Calendar
On Thursday, May 4: "The Battle for Berkeley" — "a talk and a challenge to debate" by @SunsaraTaylor @RevolutionBksB #berkmtg pic.twitter.com/vikd6wfYM3
— Berkeleyside (@berkeleyside) May 3, 2017
Universal basic income made a big splash last week at this year’s TED conference in Vancouver. Rutger Bregman, basic income advocate and author of “Utopia for Realists”, received a standing ovation for his talk on why basic income could be the best solution for ending poverty.
Rutger is visiting San Francisco this week, and we’re very excited to host him for a discussion and book signing this Thursday, May 4th. Join us to hear about Rutger’s experiences and perspectives from his book.
Program:
– 6:30 Doors open
– 7:00 Program starts
– 7:30 Program concludes, stay for book signing and networking until 8:30
We’ll be hosting at Brigade in downtown San Francisco. Snacks and drinks will be available. See you on Thursday!
Space is limited, so make sure to register if you’d like to attend. You can RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1464341970305791/
Agenda
Intro (if needed) – 5 min
Clinic Event Planning – 20 min
Fund Spending approval procedures – 15 min
Fund raiser event planning – 15 min
bank account transfer – 10 min
Fund raiser for general assembly social – 15 min
web site update – 10 min
Treasury update – 10 min
Join the green party literature update – 10 min
Gentrification comes up constantly in the Bay Area, but few of us feel equipped to take action against it. Is it inevitable? What can we do now to prevent displacement?
This SURJ workshop will put gentrification and displacement in a historical context so we understand the racialized political and economic drivers. You’ll hear about past and current struggles led by communities of color to preserve their homes and communities.
The analysis that we are presenting is based on the work of Causa Justa :: Just Cause and we are asking for $5-$20 donation, sliding scale, which will go to support CJJC’s work challegning gentrification and fighting displacement. However, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Our workshop has space for 66 people. To reserve your spot in advance, please purchase tickets at http://
ACCESS NEEDS: This event is wheelchair accessible. If you have specific access needs, please email surjbasebuilding@gmail.com
SCENT FREE: We ask that guests do their best to be as scent free as possible. Please refer to this resource from the EastBay Meditation Center for more information on what that means. There will be a scent free section of seating offered. http://
SPREAD THE WORD, INVITE YOUR FRIENDS!
*Though intended for a white allied audience – people of color are also welcome.*
Taken from the writings of Rachel Corrie
Edited by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner
directed by: Jonathan Kane
performed by: Charlotte Hemmings
The critically acclaimed NY production of “My Name Is Rachel Corrie” comes to San Francisco for a limited run.
“My Name Is Rachel Corrie” is a one-woman play composed from Rachel’s own journals, letters and e-mails – creating a portrait of a messy, articulate, Salvador Dali – loving chain smoker (with a passion for the music of Pat Benatar), who left her home and school in Olympia, Washington, to work as an activist in the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the three sold-out London runs since its Royal Court premier, the piece has been surrounded by both controversy and impassioned proponents, and has raised an unprecedented call to support political work and the difficult discourse it creates.
Scheduled Post ShowTalk Backs
Saturday April 29 – actor Charlotte Hemmings and director Jonathan Kane
Wednesday May 3rd – Rachel’s parents, Craig and Cindy Corrie
Thursday May 4th – Rachel’s parents, Craig and Cindy Corrie
Sponsored by
THE CITY OF BERKELEY
On Cinco de Mayo, restaurants throughout Berkeley and other Bay Area sanctuary cities take part in “Cocktails for La Causa” to raise awareness of deportation and immigration issues and support local organizations providing legal defense. Funds collected from the sale of food or drink specifically created for this event will be donated equally between Centro Legal de la Raza (acting as the fiscal agent), the East Bay Community Law Center, and the Multicultural Institute.
Berkeley became a City of Refuge in 1971; in 2007 it reaffirmed this status in response to an increase in I.C.E. raids throughout the Bay Area; and in 2016, it again reaffirmed itself a sanctuary city in response to the election of Donald Trump and his anti-immigration policies. Berkeley is now leading efforts in the Bay Area to support its undocumented residents.
