This free SURJ workshop will dive into the history of voter suppression and mass incarceration from slavery, through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights movement, into the present day of New Jim Crow, and discuss details around – and signature-gathering for The Voting Restoration and Democracy Act of 2018, a ballot initiative that will restore the right to vote to more than 162,000 incarcerated folks and those on parole in California, a disenfranchised group that is disproportionately Black, Brown, and poor. This ballot initiative is led by Initiate Justice. Free but please RSVP.

Tour name: Ballad of a Wobbly WORLD TOUR

A BENEFIT for CIVIC (Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement) featuring David Rovics

David Rovics was born in New York City, and as a guitar-slinging singer/songwriter now based in Portland, Oregon, has toured in over two dozen countries, including at mass protests throughout North America and Europe.

When President Bush came to Berlin in 2002, David entertained the 100,000 or so folks who came to protest, and at the TTIP protest in Berlin in 2015, he sang for 250,000. He was also a featured performer at the G8 protests in Rostock in 2007, the G8 protests in Scotland in 2005, the G20 in Pittsburgh in 2009 and the G20 in Toronto the following year. Other countries where David has played at protests for thousands of people include England, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia and Japan.

In addition to his musical involvement with the anti-capitalist movement, labor, environmental and anti-war movements internationally, he has shared the stage on a number of occasions with Tom Morello, founder of Rage Against the Machine, who also recorded a lead guitar track on David’s 2012 album, Meanwhile In Afghanistan. He has also shared the stage with Billy Bragg, Chumbawumba, Joan Baez, and Pete Seeger, and has toured extensively with Attila the Stockbroker, Robb Johnson, Anne Feeney, Tracey Curtis and Alistair Hulett.

CIVIC
Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC) is the national immigration detention visitation network, which is working to end U.S. immigration detention by monitoring human rights abuses, elevating stories, building community-based alternatives to detention, and advocating for system change. Locally, CIVIC volunteers visit immigration detainees at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond, and work in collaboration with the detainees to monitor conditions, educate legislators and the public, and change policy.

Tickets are $15 general admission, and $10 for Students with ID. Advance tickets are available at the link below, or you may purchase your tickets at the door the night of the show. Doors open one half hour before show time. We accept cash only at the door (ATMs are nearby).

The Back Room is an all-ages, BYOB (for those 21+) space, dedicated to (mostly) acoustic music of all kinds. You are welcome to bring your own adult beverage with no additional corkage fee. If you need more information or have any questions, please call us: #510-654-3808. Thank you for your support!

No further information

We’ll be screening and discussing Banana Land, a documentary film about the past and current practices of the Banana industry in Latin America.

This film isn’t about bananas. This is about Big Agriculture, with the banana industry as an example of what happens when Big Ag has complete control of a region. This industry is responsible for the vast majority of the animal exploitation we protest, but we can’t forget that human exploitation is key to Big Ag’s profits and protocol, regardless of if the product is vegan.

A product being vegan does not mean it’s cruelty free, and living compassionately is an ongoing, active process built on critical thinking and kind choices 💚

How do we approach the challenging conversations, whether it’s about confederate flags, Donald Trump, cultural appropriation, Palestine/Israel, or even just racism and racial justice in general? Members of the White Noise Collective will facilitate this workshop ,exploring the difficult conversations in our lives around race and power.

This workshop is an opportunity to dive in much deeper with structured time to practice a range of difficult conversations around highly-charged racial issues. We will be sharing some basic skill-building tools in how to approach conversations, and then explore scenarios relevant to the lives of participants. This will include examination of some of the ways that internalized sexism can impact our courageous speaking capacities.

Small group work, role-plays, and Theater of the Oppressed techniques will support seeing tough communication blocks in a new light. We’ll try out what feels challenging, in a relatively low-stakes and supportive environment, allowing ourselves time to debrief, reflect, and learn from each other.

Contact basebuilding@surjbayarea.org with ticket requests or questions.

The largest national march against gun violence and the largest national march led by the youth ever!
Looking for volunteers, musicians, and speakers.

www.OaklandMarch.com

Mission Statement:

Not one more. We cannot allow one more child to be shot at school. We cannot allow one more teacher to make a choice to jump in front of a firing assault rifle to save the lives of students. We cannot allow one more family to wait for a call or text that never comes. Our schools are unsafe. Our children and teachers are dying. We must make it our top priority to save these lives.

March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who will no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass school shootings that has become all too familiar. In the tragic wake of the seventeen lives brutally cut short in Florida, politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns. March For Our Lives believes the time is now.

On March 24, the kids and families of March For Our Lives will take to the streets of Washington, DC to demand that their lives and safety become a priority. The collective voices of the March For Our Lives movement will be heard.

School safety is not a political issue. There cannot be two sides to doing everything in our power to ensure the lives and futures of children who are at risk of dying when they should be learning, playing, and growing. The mission and focus of March For Our Lives is to demand that a comprehensive and effective bill be immediately brought before Congress to address these gun issues. No special interest group, no political agenda is more critical than timely passage of legislation to effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant in our country.

Every kid in this country now goes to school wondering if this day might be their last. We live in fear.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Change is coming. And it starts now, inspired by and led by the kids who are our hope for the future. Their young voices will be heard.

Stand with us on March 24. Refuse to allow one more needless death.

MARCH FOR OUR LIVES!

This year we light the fires in solidarity with Afrin. Join us to act together in the future 6pm March 24th at the fire pits of Ocean Beach, San Francisco.

