Calendar
Directed by Grace Lee
What does it mean to be an American revolutionary today? Grace Lee Boggs (June 27, 1915 – Oct. 5, 2015) was a Chinese American woman in Detroit whose vision of revolution will surprise you. A writer, activist, and philosopher rooted for more than 70 years in the African American movement, she has devoted her life to an evolving revolution that encompasses the contradictions of America’s past and its potentially radical future. The documentary film, AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS, plunges us into Boggs’s lifetime of vital thinking and action, traversing the major U.S. social movements of the last century; from labor to civil rights, to Black Power, feminism, the Asian American and environmental justice movements and beyond.
Doors open at 7pm, film starts at 7:30. Free popcorn and snacks, as always.
This should be a short meeting – we need to prepare for the Councilvote on the Kalb/Gallo measure.
Join us for free weekly meditation happy hour on Wednesdays, co-hosted by the Art of Living Eastbay Berkeley/Oakland.
We will teach simple and easy guided meditation and breathing techniques to let go of stress and trauma, let your hair down, and celebrate!
We believe that love is the universal language. We also believe that love is the universal cure to heal what ails societies worldwide. These meditation happy hours are our love offering to the community and are the result of a beautiful new & evolving partnership w/The Art of Living facilitated by Neelam Patil…& the universe ♥
Dogtown Redemption, with post-film discussion
A surprising number of Americans make their living off America’s vast rivers of trash. They are America’s unseen. DOGTOWN REDEMPTION tells the story of one river, and the humanity of its inhabitants in Dogtown, West Oakland, a lively, bustling yet invisible corner of California.
We follow the lives of three recyclers: Jason Witt, the titan of recycling, Landon Goodwin, a former minister, who struggles with his own fall from grace, and Miss Hayok Kay, the ultimate outsider, formerly a punk rocker from a prominent Korean family, now at the mercy of the elements and predators. Through them, we are introduced to the art, science, economics and politics of recycling: what it offers, how it touches the poor and why it matters to all of us.
(95 Minutes)
Open as MANY homes as possible…
Hold them as long as possible…
Leeloo is an artist and musician living with mental illness. She is also a trans woman of color.
Leeloo had a crisis situation that was mishandled by John George Hospital, resulting in an irresponsible discharge that left her on the streets of San Leandro without a phone, glasses, or money. As a result, she allegedly acted out of her own self preservation and as a result is jailed in ‘protective custody’ at Santa Rita.
We are fighting for her to get her case seen in Behavioral Health Court. Please come out and show support for Leeloo! We will be wearing all black in solidarity with Leeloo.
The more community that can show up for her proves to the DA that she is an excellent candidate for this ‘diversionary’ legal process.
*The event is listed at 9:30am on Thursday. There’s likely to be some waiting around, folks are welcome to continue arriving any time before 11am.
“WE HAVE NO PLACE ELSE TO GO.”
Like thousands of other Oakland residents, our family was evicted by a slumlord after we reported
him to the City. After 6 months of living out of our car, searching three counties for housing or even
shelter services with no help in sight, we have decided to take our struggle directly to City Hall. Since
we cannot find shelter, we will take shelter in this public building until our city officials provide relief
for us and the thousands of other families who have been displaced.
Stand with us at Oakland City Hall (14th & Broadway) this Thursday (June 30th) at noon.
If you have nowhere to stay,
stay with us at City Hall Thursday night.
Hot meals will be provided.
#HousingIsAHumanRight #StopStayExpand
More info (PDF):
The Sheriff wants to build a new $55 million jail expansion at Santa Rita for treating mentally ill inmate. It needs to be stopped in its tracks and the money redirected to mental health treatment outside of jail.
We’ve got some momentum to re-invigorate and have a lot to discuss with the decarceration plan. Here a tentative agenda for 7/28, feel free to add additional items by directly replying to me.
- Check in
- What’s happening, what’s coming up in the community
- LeeLoo Update
- Individual and org commitments
- Shared leadership structure and coalition admin.
- agenda setting
- meeting location
- facilitation
- meeting frequency
- listservs
- Decarceration Plan
The demand for justice is happening and needs you!
