Calendar
Transition Berkeley & the Ecology Center Present: “Occupy the Farm” film & discussion
6:30 refreshments, 7 pm event
Please join us to witness an incredible drama that took place in our own back yard in 2012 and that continues to unfold today. Occupy the Farm tells the story of 200 urban farmers who walk onto a publicly-owned farm in Albany, California and plant two acres of crops in order to save the land from becoming a real-estate development. This direct action set up a vibrant tent village on land destined to become condos, while their crops blocked the development plans of UC Berkeley.
Director Todd Darling will be present for Q&A, and the event will include updates on the current status of the farm and the developers. Copies of the DVD will be available for purchase at the event. Sponsored by: Transition Berkeley, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee, and the Ecology Center.
Bring: a local snack or refreshment to share at 6:30 pm if you like
This is the most important election in decades. The billionaire class, their media, and their two parties are trembling as the 99% rally around Bernie’s platform. Kshama Sawant, the Socialist Alternative Seattle city councilmember has launched a petition for Bernie to run independently through November and over 30,000 people have signed! We’re done playing their two-party game!
Join us to discuss questions like: can the Democrats help win fundamental change? Should Sanders run as an independent? Why are millions of people interested in socialism? Do we need a party of the 99%? What should we do next month if the Hill steals the nomination?
Speakers
Luci Riley – Movement4Bernie
Erin Brightwell – Socialist Alternative
Kevin McLoughlin – Socialist Party Ireland, General Secretary
Berkeley Post Office Defenders presents Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for US President.
In addition to Ms. Stein, there will be other speakers who will cover such topics as
– Preservation of Berkeley’s main post office and other public resources in the face of privatization manipulations by high profit corporations
– Unified protection of union jobs as USPS attempts to move postal services to Staples
– Eco-wise use of common space resiliance after destruction of our community information, clothing, book, plant and seed sharing Center
– Access to the Berkeley Post Office Community Garden -Remove the ugly metal postal police fence
– Support for tiny houses initiatives as pro developer politicians criminalize homelessness
– Postal Banking- no more bail outs, debt slavery,predatory lenders and private banking fraud
– UPSURGING Political voice/action in the face of corporate control of government and media
– An update on Berkeley’s response to Department of Justice attempt to threaten the cities ordinance to protect historic commons
– An update of community garden with over the fence seed ball planting
Join us for MUSIC with Hali Hammer and postal worker and activist Dave Welsh
Speakers may include:
– Mike Wilson from Berkeley Post Office Defenders
– Shirley Taylor, from the APWU (postal workers’ union)
– Jesse Arreguin, Berkeley City Councilor whose district the downtown Post Office is in, and candidate for Berkeley Mayor.
– Mike Zint, First They Came for the Homeless
Come join us this First Friday for a beer or two and connect with other Bay Area restaurant workers on our ongoing struggle for worker justice.
Follow us on our bar hop!
5:00 – 5:30 = Meet at Soul Space & pick up banner
5:30 – 6:15 = Diving dog Brew House
6:15 – 7:00 = Beer Garden
7:30 – 8:00 = Hella Vegan Eats
On the weekend of June 4th and 5th, 2016, the Bay Area Book Festival will once again fill downtown Berkeley with a literary extravaganza that offers pleasure to anyone who has ever loved a book.
Whether you’re a fan of food writing or poetry or science fiction or children’s literature or biography, come experience one of the best book festivals on the planet. Free to the public!
The Communist Party USA (Oakland/Berkeley) invites you to a discussion of ‘An electoral process that goes beyond Bernie’. As background the following short articles are suggested reading.
John Bachtell, ‘Left Strategy in 2016: Building Real Political Independence’
http://www.cpusa.org/article/left-strategy-in-2016-part-1-grasping-the-key-link-of-struggle/
C. Hass, ‘The Other Progressive Challengers Take on the Democratic Establishment’
http://inthesetimes.com/features/bernie_sanders_democrats_political_revolution_candidates.html
Linda Burnham, ‘Notes on the Election’ http://portside.org/2016-04-25/notes-election
Reese Ehrlich, ‘Why the Left Should Support Trump’
https://reeseerlich.com/2016/04/26/why-the-left-should-support-donald-trump/
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
June 2016 marks two years since the unjustly killing of our beloved Yanira at the hands of the Police in San Mateo County, pain and sorrow still present, but hope and love is even bigger.
The death of my sister two years ago brought a community together, I met so many kind and generous people who were willing to give their time and energy to help my family. People who did not know me, or my family but they knew what happened to my sister was a tragedy and wanted to fight for what was right.
Justice never came, but the struggle continues …
Everyone is invited to celebrate the life of my sister in commemoration of her second angelversary, in which not only will celebrate her spirit and the beauty of who she was, but we will also let the county and corrupt system know that we are still hungry for justice. Yanira is in the heart of each and every one who still remembers her.
