Calendar
Oakland 1946 General Strike Walk – “We Called It a Work Holiday”
With Gifford Hartman of the Flying Picket Historical Society.
This year is the 70th anniversary of the Oakland General Strike. This walk will revisit the sites of Oakland’s “Work Holiday” that began spontaneously with rank-and-file solidarity with the striking – mostly women – retail clerks at Kahn’s and Hastings department stores whose picket line was being broken by scabs escorted by police.
Within 24 hours, it involved over 100,000 workers and shut down nearly all commerce in the East Bay for 54 hours. In 1946 there were six general strikes across the U.S.; that year set the all-time record year for strikes and work stoppages. The Oakland “Work Holiday” was the last general strike to ever occur in the U.S. This walk and history talk will attempt to keep alive the memory of this tradition of community-wide working class solidarity.
See also:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCKs-lhBgiM
http://www.laborfest.net/2017/2017schedule.htm
It’s the last Sunday of the month — that means picnic time!
We have been busy socialists, so it’s time to relax and hang out. Bring your lunch, picnic blanket, friends, and family for a casual picnic with your comrades. No work done here — just socializing! We will try to stake a spot out in the Broadway and MacArthur Blvd. quadrant of the block.
Weather permitting
Bring a dish or drink to share! This will be an afternoon to kick it in the park with good people and to connect with projects rooted in…
ABOLITION and COMMUNITY DEFENSE
TWO FIGHTS built on AUTONOMY AND SELF DETERMINATION
THIS IS AN OPEN INVITATION FOR YOU AND YOUR PROJECT!
Instead of just hold to our own notion of a presentation, we’d rather hear from all of you, provide the platform for other people in projects rooted in Abolition or Community Defense to present on what they are up to.
Anchoring our informal program will be a presentation from Oakland IWOC’s guest, Niecee X from the Black Women’s Defense League out of Dallas, TX
“Black Women’s Defense League is a revolutionary womanist coalition that provides political education, self defense training, and resources and rescue to abused, underserved black women and marginalized genders. BWDL raises awareness, refines solutions, and prepares our members to divest from, combat and replace all forms of oppression with equitable, intersectional systems that are dedicated in serving the African Diaspora and the collective interests of a liberated society.”
And we’ll also be hearing from Oakland IWOC about their ongoing work plus get the news from the inside on the coming national wave of prisoner action slated for the week of August 19th.
Hit us up! or just come through!
We document current events, make films together, steward an editing suite and share a film equipment library. We also host film screenings, often with local directors, and put on an annual short film festival for independent Bay Area filmmakers. Our goal is to make the digital filmmaking accessible – no overpriced college degree or certificate program required!
We are also a good group to reach out to if you’d like to screen a film at the Omni. We can be reached at [ liberatedlens@lists.riseup.net ].
We usually meet in the basement, unless otherwise noted.
Harry Brill said at our last gathering that Tax the Rich is now the longest running rally in the history of Berkeley. September 12, 2017 will be the 6th anniversary
Think of a time when you felt safe in your community. Ask yourself: Who is there? Who isn’t? What do you see?
Night Out for Safety and Liberation (NOSL) is our opportunity to share our answers to these questions with our neighbors, talk about what we need to feel safe in our communities, and redefine what safety means to us.
NOSL is a national event where people across the country redefine and reimagine what public safety really means for our communities: having a living wage job, healthy food, healthcare, housing, education, and more. Too often when we talk about safety we only focus on policing and punishment – but real safety comes from investing in our communities so we can build power.
Join us at DeFremery Park on Tuesday, August 1st as we build community together. There will be free food, games, family-friendly activities, a DJ, dance and spoken word performances, healing practitioners, arts activities, and screen printing.
Turn up with us for a BLOCK PARTY at DeFremery Park, the historic Black Panther Party organizing park in West Oakland.
We’ll be celebrating Oakland’s 5th annual Night Out for Safety and Liberation to redefine what safety means to us to start a different conversation about public safety beyond policing; focusing on how we can build equity, power, and opportunity in our communities.
