Calendar

9896
May
16
Mon
Occupella: Tax the Rich Weekly Rally @ In front of the old Oaks Theater
May 16 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Sing for an hour on Solano Avenue at the old Oaks Theater, Berkeley.

60835
Demanding Justice 4 Kayla Moore @ Grassroots House
May 16 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Three years have passed since Berkeley resident Kayla Moore was killed in her apartment by the Berkeley police. In October 2016, her family will at last have their day in court. Please join us as we demand Justice for Kayla Moore!

On February 12, 2013, police were called to Kayla’s Shattuck Avenue apartment by a friend who was concerned about her mental health. Police arrived and immediately attempted to place her under arrest. Kayla was an African American, transgender woman who weighed almost 350 pounds. When officers wrestled her face down onto a futon on the floor, they should have known that this could impair her breathing. Up to six cops, using their full weight continued to restrain the panicked woman and even called for a spit hood to be placed on her head. Ultimately, they didn’t get a chance use it. They thought she had calmed down; in fact, she had stopped breathing.

If you are concerned about racism, trans* issues and the treatment of people with mental illness by the BPD, we invite you to work with us to bring this case to the attention of the public. The number of people suffering from mental illness in Berkeley continues to rise, yet they are often provided with police responders instead of mental health professionals. This has to change!

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Please join us  to discuss ways to organize around the October court date and to compel this city to de-militarize mental health care!

60916
May
17
Tue
Film Screening: Rezoning Harlem @ Omni Commons
May 17 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

sm_rezoning_harlem_flyer.jpg original image (3300x2550)

60941
May
18
Wed
Spare Our Air 2! Community Forum @ St Mark's Church gym
May 18 @ 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is in the process of revising the rules for the five Bay Area refineries, whose hazardous emissions are responsible for the higher risk of dying from heart disease and strokes in surrounding communities. However, the current draft of the new rules could increase the amount polluters are allowed to emit, and if implemented, would allow refineries to process far dirtier crude such as Canadian tar sands. Communities at risk have joined with the refinery workers’ union, USW Local 5, to support an alternative rule that would cap the amount of refinery emissions at current levels. Emissions reductions would not only improve air quality in the refinery corridor, but also downwind communities such as the Central Valley, which has some of the worst air quality in the U.S.

Please spread the word and plan to come to this second community forum. We will discuss the specifics of turning up the heat on BAAQMD to protect frontline communities, workers, our environment, and our global future. Download the flyer here:SpareOurAir2_18May2016. Bring a friend!

Sponsored by Sunflower Alliance, Communities for a Better Environment, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter, Richmond Progressive Alliance, California Nurses Association, and 350 Bay Area.

`

60962
Vigil for Amilcar Perez-Lopez @ Mission Police Station
May 18 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

60982
The Criminalization of Resistance @ California Institute of Integral Studies, Room 306
May 18 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

60980
Ars Technica Live: A Conversation About Surveillance @ tiki bar Longitude
May 18 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Join Ars Technica writers and law professor Elizabeth Joh for a conversation about law enforcement surveillance technology.

You can participate in the second episode of Ars Technica Live, a monthly interview series with fascinating people who work at the intersections of tech, science and culture. Filmed before a live audience in Oakland, each episode is a speculative, informal conversation between Ars Technica hosts Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar and an invited guest. The audience, drawn from Ars Technica’s readers, is also invited to join the conversation and ask questions. These aren’t soundbyte setups; they are deepcuts from the frontiers of research and creativity.

The May 18 meet-up will cover the acceleration of the intersection of cops’ use of surveillance technology, and what it means for individual privacy.

Episodes are posted to Ars Technica the week after the live events.

Contact: Annalee Newitz (annalee@arstechnica.com)

Elizabeth Joh is a law professor of at the University of California, Davis. Her scholarship has appeared in the Stanford Law Review, the California Law Review, the Northwestern University Law Review, the Harvard Law Review Forum, and the University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online. She has also provided commentary for the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.

Annalee Newitz is the tech culture editor at Ars Technica. Previously she was the editor-in-chief of Gizmodo and io9. She is the author of Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction (Doubleday). Her first novel, Autonomous, comes out in 2017 from Tor Books.

Cyrus Farivar is the senior business editor at Ars Technica. His book, The Internet of Elsewhere (Rutgers University Press) is about the history and effects of the Internet on different countries around the world, including Senegal, Iran, Estonia and South Korea. He previously was the Sci-Tech Editor, and host of “Spectrum” at Deutsche Welle English, Germany’s international broadcaster.


Episode #3: June 15, 2016 (topic/guest TBD)
Episode #4: July 22, 2016 (topic/guest TBD)

60978
Anti Police-Terror Project General Meeting @ Eastside Arts Alliance
May 18 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Monthly APTP meeting, held on every 3rd Wednesday of the month.