Saturday June 4th, 2016 we will be joining our voices together with dozens of families that have also been affected by police violence in an effort to say enough is enough.
»There will be a ceremony led by Aztec dancers at The “Mariposa” Mural located at the “Our Lady of the pillar” catholic church in Half Moon Bay, Danzantes will lead us in a procession through the streets of the city.
»We will all meet at the “Mac Dutra” Plaza where we have an altar to honor the families victims of police brutality who have suffered and still suffer the loss of a loved one at the hands of the police. Families will share their stories of love, faith and hope.
»There will be a special performance, “Moonraised” is an example of what dedication and hard work can achieve. A group of young people who continue to be a motivation through their music for future generations. We repeatedly criminalize our youth by making them responsible and accountable for systemic faillures on the part of our social and educational system as well as the legal system, it is time to empower our kids to do more.
#JusticerForYanira #MentalillnesIsNotACrime
“Mental illness is so much more complicated than any pill that any mortal could invent.”
Come hear from Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate, speak about building a movement to put people, planet and peace over profit. Dr. Stein is committed to continuing the political revolution to Election Day and beyond, so no matter who you’re supporting in the primary, join us to hear Jill’s plan to win power for the people!
As she says, “Unfortunately, our country has been concentrating wealth and losing democracy. And now it’s reaching its logical conclusions–it’s the inevitable final stages of predatory capitalism that’s creating an unlivable world. Not only is our economy increasingly unfair, but now we’re putting the very future of the planet at stake.
All these crises really converge on the backs of the younger generation–especially the crisis of police brutality and mass incarceration. This generation is suffering, up close and personal, the ravages of unbridled capitalism. So it’s absolutely logical that millions of people are rejecting that system and moving toward a more just system that many people see in the promise of economic democracy–in other words, a more socialist type of economic system.” https://
This event is hosted by the Bay Area International Socialist Organization. The ISO has endorsed Jill Stein’s campaign as an important step in the fight to break up the pro-corporate, two-party system.
On the weekend of June 4th and 5th, 2016, the Bay Area Book Festival will once again fill downtown Berkeley with a literary extravaganza that offers pleasure to anyone who has ever loved a book.
Whether you’re a fan of food writing or poetry or science fiction or children’s literature or biography, come experience one of the best book festivals on the planet. Free to the public!
“COINTELPRO Then and Now” with Claude Marks and Nathaniel Moore of the Freedom Archives
COINTELPRO is the FBI’s secret and illegal program to undermine and destroy popular movements for social justice that swept the US, beginning with the early civil rights movement and Puerto Rican independence movement in the 1950s, continuing to the 1960s/1970s. Orders to misdirect, discredit, disrupt, and neutralize progressive and radical organizations and leaders, up to and including outright assassination of leaders resulted.
9:00: Coffee/socializing. Breakfast is available for nominal fee.
9:30: Program
10:30: Questions, Comments, Discussion
10:45: Adjourn
11:00: Worship Services (in the Sanctuary)
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For more information about the Freedom Archives, go to: http://www.freedomarchives.org)
Reem’s will be popping up at Linden Street Brewery every other Sunday, and will partner with local organizations to support their work. Critical Resistance Oakland is this Sunday’s partner, and will receive 10% of sales. Join us for freshly baked Arab street food while supporting the fight against he prison industrial complex.
We’re almost there, but we still need your help. Cala, a new, seafood-centric Mexican restaurant in San Francisco that employs formerly incarcerated people is stepping up to host our final fundraiser!
Renowned Chef Cámara will serve delicious bites of her seasonal cuisine as well as signature cocktails, wine and beer. Sarah Shourd and SF Public Defender Jeff Adachi will speak about the status of solitary confinement in California. Carlos Aguirre, beat box artist and actor, will perform.
WHEN: Sunday, June 5th, 2016, 6 to 8pm
RSVP NOW (space is limited): http://tinyurl.com/theboxcala
Funds raised will go toward producing and publicizing The Box. Specifically, placing key ads and distributing posters far and wide so we can create a buzz and fill the house night after night. All donations are tax-deductible and will be mentioned in the playbill. The first 25 people to RSVP will also receive a copy of Shourd’s new book, Hell Is a Very Small Place: Voices from Solitary Confinement.
The Box is much more than just a play and Cala is much more than just a restaurant: please join us if you can on this incredible night. It’s happening. We’re so close I can feeeeeel it.
Yours,
Sarah Shourd and Team
Aplaycalledthebox.com
Midnight Matt is gone. Matt was there many nights at the Post Office protest, providing his quiet solid security presence, filming during raids and bringing loads of food in the big wooden box on his bike.
I had a sorrowful surprise on Friday last…Matt Dodt died of a massive heart attack while working on a construction job in San Francisco. Except for some pains that might have been angina pectoralis last month, he had no prior history of cardiac trouble and was a strong, worker with a can do spirit.
Anyone who knew that hardworking activist, “midnight” Matt Dodt, is welcome at this or any of our memorial circles…there is one planned at OMNi Commons on Monday evening June 6 at 7 PM.
