Calendar
BERKELEY ORGANIZING CONGREGATIONS FOR ACTION
– Unlocking the Power of People.
hosts
ACLU & NAACP Panel Discussion
“Why the new ‘Fair and Impartial’ Police Policy
is important for Berkeley”
Dinner Provided
Public Invited – No Charge
One year after police murdered Michael Brown and rebellions shook cities across this country, candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties are flocking to the presidential race. What do the elections have to do with the Black Lives Matter movement? What about Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump? What role should revolutionaries and anti-racist forces play in this election?
Join the discussion.
Hear John Parker, West Coast leader of Workers World Party, a member of the National Committee of Workers World Party and its presidential candidate in 2004. He works in Los Angeles organizing to build a unified movement against police terror, war, and against racism and homophobia and for worker and immigrant rights. He witnessed and investigated U.S. war crimes against the people of Iraq, Syria, Haiti and Sudan and here in the U.S. against the people of Ferguson, Baltimore and Los Angeles.
Currently Parker has written and is the main proponent of a ballot initiative for the City of Los Angeles requiring a $15 minimum wage that would take effect immediately upon voter approval.
Hear Clarence Thomas, former Secretary/Treasurer ILWU, Local 10 and Co-Chair Million Worker March. Thomas was one of the organizers of the Million Worker March, convened in Washington, D.C. less than a month before the 2004 presidential elections. Organizers called for universal health care, a national living wage, guaranteed pensions for all working people, an end to the outsourcing of jobs overseas, a repeal of the Patriot Act, increased funding for public education, free mass transit in every city, a reduction of the military budget and cancellation of pro-corporation pacts. The union bureaucracy accused the organizers of diverting energy from support for the Democratic Party in the elections. See “Election validates premise of Million Worker March” By Larry Holmeshttp://www.workers.org/ww/
On October 23, 2010, Thomas, as part of the ILWU Local 10 Executive Board, helped to lead the ILWU in shutting down all Bay Area ports to support justice for Oscar Grant. https://www.indybay.org/
Most recently, he supported Local 10’s May Day shutdown of the Port of Oakland to demand justice for Walter Scott and an end to police terror.http://www.workers.org/
Wheelchair accessible * Refreshments served * For more information call (510) 600-5800
Horrible/Adorable
http://
Dark Beach
https://
Remember When We Trashed the Golf Course
http://
Ghost Note Ensemble
https://
Proceeds benefit Bay Area Anti Repression Committee
The Bay Area Anti Repression Anti Repression Committee (BAARC) stands against political repression and is in solidarity with all those who challenge the state, capitalism and other forms of systemic oppression and domination. They provide support for actions that are anti-patriarchal, anti-racist, anti-imperialist & anti-capitalist. Proceeds with go to the anti-repression bail fund for those who are arrested at actions and do not have the resources to bail or bond themselves. They also do court support. We need to have each other’s backs as the Bay Area continues to rise up, and the state attempts to intimidate through police, courts and jails.
An All Ages DIY, Volunteer Run, 501(c)(3) Nonprofit, Music & Art Community Spac
A crucial community Berkeley conversation, sponsored by the NAACP and other organizations, that everyone should try to attend. The struggle for racial justice, for African Americans in particular, is one that must be engaged seriously by government bodies on all levels.
Out of Oakland comes a very positive initiative: a Department of Race and Equity, unanimously approved by the City Council.
It’s true that the meaningful social change has always come from the efforts of grassroots community actions. But local governments must also work for equality for marginalized communities. The NAACP and others are calling for a Berkeley department on race and equity similar to Oakland’s. Come join the conversation on Saturday on how to hold our government accountable for continuing racial injustice.
SPEAKERS – COMMUNITY CONVERSATION – ACTION
**City of Oakland Councilmember Desley Brooks**
**Black Lives Matter Panel Discussion**
Feed The People!
The last Sunday of every month attendees of the OO GA get together a little earlier than usual, at 2 PM (3 PM during DST) to share some food with each other and the community. There should be a table, utensils/plates, meat and veggie entrees and whatnot, courtesy of the Kitchen Committee (such at he is), so just bring yourself, or something to share as well if you’d like.
The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 3 PM at the Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway in the amphitheater. 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. During the warmer months we meet at 4 PM at the plaza.
The OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for more than 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. 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)
Occupy Oakland Kitchen Committee: (kitchen@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
Individual consultation with attorneys, info about new Drivers Licenses requirements, DACA & Citizenship process applications, U VISA, and Prop 47 reclassification. Free rap sheets for the first 50 individuals. Alameda County Public Defender’s office representatives will be present to assist. En Espanol.
Sponsored by: Oakland Community Organizations (OCO), Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), Centro Legal De La Raza (CLDLR) and Catholic Charities East Bay.