Come out to support and enjoy
Thanks so much to all of these establishments for helping to support the Bay Area’s sanctuary movement to aide undocumented residents in the current political climate. We encourage you to support them with your patronage. Check back for additions to the list.
| Agrodolce | 1730 Shattuck Ave. | Mocha Martini |
| Albatross Pub | 1822 San Pablo Ave. | Ponche de Puebla |
| Babette @ UC Art Museum | 2155 Center St | TBD |
| Cancun Taqueria | 2134 Allston Way | Sangria |
| Cheeseboard | 1512 Shattuck Ave. | Mexican Chocolate Scone |
| Gilman Brewing Company | 912 Gilman St. | Green Chile Beer |
| Highwire Coffee Roasters | 2049 San Pablo Ave. | 25% of Conscientious Objector Coffee drink & bean sales at all cafe locations |
| Lalime’s Restaurant | 1329 Gilman St. | TBD |
| Le Bateau Ivre | 2629 Telegraph Ave. | TBD |
| Phil’s Sliders | 2024 Shattuck Ave. | Spicy Sanctuary Tater Tots |
| Rangoon Super Stars | 2826 Telegraph Ave. | Donny Chicken Curry |
| Revival Bar + Kitchen | 2021 Shattuck Ave. | Bad Hombre Cocktail |
| Saturn Cafe | 2175 Allston Way | RISEUP Rita |
| Saul’s Deli | 1475 Shattuck Ave. | Americano Cocktail |
| Spats | 1974 Shattuck Ave. | ‘Through the Wall’ Mayan Mule |
| Starry Plough Irish Pub | 3101 Shattuck Ave. | 10% donation on all food & drink |
| Tacos Sinaloa | 2384 Telegraph Ave. | Green Card Burrito |
| Xocolate Bar | 1709 Solano Ave. | Chocolate-Dipped 9th Circuit Bananas |
Bay Area Regional Jail Fight Meeting – Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco
Local sheriffs are currently attempting to expand and renovate jails in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties. These expansions are all coming out of similar statewide offensives to build more cages on a local level following orders to reduce state prison populations. Let’s work together to strengthen our efforts!
Please join us to build strategy and share resources between the three campaigns to stop jail expansion. In the meeting we will share updates between the jailfights, determine points of common resistance, discuss mounting stronger opposition on a regional and statewide level, and distribute and assess reports, toolkits, or other resources that could be used cross-county.
This meeting is geared towards those already active in the campaigns, however we also welcome new people who would like to join our fights!
Coffee and lunch will be provided. Please email lily@criticalresistance.org with any dietary needs and to let us know you’re coming.
We will be providing some materials and resources. Please email links or documents that you would like shared in the meeting.
**The venue is wheelchair accessible. There is a free parking lot and street parking (validated by store). Ashby BART is approx 12 minute walk. Please contact us with other accessibility needs or questions.
DSA East Bay has experienced a huge surge in membership since the election and our local chapter is getting busy!
People are coming together to build power locally and fight for everything from Single Payer healthcare in California to a living wage for all workers, homes for all, equal rights for people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people and women and ultimately, a society run to satisfy human need, not corporate profit.
Come out on the first Saturday of May to learn how DSA is organizing locally, what our plans are for the future and how you can get involved!
This meeting is open to members and non-members alike who are interested in DSA. It is open to the public and you do not need to be a member to attend.
If you are not yet a member and want to join you can sign up at: https://
Join us May 6th to gather over food as we plan next steps towards building respectful, non-police crisis supports in Berkeley.
This event is a follow up to Berkeley Copwatch/Justice 4 Kayla Moore’s 4/8 forum on Responding to Mental Health Crises without BPD:A Community Forum, but all are welcome whether or not you were at the forum.
Details to come – save the date and share any ideas in the discussion for now!
Come out to ARC’s monthly General Meeting! This month, we’re welcoming Councilmember Jim Oddie to our meeting to discuss improvements to the rent ordinance and answer questions. Cities across the Bay are passing greater tenant protections. Let’s make Alameda next!