Please join us for this important general meeting.  We will be working specifically on the four demands we put forth following the OPD Rape Scandal:

1) Nancy O’Malley must publicly state she intends to launch a full investigation into the police officers who raped and trafficked a 17 year old child and press charges against all officers involved.

2) Divest 50% of the Oakland Police Department’s budget and redirect those funds to career centers, job training programs, mental health services, youth programming and services for sex workers.

3) The establishment of a CIVILIAN controlled police review commission

4) Libby Schaaf must to resign�

We will also be discussing next steps in the Teodora Valencia case, as well as First Responders needs and work.

See you in the streets~

The Anti Police-Terror Project is a project of the ONYX ORGANIZING COMMITTEE that in coalition with other organizations like The Alan Blueford Center For Justice, Idriss Stelley Foundation, Community Ready Corps and Workers World is working to develop a replicable and sustainable model to end police terrorism in this country.

We are led by the most impacted communities but are a multi-racial, mutil-generational coalition.

60894
May
19
Thu
Enough is Enough – Vigil at SF City Hall. #SayHerName. @ San Francisco City Hall steps
May 19 @ 5:00 pm – 11:45 pm

60986
Solitary Confinement (SHU) Advocacy Post Ashker Case @ ACLU
May 19 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

RSVP and send questions here tinyurl.com/Walls-Pre-Training-Survey

-1.5 hours General CLE credit (We ask attorneys to make a donation of $30 to support the work of the Prisoner Advocacy Network; no one will be turned away.)

-This training will teach participants about the Ashker v. Governor settlement and strategies for advocating for and with people still enduring solitary confinement or retaliation due to political activity and/or alleged gang activity. Trainers will focus on strategies for successfully advocating with and on behalf of people in SHU or otherwise related to the Ashker settlement.

The format of the training will be a question and answer session between Carol Strickman, Steven Czifra, and readings pieces on topic by incarcerated Jailhouse Lawyers. More TBA. If you have specific questions you would like addressed, please email them to: eva@delairlaw.com or rsvp here tinyurl.com/Walls-Pre-Training-Survey

Presenters Include:
-Steven Czifra, who spent 16 years in CDCR custody, 8 of which were in the SHU. He co-founded the UC Berkeley Underground Scholars Initiative (USI). Formerly incarcerated students created USI to support all prospective and current UC Berkeley students impacted by issues of mass incarceration, imprisonment, and detainment of any kind. The goal of USI is to bridge the topic of mass incarceration that is highly popularized in academia with one that is grounded in the lived experiences of UC Berkeley students. USI has the unique opportunity of making UC Berkeley a catalyst for the development of a Prison to School pipeline within the University of California educational system.


-Carol Strickman (Senior Staff Attorney at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and named attorney on Ashker v. Gov.)


-People currently or previously housed in the SHU

This training series will focus on practical skills development for loved ones, activists, legal workers, and lawyers to understand the nitty gritty methods and best practices for supporting people in SHU

60985
Vigil at Site of SFPD’s Latest Extrajudicial Execution
May 19 @ 8:30 pm – 11:30 pm

Today, an SFPD sergeant shot and killed a 27 year-old Black woman and her unborn child who were in a car in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco. These are all the details we have right now.

This is the same neighborhood where a sergeant recently expressed a desire to kill Black people.

At 5:00, Mama Christina from the Black and Brown Coalition has asked people to join her on the steps of City Hall.

Afterwards the #Frisco500 with the full support of the Anti Police-Terror Project, Last 3% of SF, #DoNoHarm Coalition and Black Lives Matter Bay Area – call for the whole community to come out to a candlelight vigil at the site of the murder.

We’ll see you at the corner of Shafter Avenue and Elmira Street at 8:30pm tonight.

ALL are welcome and encouraged to join. Bring signs, candles and flowers if you can.

60989
May
20
Fri
Land Action 4: Motion to Dismiss, Pre-Trial Hearing. Court Support. @ Rene Davidson Courthouse, Dept 10
May 20 @ 9:00 am – 11:00 am

You know that old saying, “third times a charm…” Well, this will be the 3rd time that all of you have come out to show your immense support of the Land Action 4 and this huge, grass-roots, housing rights movement.

On MAY 20th, at 9am in DEPT 10 of the RENE C DAVIDSON COURTHOUSE The Land Action 4 have been promised a full half-day of the court’s time and an entire courtroom to ourselves!!! This is really huge!! Our legal defense team, with Tony Serra leading the charge, will present our Motion to Dismiss all charges.

Having the entire courtroom to ourselves can be an immense boon, and we want to make sure that WE PACK THE COURTROOM!!! That means that we really need every single one of you to be there. Each of you will have an extremely meaningful presence at this critical legal cross-roads, as this court case stands to set strong legal precedence around the use of adverse possession laws as a means to shelter. We need to show the court, the judge and rest of Oakland that our momentum won’t be dragged down by the court’s stalling tactics.