It has been more than 6 months and not one official police report on Yuvette’s killing has been made public. We have seen this type of delaying tactic before when police kill and we won’t stand for it — Yuvette’s life mattered. The Alameda coroner is unnecessarily withholding the autopsy results of Yuvette’s death, which is key to the family’s ongoing fight for answers and accountability.
PLEASE RSVP: This Sunday, join Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP) and SURJ – Bay Area (Showing Up for Racial Justice) in door knocking and handing out flyers asking Emeryville residents to stand with Yuvette and attend this week’s city council meeting.
On Tuesday, the Emeryville City Council is holding a meeting with time for public comment. We need as many people as possible to show up and demand the city council urge the coroner to release the autopsy report. If enough people show up we have a chance at winning this important step on the road towards justice for Yuvette.
SIGN UP for the city council action here: https://www.facebook.com/
This canvass and the city council action is part of an ongoing campaign to demilitarize the Emeryville police department and hold those responsible for Yuvette’s murder accountable.
Stop by and pick up farm produce.
Farm Stand 3:00 – 5:00 pm at San Pablo Gate
Information, discussion, community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
Historical context, response, and vision for the future
On July 13, Sandra Bland became the latest casualty in the war on black lives and bodies. Pulled over for the minor infraction of changing lanes without signaling, Sandra Bland was brutalized, arrested, and three days later found dead in her Texas jail cell. Her arrest and death has sparked national outcry for answers after police reported that Bland committed suicide.
OccupyForum will bring together activists working to address the racism and brutality that continues to tear apart our society. We will hear from Open Circle and the Idriss Stelley Foundation (including Mesha Irizarry), ground zero for families who have suffered a death at the hands of police; The Anti-Police Terror Project committed to ending state sanctioned murder of Black, Brown & Poor People; and CODEPINK which helped amplify the voices of mothers who have lost their children to police brutality. We will also have a representative from the Oscar Grant Committee in Oakland and a historians to situate state/police repression in America.� We will be attempting to contextualize the Sandra Bland case, and talk about the vision ahead to move from protest to the broadest movement to stop the murder of African Americans on the systemic level.
Mesha Irizarry: (whose son was killed in 2002 by police) Idriss Stelly Foundation
Antoinette Gaggero: Open Circle: Addresssing Police Terror and Systemic Oppression
Jeremy Miller: Idriss Stelly Foundation
Dr. James Garrett, Historian
Nancy Mancias: CODEPINK
Cat Brooks: Anti-Police Terror Project
Francis (Civil Rights Singer)
Facilitated by: Gerald Smith, Black history scholar, longtime member of the Black Panther Party, and the Oscar Grant Committee (Investigating Cases of Police Brutality)
LINKS:
Anti Police Terror Project Cat Brooks: https://vimeo.com/124791337
http://www.bet.com/news/national/photos/2015/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about-sandra-bland.html#!072115-national-Sandra-Bland-prison-death-case-2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/07/22/what-cops-are-saying-about-the-sandra-bland-video/ (this has a video of the arrest)
http://yourblackworld.net/2015/07/21/third-woman-who-police-claim-committed–suicide-while-in-police-custody/
https://localwiki.org/oakland/Oscar_Grant
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/23/us/sandra-bland-arrest-death-main/index.html
ON TWITTER: #sandyspeaks, #sandystillspeaks, #sandrabland, #sandrablandmurder, #sayhername
Injured workers have been under a vicious corporate insurance attack in California that has prevented them from getting their injuries taken care of in a timely fashion. Governor Brown and his supporters have set up an obstacle course called Independent Medical Reviews that stall getting injuries treated. Workers then have to fight to get medication to deal with the pain that injured workers have. Doctors who subscribe opiates are then blamed for a rise in addiction among California injured workers.
The rise of opiate addiction among injured workers is a direct result of Governor Brown/DIR Director Christine Baker’s SB 863 which prevents workers from getting their injuries taken care of promptly and the use of corrupt companies like Maximus to use anonymous doctors to make medical determinations. Governor Brown and DIR director Christine Baker gave a $40 million no bid contract to Maximus to contract out state work on making determinations on care for California injured workers.
Come to this hearing and speak out about the corruption and failure of the state to take care of injured workers and blaming doctors for oversubscribing opiates because the insurance controlled Governor Brown, the CHSWC and DIR Director Christine Baker are representing the bosses and insurance companies rather than injured workers.
In anticipation of a major development in one of the most significant cases brought by prisoners in the struggle against solitary confinement, Ashker v. Brown, activists, prisoners’ family members and loved ones, and prisoner advocates will be holding a press conference and rally.
Come out and support those struggling against solitary confinement.
solitary-confinement-settlement
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n February, Emeryville police killed Yuvette Henderson, a 38-year old Black woman and mother of two after she was assaulted at the Home Depot. It was clear from the different sizes of the bullet holes that multiple weapons, including an AR-15 assault rifle, had been fired at her.