A fundraiser for survivors of the fire that burned down the homes of 58 people on Mission and 29th.
Door fee will be $10 USD (but no one turned away). We’ll also do a raffle (please message if you have suggestions for raffle prizes). El Rio are kindly donating all bar proceeds from 8-12 to the fund.
All proceeds will go directly to the familes and will be matched 1-1 by a corporate sponsor. The Mission Economic Development Agency will process all donations and won’t be charging a fee.
The Tony Award-winning SF Mime Troupe opens in Berkeley July 2 & 3, then San Francisco July 4 with its 57th season premiering “Schooled“
Education. It’s like the weather: everyone has an opinion but nobody does anything about it. That’s how Livina Jones feels about her son Tom’s new school, Eleanor Roosevelt High. With it’s old textbooks, crumbling classrooms, and racist treatment of kids just like hers Livina believes Roosevelt is exactly the sort of school that can benefit from a little free-market common sense. The nanny-state government has failed to see students as individuals, and failed to give them the real-world skills they’ll need to get ahead. So who says it isn’t time for some big money, for-profit schooling?
Edith Orocuru, for one. She’s the long serving history/civics/American government/basketball coach at Eleanor Roosevelt, and she’s willing to fight for her version of education as long as her reconstructed hips will allow. But is she fighting for a system that can be fixed, or is she just too blind by her past to see how times have left her and her school behind? And when an efficiency expert, Mr. Babbit, is assigned to improve her class is it a sign that Edith is behind the times, or a sign of something more sinister? And with privatization on the line, and a Wall Street heavy hitter lined up to fold the entire district into his conglomerate, suddenly the next School Board election is more about a hidden agenda than the open curriculum. And when did the hall monitors start wearing brown shirts and arm bands?
Dogtown Redemption, with post-film discussion
A surprising number of Americans make their living off America’s vast rivers of trash. They are America’s unseen. DOGTOWN REDEMPTION tells the story of one river, and the humanity of its inhabitants in Dogtown, West Oakland, a lively, bustling yet invisible corner of California.
We follow the lives of three recyclers: Jason Witt, the titan of recycling, Landon Goodwin, a former minister, who struggles with his own fall from grace, and Miss Hayok Kay, the ultimate outsider, formerly a punk rocker from a prominent Korean family, now at the mercy of the elements and predators. Through them, we are introduced to the art, science, economics and politics of recycling: what it offers, how it touches the poor and why it matters to all of us.
(95 Minutes)
This dinner (of spaghetti and a sweet red sauce with grilled garlic bread) is being held in conjunction with First They Came for the Homeless’ re-establishment of Liberty City in an effort to demonstrate peaceful, communal living and self-sufficiency.
https://www.facebook.com/
A homeless person is still a person, but in America the homeless are less than Untouchables: they are invisible to most of us, and a nuisance to others. In Berkeley the homeless not only have to live on some of the most dangerous streets in America, they have to constantly deal with persecution from the police. Why is the city insisting on harassing and ticketing those without money, many of whom have served our country, many of whom have mental illness and/or are struggling with drug addiction and/or the after-effects of abuse? Why are these people being scapegoated as millionaires and billionaires continue to hoard money when we know once you’ve got enough of it, it can’t buy you anymore happiness? Did the bankers not ruin our country and world economy? Why are they still making so much, continuing to profit off of the cheap labor and suffering of the Underclass? And why does so much of the Underclass still defend them? Because they believe in the myths of the American Dream and the Self-made Man?… No man is an island…
But let’s talk more about it over spaghetti on Saturday!
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 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. 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 four 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. 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
The Community Democracy Project is your connection to direct democracy in Oakland! Convened out of Occupy Oakland in Fall 2011, we’re gathering steam on a campaign to bring the people back in touch with the city’s resources through participatory budgeting.
Picture this: Across Oakland, Neighborhood Assemblies are regularly
held in every community. People come together to tackle the important issues of their neighborhoods and of the city. At these assemblies, people don’t just have discussions–they learn from one another, from city staff, and they make fundamental decisions about how the city should run. They decide the city budget.
