Calendar
Don’t believe the Debt Vultures.
Social Security is Alive and Well!
BUT WE NEED TO FIGHT TO PRESERVE, IMPROVE AND EXPAND IT.
Occupella organizes informal public singing at Bay Area occupation sites, marches and at BART stations. We sing to promote peace, justice, and an end to corporate domination, especially in support of the Occupy movement.
Music has the power to build spirit, foster a sense of unity, convey messages and emotions, spread information, and bring joy to participants and audience alike. See spirited clip of an action at BART. Check out the actions calendar and come add your voice. There are lots of ways to participate and everyone is welcome.
The money bail system is one of the main feeders of mass incarceration. Yet, few people know what the money bail system is, let alone how it all works or why we need to do away with it.
That’s why Brave New Films’ has produced a new short film compilation about America’s broken bail system — The Bail Trap: American Ransom. This ongoing short-film series includes: Breaking Down Bail, unpacking the myths and the history of bail, and Tai’s Story: College or Bail?, a documentary about a young woman and the $100,000 price-tag put on her freedom.
The reality is that 70% of people in jail are there for one reason: living in poverty. Low-income Americans are sitting in jails for days, months, and even years simply because they can’t afford to pay high bail amounts. All the while, private companies are profiting in the billions each year. This must end. Sign up to host a house party or screening of The Bail Trap: American Ransom today!
Coming soon: Deal with The Devil, a cautionary film about the dangers of plea deals, and How Much is Your Freedom Worth?, a compilation of spoken-word poetry performed by artists who have been formerly incarcerated.
Together, we will take action against money bail and help end mass incarceration!
BaySec is the meetup for anyone interested in security and cryptography. There’s no sponsor, agenda, or talks, but feel free to buy a new friend a drink. It’s almost always on the third Tuesday of each month at Patriot House in San Francisco.
#Baysec is Tuesday the 15th, 7-10ish pm at Patriot House (2 Embarcadero Center, SF). Info at https://t.co/5WCHUUinra
— Root Labs (@rootlabs) August 13, 2017
The Platypus Affiliated Society hosts a weekly informal discussion on Politics, The Left, the Platypus Review, and upcoming Leftist events & Platypus activities in the area.
All are welcomed to attend regardless of whether or not you participate in the discussion. Sometimes certain articles or events are points of discussion, email PlatypusBCC [at] gmail.com to find out.
This week we will be discussing “Organization, political action, history, and consciousness: on anarchism and Marxism” by Chris Cutrone
Organization, political action, history, and consciousness: on anarchism and Marxism
http://www.facebook.com/platypusberkeley
The Platypus Affiliated Society, established in December 2006, organizes reading groups, public fora, research and journalism focused on problems and tasks inherited from the “Old” (1920s-30s), “New” (1960s-70s) and post-political (1980s-90s) Left for the possibilities of emancipatory politics today.
Anyone who has been in the Bay Area in recent years knows that the tech industry plays an outside role in our daily lives. We feel it in our rent, in the price of our drinks—regardless of whether we work in the industry or not. That’s why Catherine Bracy, a co-founder, has created a new Oakland-based organization to try to generate widespread opportunity for all.
Join Ars Technica editors Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar in conversation with Ling at the next Ars Technica Live, at Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland.
Bracy will discuss her experiences with Code for America and Obama for America, as well as helping to make Oakland a better place. There will be plenty of time for audience questions, too. Doors are at 7 PM and the event starts at 7:30.
Catherine Bracy is a civic technologist and community organizer whose work focuses on the intersection of technology and political and economic inequality. She was previously Code for America’s Senior Director of Partnerships and Ecosystem where she grew Code for America’s Brigade program into a network of over 50,000 civic tech volunteers in 80+ cities across the US. She also founded Code for All, the global network of Code-for organizations with partners on six continents.
Annalee Newitz is the Senior Tech Culture Editor at Ars Technica, and Cyrus Farivar is the Senior Business Editor. Ars Technica Live is a monthly series spotlighting people who are working at the cutting edge of technology, science, and culture. It’s held the third Wednesday of every month at Eli’s.
Come out and support DaJon Ford, who was arrested and charged as an adult back in 2013, when he was only 17 years old. He has been waiting almost 4 years for a trial in Santa Rita Jail. We made a lot of noise in support of Dajon at his court hearing last month, but we know we could get a lot more support for his next court hearing:
Last year, Proposition 57 passed, which took the power away from district attorneys to directly try juveniles as adults, and put that power back in the hands of judges. Dajon now has the opportunity to transfer to a juvenile court and this is what the court hearing will be about.
It is important for Dajon to recieve the most support as possible from friends, family, and community members.