TODAY: General Meeting from 2-4pm: @thealamedapoint 677 W Ranger Ave w/guest CM @jhoddie777 #Alameda #JustCause https://t.co/O7P5NxoIji pic.twitter.com/tF2cw1FhRU
— Alameda Renters (@Alameda_Renters) May 6, 2017
Annie Danger, Mike Esmailzadeh and Heather will lead a two hour workshop on the basics of intervening in public as a bystander. They will cover the basics of stance, assertiveness, and situational awareness as well as go into depth about different potential scenarios, legality of bystander intervention, physical and social skills and tactics for successful intervention, de-escalation, police involvement, knowing your place, and aftercare.
This workshop cannot cover all possibilities of intervention, but will provide a baseline for reducing harm and acting in effective solidarity with people being harassed or assaulted.
If you have any physical disabilities or differences in ability organizers should know about, please email basebuilding@surjbayarea.org.
Tickets are sliding scale $10 – $20. No one turned away for lack of funds.
Strike Debt is building a debt resistance movement. We believe that most individual debt is illegitimate and unjust. Most of us fall into debt because we are increasingly deprived of the means to acquire the basic necessities of life: health care, education, and housing. Because we are forced to go into debt simply in order to live, we think it is right and moral to resist it.
- Tiny Homes for the homeless.
- Promoting single-payer / Medicare for All to end the plague of medical debt
- Working on debarring US Banks that have been convicted of felonies from municipal contracts
- money bail reform and fighting modern day debtors’ prisons and exploitive ticketing and fining schemes
- helping out America’s only non-profit check-cashing organization and fighting against usurious for-profit pay-day lenders and their ilk
- Student debt resistance. Check out the Debt Collective, our sister organization
- Promoting the concept of Basic Income
- Advocating for Postal banking
- Presenting debt-related topics at forums and workshops
- Organizing for public banking in Oakland! We made the first steps happen… now there’s a spinoff group
- Bring your own debt-related project!
If you are new to Strike Debt and want to come early, meet one or two of us and get a briefing on our projects before we dive into our agenda, email us at strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com .
Strike Debt – Principles of Solidarity
Strike Debt is building a debt resistance movement. We believe that most individual debt is illegitimate and unjust. Most of us fall into debt because we are increasingly deprived of the means to acquire the basic necessities of life: health care, education, and housing. Because we are forced to go into debt simply in order to live, we think it is right and moral to resist it.
We also oppose debt because it is an instrument of exploitation and political domination. Debt is used to discipline us, deepen existing inequalities, and reinforce racial, gendered, and other social hierarchies. Every Strike Debt action is designed to weaken the institutions that seek to divide us and benefit from our division. As an alternative to this predatory system, Strike Debt advocates a just and sustainable economy, based on mutual aid, common goods, and public affluence.
Strike Debt is committed to the principles and tactics of political autonomy, direct democracy, direct action, creative openness, a culture of solidarity, and commitment to anti-oppressive language and conduct. We struggle for a world without racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and all forms of oppression.
Strike Debt holds that we are all debtors, whether or not we have personal loan agreements. Through the manipulation of sovereign and municipal debt, the costs of speculator-driven crises are passed on to all of us. Though different kinds of debt can affect the same household, they are all interconnected, and so all household debtors have a common interest in resisting.
Strike Debt engages in public education about the debt-system to counteract the self-serving myth that finance is too complicated for laypersons to understand. In particular, it urges direct action as a way of stopping the damage caused by the creditor class and their enablers among elected government officials. Direct action empowers those who participate in challenging the debt-system.
Strike Debt holds that we owe the financial institutions nothing, whereas, to our friends, families and communities, we owe everything. In pursuing a long-term strategy for national organizing around this principle, we pledge international solidarity with the growing global movement against debt and austerity.
Anti Lab is a kind of clubhouse for creative resistance, a meeting place for people who want to transform their frustration with the current political climate into action. Anti Lab’s calendar features everything from a tenants’ rights workshop presented by the East Bay Community Law Center to weekly screen-printing hours and a trans photo booth. All for free.