Featured artist include:
– Hip Hop for Change
– DJ Slowpoke
and more!
There will be an art build, free posters, food, healers, lawn games, face painting and family activities. All are welcome and all are invited.
Let’s continue to build a narrative that defines safety not in terms of fear, crime, and punishment, but rather as a community that has access to affordable healthcare, housing, food, education, safe and working infrastructure, and more.
Hosted by Night Out for Safety and Liberation and Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Pendarvis Harshaw is a Senior Communications Associate at PolicyLink, working to amplify stories of policies and practices that are moving us toward a more equitable world.
Prior to becoming a member of the PolicyLink family, Pen earned a degree from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, and an undergraduate degree from Howard University’s School of Communications. Pen is a published journalist with bylines from Youth Radio, Fusion, The Huffington Post, National Public Radio and more. He runs a website dedicated to documenting the wisdom of elder African American men in his community,OGToldMe.Tumblr.Com. And although he is no longer a high school teacher, he is forever an educator.
Pen & OG Told Me were also recently featured in the following:
East Bay Yesterday Podcast https://soundcloud.com/user-736747354/i-believe-in-the-elders-pendarvis-harshaw-on-gathering-og-wisdom
Just a few blocks from Powell St BART Station.
Linda Lye, of the ACLU: When is free speech hate speech? When does it cross the line?
Suds, Snacks, & Socialism at the Starry Plough
The Peace and Freedom Party presents
From HIROSHIMA to WWIII
If workers won’t end these wars, who will?
Hiroshima was not so much the end of WWII as the opening salvo in a series of new wars which must be ended if humanity is to survive. Will the working class fulfill its historic mission and end this madness? Or must we look elsewhere? We are inviting speakers to address this question.
This is part of our on-going Socialist Forum Series on the first Saturday of every month. Doors open at 2 pm and the program will start promptly at 2:30 pm. The forum will end by 4:30 pm, but folks can stay and talk as long as you like. Speaker’s affiliations are listed for identification only. The opinions expressed do not reflect the official views of the Peace and Freedom Party.
The Peace and Freedom Party, born from the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s, is committed to socialism, democracy, ecology, feminism, racial equality, and internationalism.
http://www.peaceandfreedom.org
Are you aware that Black people, Latinos, and Native Americans are twice as likely to be stuck in jail because they can’t afford bail? The U.S. money bail system is largely to blame for over-crowded jails across the nation. 70 percent of people are incarcerated for one simple reason: being too poor to afford bail.
The bail trap
Unscrupulous bail bonds contracts allow private corporations to make exorbitant profits off of people living in poverty. While people with access to wealth can buy their freedom, poor people have weeks, months, and even years of their lives taken from them.
This isn’t justice. Race and socio-economic status should not determine whether someone is free or in jail while they await their trial.
Come and see “The Bail Trap” and let’s talk about what we can do to replace the broken money bail system right here in California.
RSVP & follow on facebook here
We’ll talk about how the state has historically tried to disrupt left movements, especially those led by people of color, and how to collectively resist it. This is a launch event for Catalyst’s new pamphlet: “A Troublemaker’s Guide: Principles for Racial Justice Activists in the Face of State Repression.”
Panel discussion with:
- Cat Brooks, Anti-Police Terror Project
- Isaac Ontiveros, Center for Political Education
- Lara Kiswani, Arab Resource and Organizing Center
- Maisha Quint, Eastside Arts Alliance
- Donna Willmott, Catalyst Project
Wheelchair accessible, please come fragrance free. Please make childcare & other access requests to Isaac@collectiveliberation.org by July 31st.
Participants will receive a copy of the pamphlet.
Coal promoter and developer Phil Tagami is currently a candidate for a position on Oakland’s Police Commission. No Coal in Oakland is horrified at the prospect that this man – who proposes to bring toxic coall into Oakland and has sued the City to overthrow its popular ban on coal – could be chosen to represent residents on a city commission thattwill provide civilian oversight of the Police Department by reviewing and proposing changes to Department policies and procedures, requiring the Mayor to appoint any new Chief of Police from a list of candidates provided by the Commission, and having the authority to terminate the Chief of Police for cause.