TURN UP with us at the June 9th Public Protections Meeting to OPPOSE Alameda County’s $61 million Santa Rita Jail construction project that has been approved without the community’s consent.
The jail expansion is being presented and folded into other projects as an “imporvement project” in order to gain supervisor votes. We need to flex our growing grassroots community power to our Board of Supervisors so they will prioritize spending on county care, not cages!
Will you be there to help us change the tide right here in our community? Offer your public comments to prioritize spending on mental health and community-based programs.
We encourage community members to join us outside at the Alameda County Administrative Building at 9:30am. We will then move into the county chambers at 10am to collectively voice our opposition.
Join us for a town hall- let’s win 1400 jobs. It’s time for Alameda County to act by employing people impacted by the criminal justice system and youth in the school-to-prison pipline.
Pre-Registration form: http://bit.ly/jobs4freedom
Breaking Through Concrete – An Arts & Activism celebration
This is a celebration. This is a gathering of local organizations and artist from impacted communities on the front lines of oil refineries, coal and oil train fights, displacement and gentrification. We will showcase artist who are exploring the impact of interconnected social and environmental justice issues that threaten the health and safety of our communities and our future, and offering solutions. Come and celebrate our resilience, our creativity, and our power.
This FREE, All ages, event features speakers, performance artists, musicians, and poets such as:
David Solnit (Artist in Residence for 350 Bay Area)
AshEl SeasunZ (Earth Amplified & Hip-Hop is Green)
Khafre James (Hip Hop For Change)
Desarie Harp (Wappo Native Performer)
Ajman (Black Men Determination Project)
DJ Davey D (KPFA: Hard Knock Radio)
Aimee Suzara (Filipino-American poet, performer, educator)
Sponsors:
• Stand (formerly ForestEthics)
• Communities for a Better Environment
• Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Islam today is the world’s second largest and fastest growing religion. Muslim gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma travels the many worlds of this dynamic faith, discovering the stories of its most unlikely storytellers: lesbian and gay Muslims. A Jihad for Love was filmed in 12 countries and 9 languages and comes from the heart of Islam. Looking beyond a hostile and war-torn present, it reclaims the Islamic concept of a greater Jihad, whose true meaning is akin to ‘an inner struggle’ or ‘to strive in the path of God’ – allowing its remarkable subjects to move beyond the narrow concept of Jihad as holy war.
Sponsored by the BFUU Social Justice Ctee as part of our Conscientious Projector series.
“Steven Hill’s groundbreaking book on the part-time, unstable Uber Economy shows how a sub-economy becomes a work of law-flouting regress undermining full-time work. Remote algorithms run riot!” — Ralph Nader, consumer advocate
Advance tickets: $12 : brownpapertickets.com :: T: 800-838-3006 or
S.F. – Modern Times.
$15 door
“Raw Deal: How the ‘Uber Economy’ and Runaway Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers” could not be more timely. With every jarring day our economy seems to be more seriously broken, the social contract erased, what remains of available work no longer offers us pensions or jobs with benefits. Gigs, freelancing and winging it seem to be the future. Steven Hill describes the predicament as a growing army of “freelancers, temps, contractors, part-timers, day laborers, micro-entrepreneurs, gig-preneurs, solo-preneurs, contingent labor, perma-lancers and perma-temps.” Even if a job offers benefits, the high cost deductible for medical care is prohibitive. Hill warns that many of our future jobs will be taken by robots. Those in the young workforce coming up are overloaded with college loans they can hardly pay off. With our ever-growing population, higher living expenses and markedly fewer jobs, something has to give…
This book is a must read for those concerned about how technology is disrupting the way we work … how policy makers should respond to ensure that the growing number of workers in the “gig” economy earn adequate benefits.”
– Laura D-Andrea Tyson, former Chair of the US President’s Council of Economic Advisors
“Steven Hill’s groundbreaking book on the part-time, unstable Uber Economy shows how a new sub-economy becomes a work of law-flouting regress undermining full-time work. Remote corporate algorithms run riot!”
– Ralph Nader, consumer advocate
Steven Hill, a Senior Fellow with the New America Foundation, is the author of four books prior to Raw Deal: Europe’s Promise: Why the European Way is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age; 10 Steps To Repair American Democracy; Fixing Elections: The Failure of America’s Winner Take All Politics; and Whose Vote Counts. For more information, visit his website: http://www.Steven-Hill.com
Host Greg Bridges is a radio dj and journalist living in Oakland. He can be heard over KCSM 91.1fm (http://www.kcsm.org) Tuesday nights 6 to 9 pm, and Thursday nights 6 pm to 2 am, on KPFA (94.1fm) Monday nights 8 to 10 pm. He is a contributor to KPFA’s Hip Hop and social affairs show Hard Knock Radio. Greg has written for various publications including Jazz Now Magazine and Bayshore Magazine.