It will be open every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 11am-8pm (ish). With workshops/events on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, plus Saturday afternoons.
In the mood for resistance? Read our profile on Anti Lab & join them tonight at 6pm for Hot Fresh Dissent: https://t.co/1vZpSDX7xJ
— East Bay Express (@EastBayExpress) May 4, 2017
Health Care for All – Contra Costa County Chapter and Indivisible Central Contra Costa County will sponsor a showing of a powerful new documentary, Now Is The Time Healthcare for Everybody.
With the future of the Affordable Care Act in serious doubt, millions may lose their health insurance. Medicare and Medi-Cal are under attack. This documentary explains what single payer healthcare is and how it saves money. It shows what behind-the-scenes heroes are doing to clear the fog of misperceptions that has kept us from moving forward.
Q&A and Discussion about newly-introduced State Senate Bill 562,The Healthy California Act (Lara/Atkins).
RSVP here: https://goo.gl/forms/
This is a key moment in the fight for single-payer health care. On April 26, the CA Senate Health Committee approved SB-562, a single-payer bill that will make healthcare free for all California residents. No more co-pays, no more expensive premiums. We have been calling our senators relentlessly to urge them to support the bill – now we need to develop more people power to usher SB-562 through the Senate appropriations committee, and through the CA legislature!
Since our February canvassing kick-off, we’ve had 250 volunteer canvassers sign up 1,260 East Bay residents to stay informed and support the fight. Learn more about one of our past big canvassing events here:http://www.eastbaydsa.org/
Anyone who comes will receive education on single payer and be trained on how to talk to your neighbors and friends about the issue. First-time canvassers will be paired with experienced organizers and canvassers to go spread the word about single payer, sign people up to be supporters, and recruit new members to DSA. We want all hands on deck for this exciting day! No prior experience necessary!
Please RSVP to let us know if you need childcare, what kind of transportation you will bring, etc
https://goo.gl/forms/
BAY AREA: Stand up to attacks on healthcare & join our fight for #SinglePayer in California. Canvass with us on Sunday, May 7 ️ pic.twitter.com/cHJlsUMezr
— DSA East Bay (@DSAEastBay) May 4, 2017
The As Salaam Mosque has invited the East Bay community to show solidarity against harassment and discrimination, share cultural experiences, and celebrate diversity this Sunday from two to four thirty at 975 7th Street. There will be speakers, refreshments, and time to network with neighbors and local leaders.
Imam Muhammed and Pastor Jim Hopkins of the Lakeshore Baptist Church will lead the event in prayer. Speakers include Assembly Member Rob Bonta, leader in the State Sanctuary movement, Assembly Member Tony Thurmond, Council Members Lynette Gibson McElhany and Noel Gallo, Jose Hernandez of Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s office, School Board Trustee Jumoke Hodge, and former Mayor Jean Quan. Sundiata Rashid of the Lighthouse Mosque and Reverend Ken Chambers of the West Oakland Baptist Church will also address the gathering.
Jehan Hakim of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, organizer of the event along with Jean Quan, stated, “In these times of bigotry and harassment, it’s important for us as residents of the East Bay and beyond to spend the day with our Muslim neighbors learning what it means to create a real sanctuary in our community.”
The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 3 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. 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. (Note: we meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months, once Daylight Savings Time springs forward we tend to assemble at 4 PM).
On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 2 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.
OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over 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. 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
Information, discussion & community! Monday NightForum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
Nuts and Bolts of Transitions of Power:
Initiating a Just and Sustainable Society: Part I
Monday, we will address these transitions, asking how kings, autocrats, dictators and presidents are actually thrown out… the nuts and bolts of it, and how, again nuts and bolts, a new society is started in the ashes of the old one. For the next three OccupyForums, we will hear about and discuss these ideas. This Monday, Michael Goldstein, (who spoke in March on fundamental social transformation), will present some thoughts and lead the conversation. In the next two OccupyForums, speakers will continue on this theme.