It has been more than 6 months and not one official police report on Yuvette’s killing has been made public. The Alameda coroner is unnecessarily withholding the autopsy results of Yuvette’s death, which is key to the family’s ongoing fight for answers and accountability.
Come to the Emeryville City Counsel meeting to demand that the Council directs the coroner to release Yuvette’s autopsy report to her family.
Visit www.showingupforracialjustice.org for more info
Statewide action to expose and address racial profiling by law enforcement. The action seeks to ensure that the Senate passes, and the Governor signs AB 953 (racial profiling reporting bill).
WHAT WE NEED: As many people to attend the action as possible.
To attend the event and/or get a ride, register at: tinyurl.com/statewideaction
Communities United Coalition is calling for a statewide day of action to demonstrate the urgency for the California Legislature and Governor Brown to take action that will curb racial profiling and demonstrate that black and brown lives matter in California and improve public safety for everyone.
There will be a public program on the Capitol lawn and delegations will meet with California State Senators.
PLEASE JOIN US FOR A “TEACH-IN” ON URBAN WARFARE IN OUR BACKYARD.
WHY ARE OUR POLICE BEING MILITARIZED?
WHY IS THIS TREND SO DISTURBING?
WHAT IS THE “URBAN SHIELD” CONFERENCE?
HOW CAN WE ADDRESS THIS ISSUE?
PANEL INCLUDES:
George Lippman – Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission
ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS ARE BEING CONFIRMED – CHECK WEBSITE FOR UPDATES
6 PM Potluck, 7 PM Presentation
This is a FREE EVENT— Please bring a dish to share if attending potluck.
Tax deductible donations will be accepted to help us cover costs.
PLEASE REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT SO THAT WE CAN KEEP YOU INFORMED AS SPEAKERS ARE CONFIRMED AND TO ASSESS SPACE NEEDS. GO ONLINE TO: www.ourpeacecenter.org
Presented by Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center
The Bay Area Public School will be hosting a free, horizontally-organized, art critique group every other Thursday starting August 6th. The crit group will be geared towards the creation of new works, with each artist presenting work each class.
All media are welcome. Time based work should be limited to 8 minutes of work per artist per meeting. Work can be at any stage of development.
For more info:
https://bayareapublicschool.org/events/art-crit-group/
http://bayareapublicschool.prg
Inspired by Dr. Vandana Shiva’s book, Soil Not Oil, the 2015 Soil Not Oil Conference examines the crisis on food security while highlighting the implications of oil-based agro-chemicals and fossil fuels in soil depletion and climate change. The first edition of this conference will focus on educating, through national and international experiences, about the multiple problems and possible practical solutions that surround the profound consequences resulting from synthetic enhanced agriculture in industrialized nations.
The conference organizer, Soil Not Oil Coalition, is a cross-sector, multi-level and inter-ethnic alliance of over 50 organizations, scientists, farmers, businesses and individuals coordinated by the Biosafety Alliance.
Join international leaders, farmers, scientists, community members and environmental and food justice advocates for workshops, presentations and networking opportunities.
Get the knowledge you need to support the movement and advocate for a sustainable future for all living beings. For more information, registration or volunteering opportunities go to: http://soilnotoilcoalition.org/application-for-conference-proposals-2/about-the-conference/
or contact us at: soilnotoilcoalition@gmail.com
Dr. Vandana Shiva keynote speech is on Friday, Sept. 4, 7:00 pm
Focuses on Regenerative “Carbon Farming” to Mitigate Climate Change
Dr. Vandana Shiva keynote speech is on Friday, Sept. 4, 7:00 pm
International conference on agriculture and climate change, Soil Not Oil, Sept. 4-5, in Richmond, CA, features speakers Vandana Shiva, Fritjof Capra, Anna Lappé, former EPA senior scientist Ray Seidler, soil scientist Rattan Lal, agro-ecologist Miguel Altieri, environmental and land use attorney Claire Hope Cummings, and others.
Richmond, CA (July 29, 2015) — Getting to the root of global climate change, the 2015 Soil Not Oil International Conference will bring together farmers, ranchers, scientists, policy makers, NGOs and community leaders on Sept. 4-5, 2015, at the Memorial Civic Center Complex in Richmond, CA, to explore how sustainable, regenerative agriculture practices can help mitigate the planet’s global warming.
Soil Not Oil speakers include, from left: Dr. Vandana Shiva, Fritjof Capra, Anna Lappé and Ronnie Cummins.
“The goal of the two-day conference is to provide practical information, research, and networking to help society create a more vibrant, healthy future via better farming practices. Along with reduced reliance on fossil fuels and increased availability of green energy, we need to shift to carbon farming to mitigate climate change,” said Miguel Robles, conference organizer and Director of the Biosafety Alliance.