Democratic, community budgeting is a powerful step toward building strong communities, real democracy, and economic justice–and it’s being done all over the world.
The budget of the City Oakland totals more than $1 billion per year. Although part of the budget must be used for specific purposes, still over half of the budget–over $500 billion per year–consists of general purpose funds paid by the taxes, fees, and fines of the people of Oakland. The Mayor and the City Council decide the city budget, with minimal input from the community.
Working together, we will not only get a seat at the table–we will REBUILD the table itself. Participatory democracy is real democracy–join us to say: Local People, Local Resources, Local Power!
COME MARCH WITH US
Calling all renters to march with ARC in the Alameda 4th of July Parade ! The city has seen some of us on the streets gathering signatures, now let Alameda see MORE of us to show the city how important the issue of rent stabilization is and how many people it impacts.
We’re calling on individuals, families, students, faith groups, and other sympathetic groups to join in. Kids on bikes, trikes, in wagons, and in strollers welcome and wanted. Dogs, too – great way to take your dog for a walk !
The parade starts at 10 am on July 4. Line-up starts as early as 8 am. The parade route is 3 miles long but you don’t have to walk the entire route.
We will send you more information after June 29 with our parade line-up number and exact instructions on how to get in the line-up.
Let’s show the city that the ALAMEDA RENTERS COALITION is a important part of Alameda and here to stay. COME MARCH WITH US !”
Dogtown Redemption, with post-film discussion
A surprising number of Americans make their living off America’s vast rivers of trash. They are America’s unseen. DOGTOWN REDEMPTION tells the story of one river, and the humanity of its inhabitants in Dogtown, West Oakland, a lively, bustling yet invisible corner of California.
We follow the lives of three recyclers: Jason Witt, the titan of recycling, Landon Goodwin, a former minister, who struggles with his own fall from grace, and Miss Hayok Kay, the ultimate outsider, formerly a punk rocker from a prominent Korean family, now at the mercy of the elements and predators. Through them, we are introduced to the art, science, economics and politics of recycling: what it offers, how it touches the poor and why it matters to all of us.
Join us tomorrow. March for Bernie and Robin Hood tax around Lake Merritt #independenceday #RobinHoodTax #WeAreBern… pic.twitter.com/68accee0E4
— Bay Area for Bernie (@BayArea4Bernie) July 4, 2016
March with us July 4th! Lake Merritt Oakland, CA #MarchForBernie #OurRevolution #RobinHoodTax #Bayareaforbernie #Am… pic.twitter.com/KGjPLBC4T7
— Bay Area for Bernie (@BayArea4Bernie) June 20, 2016
Join the ACLU of California in Oakland at a hearing to bring to light the human, economic, and criminal justice impacts of California’s problematic bail system.
Corrected time: 9:30AM. Folks are behind bars just because they can't afford bail!! https://t.co/ndr0KEaVv2 pic.twitter.com/IzLQECYJiw
— ACLU of Northern CA (@ACLU_NorCal) July 1, 2016
Legislators, community leaders, advocates, government representatives, and affected individuals will come together for an in-depth discussion to determine the best path forward for comprehensive bail reform.
Confirmed speakers
- Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland)
- Senator Loni Hancock (D-Oakland)
- Assemblymember Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond)
- George Gascón, San Francisco District Attorney
- Eve Hershcopf, Judicial Council of California
- Professor David Ball, Santa Clara University School of Law
- Zachary Norris, Executive Director, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
- Jessica Bartholow, Policy Advocate, Western Center on Law and Poverty
- Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, Criminal Justice & Drug Policy Director, ACLU
- Melodie Henderson, personal testimony, San Diego
- John Jones, III, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
- Chuck Denton, Alameda County Office of the Public Defender`
A memorial vigil will be held on Sproul Plaza on Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. to honor UC Berkeley student Tarishi Jain and the others who lost their lives alongside her in the terrorist attacks in Bangladesh. All members of the community, both on campus and off, are invited to this vigil, which will be a safe space for reflection and mourning.