Phil Tagami’s interview for a seat on the civilian Oakland Police Commission will be on Tuesday, August 8 at 7:00 pm at Oakland City Hall. We need you to attend. The selection panel needs to know that he is not fit to serve on the Police Commission.
Although cardboard signs will probably not be allowed in the room, you can bring a piece of paper with a message on it that you hold up at relevant moments. “Don’t pick Tagami.” “Tagami can’t be trusted.” “Tagami wants to pollute West Oakland.” “Tagami is suing Oakland.” “Tagami not fit to serve.” Be creative!
There is an opportunity to speak at the interview, but not to engage in dialogue with the panel. Speaker’s cards will be available at the meeting. We should be strategic about this so the panel doesn’t get annoyed at redundant speakers. It would be best to have people speak who can represent neighborhoods, congregations, unions, and other organizations. Speakers can invite the audience to stand to express solidarity with them, rather than having repetitive presentations.
More information is available at http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/cityadministrator/documents/agenda/oak065761.pdf. Tagami’s application is on pages 129-134. Background information is also at http://nocoalinoakland.info/lets-keep-coal-promoter-tagami-off-the-oakland-police-commission/
Eric, who is facing charges stemming from the counter demonstration against an alt-right/fascist rally in Berkeley on April 15, needs our support!
His court date is Friday August 10 at 9am. Rene C. Davidson Courthouse (12th and Oak St in downtown Oakland) Dept 11.
Thus far, public call outs have not been made for court support because alt-right trolls have also shown up to harass Eric and his supporters. For supporters at court this has even meant risking getting their photo taken and their identity researched online, which increases the risk of being doxxed.
At this point, we believe that these risks are now a part of the nature of doing support for anti racist, anti fascist, feminist, and queer comrades dealing with state and right-wing vigilante repression. The Anti Repression Committee has always promoted the idea that repression is not something that we can avoid, but it is something we can be prepared for. With that in mind, we strongly encourage everyone in our movements to prepare for repression in the form of right-wing doxxing, but to not let this risk prevent us from showing up to support those who are baring the brunt of repression. While there are always many individuals who cannot and should not put themselves in vulnerable positions (just like some people cannot be on the front lines in street protests), we maintain that if enough of us show up with our bodies in the court room to support comrades like Eric, it will strengthen the very movement the right wing and the state is attempting to neutralize. This also continues to set a precedent that if any of us are under attack we will be supported by each other.
August 10 is Eric’s preliminary hearing and his case will be the only one heard in that court room. Therefore, if you can, please come and pack the room so there’s no space for the trolls and their cameras. But before you come to court, please check out this article to educate yourself on how doxxing works and what kind of personal information you can wipe clean from the internet about yourself -especially your home address, place of work, and contact information of you and your family.
https://itsgoingdown.org/time-beef-defense-against-far-right-doxxing/
Together we’re stronger! Let’s do this ya’ll!
Public Banking Gets a Hearing at the California Treasurer’s Cannabis Banking Working Group’s Final Public Meeting
Click Here to Listen and Watch Live on Thursday at 9:30am PacificThe final public meeting on Thursday, August 10th, of the Cannabis Banking Working Group will be held in West Los Angeles. The entire four hour session is dedicated to reviewing public banking as a solution to the lack of banking services being provided to the cannabis industry. Tune in via the webcast — it’ll be an informative discussion and public debate. Matt Stannard, representing Commonomics USA, will be asking some important questions, noting that there are other markets where private banks are not providing banking services, proposing a four-phase approach to public banking, and suggesting that the state may wish to consider issuing a new banking license — a Public Bank Charter.
The Divest Build Coalition is a group of activists who believe that there can a symbiotic relationship between 1) divestment from fossil fuels and big banks, 2) addressing a host of social issues and 3) creating public finance that stops feeding Wall Street and sucking the life out of local communities.