You can also sign the petition to address the issue at hand: youth need to be treated as youth, and not as adults. Share and sign this petition to not only advocate for youth justice, but also to show District Attorney Nancy O’Malley and the Judge that the community stands in solidarity with Dajon and expects to see the justice we need to achieve for him. Find the petition at:bit.ly/DajonPetition
#Freedom4Dajon #DreamBeyondBars #Prop57
From the Oakland Post:
Adamika Village and other grass-roots organizations are hosting a town hall meeting to announce “strategic and consistent planning and implementation to stop the violence in Oakland.”
“It is imperative that the community get involved in changing Oakland’s climate of violence. We can no longer rely on anyone but ourselves to make this happen,” says Pastor Anthony Woods, Adamika CEO. “This town hall is the beginning of regular monthly meetings to assure implementation occurs. Please don’t stay home and think somebody else is going to change Oakland. We need your help,” he said.
On the agenda will be a discussion of Adamika Village’s “No Yellow Tape Day” rally at City Hall on Nov. 17 and support for efforts to find Pearl Pinson, Margarita Brown, Aniah Russell, Olivia Betancourt and Larissa Oliver, all young women still missing in the Bay Area.
The #stopkillingourkids” movement started in August 2016 with a “Mother’s Cry” rally at Arroyo Park, where mothers and fathers were provided a forum to express their grief and be heard.
People First! Healthcare, Emergency Preparedness, + Decriminalization
Please join Oakland Power Projects on Saturday as we build our community power to respond to healthcare needs and emergencies without police. We are reminded daily that we must build up our community resilience and preparedness. The racist violence in Charlottesville and the planned white supremacist actions in the Bay Area are yet another reminder to grow our community defense capacities. Saturday’s summit will feature self defense training, first responder and street medic skills, and de-escalation workshops. Join us and spread the word.
FREE and open to all community members.
Facebook event here. Please RSVP and share widely.
Coffee and Lunch provided. Childcare is available on request – please contact us at powerprojects@criticalresistance.org by Thursday August 17.
FULL SCHEDULE BELOW, and HERE.
Let’s send a clear message to the white supremacists rallying in Berkeley on August 27th!
Come help us make banners and signs to say No to Racism and No to Hate Speech in Berkeley. Bring markers and poster board if you can. We will have supplies as well.
RSVP: kaseybrenner@gmail.com
Banner Over I-80 with Our Messages to the World, Aug 19
Join Animals Against Extinction, the Sunflower Alliance art group, to get our messages out to tens of thousands of people driving on Route 80. Show them we have a vibrant progressive movement pushing hard for a just and sustainable world. Every time we banner we get lots of honks and waves.
We’ll have banners saying
RESIST PERSIST,
WTF! THERE IS NO PLANET B,
IMMIGRANTS R US,
NO BAN NO WALL and a new one,
SINGLE PAYER
Its lots of fun and a way to gauge public thinking in our bubble. We’ve done the math and figure we are seen by a MINIMUM of 40,000 people in an hour and a half.
Join us!
Please join us for a discussion on reforming Urban Shield with
distinguished panelists David Muhammad, Reggie Lyles, Tracy Rosenberg, and Elliot Hosman.
D a v i d M u h a m m a d i s a n a t i o n a l l e a d e r i n t h e f i e l d s o f c r i m i n a l
j u s t i c e , v i o l e n c e p r e v e n t i o n , a n d y o u t h d e v e l o p m e n t .
R e g g i e L y l e s i s a r e t i r e d p o l i c e e x e c u t i v e f r o m B e r k e l e y P D , w h o
h e l p e d r e f o r m B e r k e l e y p o l i c e d u r i n g t h e 7 0 s a n d 8 0 s .
T r a c y R o s e n b e r g i s a t h o u g h t l e a d e r a n d a p u b l i c p o l i c y a d v o c a t e
o n f r e e , a c c o u n t a b l e , a n d a c c e s s i b l e m e d i a s y s t e m s .
E l l i o t H o s m a n i s a B a y A r e a l a w y e r a n d a c t i v i s t .
Hosted by Berkeley Councilperson Ben Bartlett.
Please join us for a potluck lunch followed by our regular biweekly meeting of the Sunflower Alliance. Lots going on, lots to talk about — what’s happening, and what we’re doing to stop fossil fuels from doing any more damage. New people encouraged to join us! We need your participation and your voice.
This training introduces APTP first responders model for conducting independent investigations of police terror and providing support to impacted families. The training will cover:
-Preparation and building investigation team
-Conducting investigations
-Trauma focused interviewing
-Cultural sensitivity
-Providing family support
-Lessons learned from past investigations
-Know your rights
– Collecting video evidence – by Dia Kayyali of Witness.org
-Security considerations
This training is organized together with SURJ – Oakland/Bay Area as a fundraiser for Anti Police-Terror Project.
Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.
Facebook event here. Please share widely!
Calling all teachers, educators and anyone else with those first day of school blues! Come pick up a drink for a rad cause. 15% of all bar proceeds go directly to support the work of Critical Resistance. @SUP! TV Street Food from 6pm onward. Starline kitchen open from 3-6pm on.
– Free screenings of CR’s new “Breaking Down the Prison Industrial Complex” video series & learn how to bring the video + curriculum into your classroom
– Free copies of The Abolitionist bilingual newspaper
– And many more resources for bringing abolition into your classroom!Not an educator or student? Just down for abolition? Come through to chill with some rad organizers, activists and other cool folks trying to dismantle the prison industrial complex!
Occupella organizes informal public singing at Bay Area occupation sites, marches and at BART stations. We sing to promote peace, justice, and an end to corporate domination, especially in support of the Occupy movement.
Music has the power to build spirit, foster a sense of unity, convey messages and emotions, spread information, and bring joy to participants and audience alike. See spirited clip of an action at BART. Check out the actions calendar and come add your voice. There are lots of ways to participate and everyone is welcome.
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
OccupyForum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
With unprecedented access, filmmakers Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack trace Dr. Angelou’s journey, shedding light on the untold aspects of her life through never-before-seen footage, rare archival photographs and videos and her own words. From her upbringing in the Depression-era South and her early performing career, to her work with Malcolm X in Ghana and her many writing successes, including her inaugural poem for President Bill Clinton, Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise reveals hidden facets of her life during some of America’s most defining moments.
The film also features exclusive interviews with Dr. Angelou, her friends and family, including Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Common, Alfre Woodard, Cicely Tyson, Quincy Jones, Hillary Clinton, Louis Gossett, Jr., John Singleton, Diahann Carroll, Valerie Simpson, Random House editor Bob Loomis, and Dr. Angelou’s son, Guy Johnson.
This is a beautifully constructed documentary that gives a total picture of the amazing Maya Angelou. It goes back to her roots, which included being raped as a child, to her dancing and singing. It wasn’t long before she began to become the voice of humanity and blackness. It includes the cream of the black artists. There is a bit where they list a series of black performers who play before sold out audiences and then are not allowed to go out and mingle with the crowds. But Angelou faced off against authority and kept to her African roots (Viewer review).
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise premiered to critical acclaim at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. It won the Audience Award at AFI Docs and was featured at notable film festivals worldwide, including Full Frame, Sheffield, IDFA and Seattle, winning 17 awards on three continents, and has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award.
Time will be allotted for discussion and announcements.
Joey Gibson and hid Patriot Prayer group who are often accompanied by White Supremacists are planning a Demonstration of White Power on 08/26 at Crissy Fields San Francisco
* We will paint a few very GIANT banners with messages against Hate/fascism/white supremacy and for solidarity, dignity and justice that will be placed at key high visilbity spots around Berkeley next Sunday, as visual support for the public mobilizations.
* When you arrive at Bridge Art and Storage (23 Maine–like the State–Ave at 1st St, Ricmond, CA) facility look for the “ART BUILD” sign w/instruction on how to get in gate. Please park on street and walk in (bring bikes in). It’s 1 1/2 miles from Richmond BART.
* We will be painting outdoors, so dress for sun, and possilbe wind, some on tables, some on the ground. Wear clother you may get paint on.
* We wont be set up for any sign making or painting additional banners (there are other art parties for that UCB Thurs. https://www.facebook.com/
* Thanks to 350.org and Greenpeace for helping with banner supplies.
* Snacks and drinks to share with other painters welcome.
Do you have an idea to change your community for the better? Do you have questions about policymaking on a local or state level? Do you want to explore your inner policymaker?
Come get answers, ideas, and strategies from our center’s staff, experienced attorneys and policymakers!
This is a two-part event (You can come to both, or either!)
1. From 5:00PM – 5:45PM, there will be a DIY Policymaking teach-in facilitated by Sustainable Economies Law Center’s Policy Director, Yassi Eskandari, and Executive Director, Janelle Orsi. They’ll present best practices for engaging in local and state-level policy issues.
2. From 5:45PM to 7:30PM, we’ll be hosting a Policy Cafe and offering individualized consultations for folks who want to discuss their specific ideas and get advice on questions such as:
- What are the next steps after I have come up with my policy idea?
- How do I draft a policy proposal?
- How do I approach council members, county supervisors, or other legislators about my idea?
- How do I navigate the legislative process?
- In what ways can my nonprofit participate in policy advocacy?
