According to reports from the scene, many of the protesters have dispersed. Some have called for supporters to meet Sunday at 1 p.m. at Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus to continue their efforts. Stay tuned to #BerkeleyProtest for live updates.

Meeting tomorrow at 1 o clock on Sproul. #berkeleyprotest

— Sahil Chinoy (@sahilchinoy_dc) December 7, 2014

So far we’re hearing march is called for Sunday (technically today) 5pm at Bancroft And Telegraph in #Berkeley #EricGarner #Ferguson

— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) December 7, 2014

I’ll be gearing up & attending protest Sunday 5pm @ Telegraph & Bancroft in #Berkeley. Please attend. See you there. Will be Live Tweeting.

— Domain Awareness (@domainawareness) December 7, 2014

Sunday 1pm 14th&Broadway, 5pm Bancroft &Telegraph. Bring milk as well and trade contacts for glasses if poss #FTP pic.twitter.com/DymVS0ZfUd

— LaCrise (@lacrise_ucd) December 7, 2014

#Berkeley — Call has gone out. Protest: Telegraph & Bancroft Sunday @ 5pm #EricGarner #ShutItDown #Ferguson #Oakland #PoliceState ALL OUT!!!

— Domain Awareness (@domainawareness) December 7, 2014

#Berkeley #Oakland This is definitely a gas mask night ahead of us. Show up prepared – bring water & snacks. Police are out for blood. #FTP

— Domain Awareness (@domainawareness) December 7, 2014

On Saturday evening over 500 UC-Berkeley students and community members marched to demand justice for Mike Brown and Eric Garner. Police from across the East Bay rioted against the peaceful crowd, with batons, tear gas, and rubber bullets. They broke one person’s leg, inflicted other injuries, and indiscriminately arrested members of the crowd.

But UC-Berkeley students and community members poured into the streets to protest this violent onslaught and STAYED STRONG FOR NINE HOURS. Inspired by the heroic example Ferguson, we showed that WE WON’T BACK DOWN!

Protesters voted to MARCH AGAIN  for THESE DEMANDS:
* Jail Darren Wilson, Daniel Pantaleo, and All Killer Cops
* End the Racist Coverups by the District Attorneys and Grand Juries
* Down with the New Jim Crow! Down with the Police From Ferguson to Ayotzinapa to Staten Island: March Against State Repression
* Release the Berkeley protesters arrested and drop all charges.

*** BERKELEY ASKS OTHER CAMPUSES AND COMMUNITIES TO JOIN US IN SOLIDARITY ***

*** SHARE PHOTOS + VIDEO FROM THAT DAY TO GET OUT THE TRUTH ***

TO EVERYONE WHO WAS PROTESTING IN BERKELEY LAST NIGHT: if you or anyone know was injured or arrested by police, document any injuries and contact me (Ronald Cruz, BAMN attorney) at ronald.cruz@ueaa.net . Thank you.

FROM FERGUSON TO BERKELEY, WE WON’T BACK DOWN!

JUSTICE FOR MIKE BROWN AND ERIC GARNER!
A BADGE IS NOT A LICENSE TO KILL, AND NOT A LICENSE TO BEAT STUDENTS!
JAIL DARREN WILSON AND ALL KILLER COPS!
NO MORE RACIST COVER-UPS!
DOWN WITH THE NEW JIM CROW!
DOWN WITH THE POLICE STATE!

Please check the Facebook event page for updates.