We are currently organizing the state of California and intend to ultimately transform the progressive activist landscape of the state by closing the loop on our tangible resources that can be used for good. Commonomics USA is a founding organizer and will be providing more information at www.divestbuild.org.
Join Us! Click here to become a Commonomics USA member.
Commonomics USA envisions a world where a Commons-based economy creates economic and ecological security for all. We educate and advocate for the reclamation of the Commons from predatory capitalism and privatization, and build model law and policies that establish sustainable, economically just systems based in the Commons.
ICAC’s next Working Group meeting will be on Thursday, August 10. We will have a guest speaker, Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern who speak to us about his department’s efforts on addressing homelessness, immigration and refugee, and other matters of importance to the faith communities. Please join us.
Sheriff Ahern Speaks
At one of the last Beloved Conversations classes, people of color from the community came to speak about ways we as a congregation can be an ally against racism.
One of the speakers talked about the policies and practices of the county sheriff as having a big impact on people of color.
We can make a difference and find out more by attending this event. I went to a town hall with the sheriff last month and felt that I learned a lot about how much power the sheriff has, and how he is using that power. (and am now determined to do something about it)
There are 53 recommendations for improvement of the Bart Police Oversight Citizen Review Board system. Oscar Grant family would love to hear your concerns and will be happy to talk about the details once you’ve had a chance to review the recommendations. https://drive.google.com/
These will be on the agenda for the Bart Board of Directors meeting on August 10th (this is an evening meeting starting at 5 pm) and on the Bart Police Oversight Citizen Review Board committee meeting agenda for August 14th (starting at 4 pm). It would be helpful to hear your thoughts about the recommendations and answer any questions you may have about how/whether we might implement the recommendations. There is no immediate plan for the Directors to vote on implementing anything until we can take a closer look at what’s actually possible and what resources would be needed to put any these changes into place. The August 10 meeting is an opportunity for the Directors to begin discussions about the report and to ask any questions they may have of Mr. Gennaco and Mr. Zisser, who helped in the recommendation for improvement, and hear the community concerns. There will also be an opportunity for public comment on the agenda item. https://drive.google.com/
1992 Jerrold Hall – Murdered
1997 Robert Greer – Murdered
2001 Bruce Seward – Murdered
2008 Kenneth Carrethers – Excessive Force
2009 Oscar Grant – Murdered
2010 13 yrs – attempted to Tase
2010 Fred Collins – Murdered
2010 Jason Johnson – Tased
2011 Charles Blair Hill – Murdered
2014 James Nate Greer – Murdered
2014 Tommy Smith – Murdered
2014 Robert James Asberry – Tased
2014 Nubia Bowe – Excessive Force
2016 Andrea Appleton – Excessive Force
2016 Michael Smith – Excessive Force
Film Showing & Discussion
At 8:15 am, on August 6, 1945, a blazing, million-degree fireball suddenly appeared just above the Japanese city of Hiroshima, instantly killing, burning alive, or vaporizing tens of thousands.
The U.S. had just exploded the first nuclear bomb over the center of a city of 350,000. killing between 140-150,000. Three days later, on August 9, the U.S. dropped an even more powerful nuclear bomb on Nagasaki, destroying the city and murdering another 70,000 people.
WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN reveals the unimaginable destructive power of the bombs, the inconceivable suffering and extraordinary human resilience. Director Steven Okazaki tells the amazing, shocking and inspiring stories of fourteen survivors.
WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN stands as a powerful warning that, with enough nuclear weapons to equal 400,000 Hiroshimas, we can’t afford to forget what happened on those two days in 1945. We also can’t forget that the US is the only country that has ever used nuclear weapons in war, that the US government has never said it was wrong to use them against Japan, and that to this day, it has a policy justifying first use of nuclear weapons in future wars.
This is especially true now under the Trump/Pence fascist regime with Trump’s finger on the nuclear button. In just the past weeks, Trump/Pence have threatened millions around the globe by deploying attack aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines to the Korean Peninsula, setting up the THAAD anti-missile defense system in South Korea and threatening Iran and other countries.