Vandana Shiva Headlines Conference
Inspired by Dr. Vandana Shiva’s book, Soil Not Oil, the 2015 Soil Not Oil International Conference examines the crisis on food security while highlighting the role of oil-based agro-chemicals and fossil fuels in soil depletion and climate change. The conference will focus on practical carbon farming solutions including cover crops, planned grazing, compost application on range land, tree planting and other holistic land use practices.
The conference will feature a keynote address by Dr. Vandana Shiva on Friday, Sept. 4, 7:00 pm, along with presentations featuring noted soil scientist Rattan Lal; author Fritjof Capra; environmental and land use attorney Claire Hope Cummings; Earth Guardians director and youth leader Xiuhtezcatl Martinez; author Anna Lappé; agro-ecologist Miguel Altieri; Adelita San Vicente Tello, Ph.D., director of Seeds of Life; Regeneration International and Organic Consumers Association co-founder Ronnie Cummins; John Roulac, CEO and founder of Nutiva; and other international leaders, farmers, researchers, climate change experts, and environmental and food justice advocates.
“We are pleased to host this important gathering in the San Francisco Bay Area, the heart of the organic food industry,” said Richmond-based John Roulac, founder and CEO of organic food leader Nutiva. “To secure a livable planet we need to both de-carbonize energy and re-carbonize our soils via regenerative agriculture.“
Carbon Farming Defined
Carbon farming (also known as regenerative agriculture) is an agricultural system that improves the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and converted to plant material and/or organic matter in the soil. Today, mainstream industrial food and farming and unsustainable land use generate the majority of all greenhouse gas emissions, with carbon that is stripped from the soil ending up in our atmosphere and oceans, creating acidic conditions that threaten plant and animal species. In removing carbon from the atmosphere and oceans by implementing the practices of regenerative organic agriculture, we can sequester carbon into the soil and expand the soil’s water-holding capacity.
As a 2014 Rodale Institute report states, “Organically managed soils can convert carbon CO2 from a greenhouse gas into a food-producing asset.” In fact, says Rodale after conducting more than 30 years of ongoing field research, regenerative, organic farming practices and improved land management can move agriculture from one of today’s primary sources of global warming and carbon pollution to a potential carbon sink powerful enough to sequester 100% of the world’s current annual CO2 emissions.
Or, as the Wall Street Journal reported in May 2014, “Organic practices could counteract the world’s yearly carbon dioxide output while producing the same amount of food as conventional farming…”
About the Soil Not Oil Coalition
The conference organizer, Soil Not Oil Coalition, is a cross-sector, multi-ethnic alliance of over 60 organizations, scientists, farmers, businesses and individuals coordinated by the Biosafety Alliance to promote research and further understanding to optimize soil carbon sequestration and sustainability to aid in the development of adequate food production for future generations and to help reverse of the effects of global warming. We believe that restructuring land management practices is key to combating climate change, restoring water cycles, reducing global environmental pollution, stopping ocean acidification, re-establishing biodiversity, improving food production and revitalizing local economies across the planet. For more information, registration or volunteering opportunities visit www.soilnotoilcoalition.
Soil Not Oil Conference Sponsors include Nutiva, Dr. Bronner’s, RSF Social Finance, Good Earth Natural Foods, Burroughs Family Farms, International Development Exchange, Organic Consumers Association, Regeneration International and Food Democracy Now.
1990 American documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involved in it. The film is considered to be an invaluable documentary of the end of the “Golden Age” of New York City drag balls, and critics have praised it as a thoughtful exploration of race, class, gender, and sexuality in America.
Group discussion will follow the film. Snacks will be served.
Solidarity With John Crawford & Walmart Workers
“How can a black man walk into walmart and Not come out alive?”
It’s been a year since the police killing of John Crawford at an Ohio Walmart. Local “OW” and racial justice activists are linking walmart police brutality with walmart economic brutality. “Shopping while black is not a crime and working for walmart should not be a death sentence” We Demand Justice for John Crawford and demand a living wage for walmart workers.
Urban Shield is a county-wide war games, swat training and weapons expo, held each year involving hundreds of local, federal and international agencies including those from Apartheid Israel. The Stop Urban Shield Coalition successfully stopped the Urban Shield expo from being hosted in Oakland any longer. But activities still take place in Oakland, and the expo still happens in our backyard and still involves local agencies, local money and targets our local communities. Join us in a town hall on why we should all join forces to stop this from happening anywhere.
Featuring:
Art exhibit curated by Art Forces, art and sign making for upcoming actions, and community testimonies.
Part of Art Forces Dispossession(s) event series.
Hosted by The Stop Urban Shield Coalition