Michael Goldstein is author of the visionary book, Return of the Light: A Political Fable in Which the American People Retake Their Country, which has been endorsed by Michael Parenti, Don Hazen (executive editor of Alternet), and Wavy Gravy, among others. He writes a blog in the Huffington Post, focusing on the need to get beyond the teeter-totter of the two-party system, and a year ago he spearheaded an effort, via BeyondBernie.us, to urge the senator to enable his supporters to find each other and engage in dialog and action to actually build the greater movement he often spoke about.
Time will be allotted for announcements.
Have you ever wondered:
- What do police really spend their time doing?
- How much do they make, and why do they get paid so much?
- Could we shrink OPD and make Oakland an even safer, better place to live?
The process of allocating Oakland’s 2.6 billion dollar budget for 2017-2019 has begun. We believe that the scandal-ridden and dysfunctional Oakland Police Department consumes far too many of our city’s resources. It’s time to audit police spending and performance, and redirect wasted funds to community-building, constructive strategies for making Oakland a safer and better place to live.
Our Demands:
- INDEPENDENT AND THOROUGH COST SAVINGS AND PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
- DEFUND OPD BY 50%
PLEASE COME OUT TO YOUR LOCAL BUDGET FORUM:
Monday May 8, 6:30-8:30 pm, Councilmember Abel Guillen
St Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave
Wednesday May 10, 6:30-8:30 pm, Councilmember Annie Campbell
Bret Harte Middle School, 3700 Coolidge Ave
Saturday May 13, 10am-12pm, Councilmembers Lynette McElhaney & Dan Kalb
Beebe Memorial Church, 3900 Telegraph Ave
Wednesday May 17, 6:30-8:30 pm, Councilmembers Larry Reid & Rebecca Kaplan
Oakland Zoo- Snow Building, 9777 Golf Links Road
Thursday May 18, 6-8pm, Councilmember Desley Brooks
Eastmont Police Dept. Substation, 2651 73rd Ave
Monday May 22, 6-8pm, Councilmember Lynette McElhaney
West Oakland Senior Center, 1724 Adeline St
Thursday May 25, 6:30-8:30 pm, Councilmember Abel Guillen
Lincoln Rec Center, 261 11th St. (cantonese interpretation)
Defund OPD will be at each of these budget meetings with information about the police budget, questions to ask, and our demands! Please show up 15 minutes early if possible. More information is available at defundopd.org.
#DefundOPD
In the last few weeks we’ve built a ton of momentum and had some significant successes:
-With incredible and wide-ranging community support, we’ve succeeded in making sure that the city’s outrageous and unaccountable spending on police is the #1 topic of discussion at every single city council member budget forum.
-We’ve already gotten the mayor to stand down from her effort to increase the police force to 800 officers, and now the discussion is turning to maintaining the current staffing levels (near 750) instead of the fully budgeted levels (792).
-We’ve gotten almost every council member to commit, on the record, to supporting an independent, thorough audit of police spending, and the city auditor’s office is on board.
-We’ve built a huge amount of synergy and mutual support with dozens of organizations who are calling for various budget priorities that will ACTUALLY make Oakland a safer and more just city — and many of them are now making explicit connections between the bloated police budget and the lack of funding for these crucial measures to support housing affordability, education, homeless services, youth programs and employment, and cultural initiatives.
The last two city council members are hosting meetings TONIGHT and THURSDAY NIGHT!
Monday May 22, 6-8pm, Councilmember Lynette McElhaney
West Oakland Senior Center, 1724 Adeline St
Thursday May 25, 6:30-8:30 pm, Councilmember Abel Guillen
Lincoln Rec Center, 261 11th St. (cantonese interpretation)
For those of you looking for ways to plug in, here’s what we could use right now:
1) come out tonight and/or thursday if you can, and mobilize others to come!
2) Post to social media with the hashtag #DefundOPD and tag Defund OPD in your posts on facebook.
3) Email budgetsuggestions@oaklandnet.c om with our demand: Defund OPD, invest in community. Feel free to reach out if you want to collaborate on more specific verbiage – or just mention the budget priorities that matter to you, and state that you’d like the $ to come out of the police budget (Please cc defundopd@gmail.com)