Twice now the Land Action 4 have stood before the discerning eye of a judge with a huge show of community support, twice now the powers that be have told us that they didn’t have time to listen to our plight. And finally, we have been promised by those powers that be that we will be heard!!! But, promises from “on high” only get us so far….

Some have said that our Motion reads like a HOUSING RIGHTS MANIFESTO and no doubt Tony Serra will orate it as such with fire and passion!!

So, please join The Land Action 4, our legal defense team and this powerful community of people who care about the basic human right of all folx to have shelter on MAY 20TH, at 9AM in DEPT 10 of the RENE C DAVIDSON COURTHOUSE.

*********
In case you are just tuning into this Bay Area Housing Crisis Drama…
Here is the full back story as told by defendants Patrick Xu and Wren Hyde

The interview begins at minute 35:54
https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=227703

On April 8th during the show Living Room, defendant Steven Dicaprio and attorneys Walter Riley and Dan Siegel talked about the Land Action 4 case specifically and address the political and economic side of the current Housing Crisis.

Interview begins at minute 30:17
https://kpfa.org/episode/living-room-april-8-2016/

*********

AND…. If you have the monies, we are $495 away from reaching our goal of paying back Patrick’s bail money that he had to borrow!!! AND if we can raise even more than our goal the money will go towards the court fees that we are steadily accruing.

Donate to support the Land Action 4’s legal expenses:
http://www.gofundme.com/m3vz8wva

**********
Also in news and the press:

Long-form radio show with Steven Dicaprio and Wren Hyde fielding questions from the radio interviewer and taking questions from listeners calling in.
http4s://kpfa.org/player/?audio=22868

KTVU TV segment:
http://www.ktvu.com/news/114969085-video

East Bay Express:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2016/03/17/oakland-housing-rights-activists-face-85-years-in-prison

60942
Documentary Film: Care not Cages @ First Unitarian Church of Oakland
May 20 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Care Not Cages:

40 minute documentary film and panel discussion on the use of Solitary Confinement. The film Breaking Down the Box examines the mental health, racial justice and human rights implications of the use of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons. Panelists will include Laura Magnani, director of American Friends Service Committee’s Bay Area Healing Justice Program. Author of “America’s First Penitentiary: A 200 Year Old Failure and co-author of “Beyond Prisons: A New Interfaith Paradigm for Our Failed Prison System.” Jennifer Kim, Esq. Director of Programs for the Ella Baker Center will discuss the current legislation on confinement and isolation for youth. There will be a mock solitary confinement booth on site.

Co-sponsored by Ella Baker Faith in Action Partnership of The First Unitarian Church of Oakland and American Friends Service Committee
Film trailer: https://vimeo.com/129764024

60943
Film: Care Not Cages: Breaking Down the Box @ Unitarian Church
May 20 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Join us for the 30 minute film BREAKING DOWN THE BOX followed by an update on California solitary confinement by Laura Magnani of AFSC’s Healing Justice program. Jennifer Kim, Esq. Director of Programs for the Ella Baker Center will discuss the legislation on confinement and isolation for youth. Before and after, step into the mock solitary confinement booth to experience the dimensions of the solitary world. Learn how you can help.

Childcare available with 48 hour advance notice. This is a FRAGRANCE FREE event. For more information or to request childcare, contact Lauren Poole at lpoole53@gmail.com.

60892
May
21
Sat
Malcolm X Jazz Arts Festival @ San Antonio Park
May 21 @ 11:00 am – 7:00 pm

60996
Alameda Renters Coalition: We Need You to Collect Signatures.
May 21 @ 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Click the button at this link and let us know when you can go get some signatures. We are approaching the end of our time to submit our initiative, and we need to get as many signatures as possible to make sure it qualifies! 

Collecting signatures all week.  Here is Saturday’s schedule:

5/21/2016, Saturday
Lucky’s                                         12-3p                 Sign-up!

3-6p                 Sign-up!
Safeway South Shore               12-3p                 Sign-up!
                                                        3-6p                 Sign-up!
Alameda Landing                      12-3p                 Sign-up!
                                                        3-6p                 Sign-up!
Nob Hill                                        12-3p                 Sign-up!
                                                        3-6p                 Sign-up!
Apartment Building                   5-7p                 Sign-up!
Ferry Building                        4:30-6:30p           Sign-up!

60972
March Against Monsanto @ Meet at the wooden platform by the water at Embarcadero and North Point in San Francisco, CA
May 21 @ 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Join this 5th annual global day of action to show solidarity together across the earth between the people, the creatures, and the land. Join the global march and movement and help co-create a better world for us and the generations to come!

Come dressed like your favorite creature in need of representation against the Big Agro-Chemical Industry
E.g. Bees, Salmon, Butterflies, Bats, Frogs, etc!
Bring the whole family!

We will meet at NOON at the wooden platform at Embarcadero and North Point in San Francisco, California.

Lets make some noise singing, dancing and swarming with a message to Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta, Dow AgroChem, Bayer and all the traitors to the earth and the rights of nature; that we believe in a SUSTAINABLE FUTURE; and that as collective citizen-stewards of the earth we are not allowing this destruction to persist, we are trasforming our future now! We will come and share space with one another, building and uniting the many projects we entertain that can, are, and will bring about meaningful change! The movement for food sovereignty and ecological sustainability is growing!

BAN ROUND UP (GLYPHOSATE) IN SF!
ORGANIC NON-GMO FOOD IN OUR SCHOOLS!
PROTECT OUR FOOD SUPPLY!
BIODIVERSITY AND AGROECOLOGY!
INDIGENOUS LAND RIGHTS!

HELP SPREAD THE WORD!

http://www.facebook.com/events/395847877245485/

60997
A History of the Poor People’s Campaign in Real Time
May 21 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

May 14, May 21, May 28, June 4, June 11, June 18, June 25, 1-5pm

Using news photographs, memorabilia, reconstructed objects, documentary fragments, and original documents, contemporary artist Kate Haug re-tells the story of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last monumental social protest prior to his assassination. The exhibition features images and objects culled from Haug’s extensive research in the archives of the Associated Press, the popular press, and eBay, which have not been seen together before, bringing to life the complex ambition of King’s vision.

King began organizing the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) in 1967 to unify America’s poor across class rather than racial lines, believing that economic parity was key to African American equality within the United States. The PPC culminated with a 3,000 person shanty town named Resurrection City, constructed on the National Mall in Washington DC. Resurrection City drew people from all over the country, was the nineteen sixties version of the 1932 Bonus March and a predecessor to “Occupy”. The exhibition time frame for this show mirrors many of the actual dates of the campaign, tracing the Resurrection City’s opening day to its final destruction.

The PPC echoes aspects of current social movements such as Black Lives Matter, Fight for Fifteen, and Our Walmart. In San Francisco, a city with one the highest rates of income inequality in the United States, King’s work asks pointed questions about the contemporary social contract and the democratic promise of America.

News Today: A History of the Poor People’s Campaign in Real Time runs from April 9, 2016 to June 25, 2016.

Gallery Talks:
Sat May 14, 2pm:
Justin Gomer Ph.D., Lecturer, American Studies, UC Berkeley
A discussion of the images in News Today as they relate to the shifting political landscape in the years after 1968.

Sat May 21, 2pm:
E.C. Feiss, Ph.D. Student, Art History, UC Berkeley
The Politics of Display

60968
Protect Yourself Against Undercover Cops, Informants and Cooperating Witnesses @ The Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics
May 21 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Join AROC in partnership with the National Lawyers’ Guild-SF and the Electronic Frontier Foundation for:

AROC Community Defense Training

Protect Yourself Against Undercover Cops, Informants and Cooperating Witnesses

This training is intended for youth, families and activists in the broader community. Come learn about ways to protect yourself, friends and community with digital security, what to do if you or someone you know are visited by law enforcement, or if someone feels that they are being targeted for their political activity.

RSVP by emailing info@araborganizing.org or calling 415-861-7444.

60926
West Oakland Picnic for a Safe, Clean, Affordable Neighborhood @ Defemery Park
May 21 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

 

We have the right to clean air.  We have the right to safe neighborhoods.   We have the right to stay in our homes.

West Oakland can make it happen.  We can make our community healthy and safe for everyone and find ways to make it affordable for friends and family to stay.  But not if we don’t Stop the Coal Trains from coming through Oakland, one more bad idea pushed on us by greedy developers.  We need a livable West Oakland, not one polluted with toxic coal dust and diesel exhaust.  And we need to fight for Renters Protections.

Join us on Saturday, May 21, to meet neighbors, enjoy fun, music, and food and learn about solutions to these crises and how we can fight the powerful forces that threaten to make West Oakland less livable.

There will be a variety of activities:

  • Kids are invited to draw a chalk mural of what a safe and clean Oakland would look like.
  • Hear from members of the faith community, labor leaders, West Oakland residents, and elected officials including Sen. Loni Hancock, who is leading the fight against coal in Sacramento.
  • Make video testimonials to let your elected officials know your feelings on coal and housing in West Oakland.
  • Meet neighbors and make new friends.

Drop by the library across the street to see artwork and essays by West Oakland students on the topic Environmental Justice: Coal in West Oakland?  Awards will be presented there by the John George Democratic Club at 12:00.

60961