This year we light the fires in solidarity with Afrin. Join us to act together in the future 6pm March 24th at the fire pits of Ocean Beach, San Francisco. Look for the #YPG #YPJ flags. @ROJTHANET @RojavaNyc @radio_rojava @cooprojavabakur @boerneaj @CommuneInt @gators4anarchy pic.twitter.com/pqn4vPDGUu

— Rojava Solidarity (@Bay_Meso) March 14, 2018

Dinner: 6:30 PM

Movie: 7:30 PM

Sponsored by: Laney College Ethnic Studies Department and the Free Mumia Coalition

Speakers: Arthur League, Cat Brooks, Jack Heyman, Judy Greenspan, Gerald Smith, and Richard Becker

Alia Sharreif – hip hop artist

Video – Longshore Workers Shut Down Ports to Free Mumia

Ras Ceylon & Carole Seligman, co-chairs Who Is Mumia Abu-Jamal?

Mumia Abu-Jamal is a revolutionary journalist. A former member of the Black Panther Party and MOVE supporter, he fought racism and police brutality with outspoken radio reporting in Philadelphia in the 1970s. Known as the “voice of the voiceless,” he was an award-winning journalist. His work continues today–from behind bars–with books he has written, and recorded essays on imperialism, war, racism and more.

Because he acted and spoke out against police brutality and racism, Mumia was considered an enemy of the state. He was targeted by the FBI’s COINTELPRO disruption program from age 15, framed for a crime he did not commit, and sentenced to death. His death sentence was
overturned, but he now he is serving life without the possibility of parole. He has been falsely imprisoned now for almost 36 years. Cops, courts and politicians conspired to put Mumia away, and they are still at it; but Mumia has never wavered from insisting on his innocence!

Mumia Abu-Jamal should have never spent one day in jail. Mumia’s case exposes the race and class bias of the entire capitalist judicial system. The state demands his slow death in prison as retaliation to his defiant resistance to state repression and racial oppression. But Mumia has not been silenced.

We stand with Mumia. Mumia’s freedom is part of our own struggle for justice and human liberation.

Endorsers: Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal, Workers World Party, Oscar Grant Committee, ANSWER Coalition, Freedom Socialist Party, Anti Police Terror Project, By Any Means Necessary, Socialist Organizer, DSA Justice Committee, Socialist Viewpoint, Oakland Teachers for Mumia, and Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz.

Rally & Press Conference to Urge Vote to DEFUND Urban Shield

10am – Rally & Press Conference
11am – Supervisors Meeting & Urban Shield Vote

Join the Stop Urban Shield Coalition at the Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting, where they will be voting on the Sheriff’s request to fund Urban Shield 2018. We are organizing to ensure they say NO! We want real, community-based preparedness for emergencies. Police militarization is not the answer.

We recently learned that Sheriff Ahern hosted ICE at the 2017 Urban Shield! We must turn out all our communities for this crucial vote. Alameda County must resist this blatant collusion with the horrific Trump and Sessions administration, and need to act on ending the racist tactics, and technologies being spread by Urban Shield.

It has only become clearer that Urban Shield does not provide disaster preparedness for the Bay Area. At the most recent Board meeting where AC Supervisors heard back from the Task Force assigned to evaluate Urban Shield, Sheriff Ahern demonstrated open disregard for the terms put in place by the Board to curb some of the program’s blatant racism and violence. Urban Shield clearly can not be reformed and must be defunded.

Take Action! Here’s how you can help.
Stop Urban Shield:

1) Come out on Tuesday, March 27th for our rally and press conference, and plan to stay so we pack the room during the Board of Supervisors vote on Urban Shield. The Board meeting starts at 11am and will likely go for a few hours. Please plan to stay a while or come late in order to make public comment if you can’t arrive by 10am.

2) Call and email the Board of Supervisors on Monday, March 26th. Here’s a sample script and their contact information that you can use:

Dear Supervisor _________, I am calling to urge you and your fellow Supervisors to take leadership in putting an end to the harmful and controversial Urban Shield program in Alameda County. On Tuesday, March 27th, you will be asked to decide whether to authorize funding for the Sheriff to hold Urban Shield in 2018.. By rejecting this, Alameda County can be a leader in prioritizing true community preparedness that is not based on fear and militarization. Despite your guidelines and community concerns, Sheriff Ahern has repeatedly demonstrated complete disregard for very serious concerns, most recently shown when he hosted both ICE and the Oath Keepers at last year’s Urban Shield. I urge you to take action by saying no to the authorization of any funding for Urban Shield. Thank you.

Supervisor Haggerty // josh.thurman@acgov.org (510) 272-6691
Supervisor Valle // cinthya.munozramos@acgov.org (510) 272-6692
Supervisor Chan //dave.brown @acgov.org (510) 272-6693
Supervisor Miley // kamika.dunlap@acgov.org (510) 670-5962
Supervisor Carson // shahidah.lacy@acgov.org (510) 272-6695

3) Spread the word! Let all the people in your networks know that with a powerful turnout and strong community pressure, we can end Urban Shield once and for all on March 27th.

The East Bay premier of a new documentary, Nat Bates for Mayor.

This movie tells the inspiring story of how the Richmond community organized to defeat Chevron’s candidate for mayor in the 2014 election. Chevron spent more than $3 million on the election but the grassroots campaign won the mayor’s office and a majority on the city council.

The film was featured in film festivals including the Woodstock and Santa Cruz film festivals
Followed by a panel discussion:
Moderator: John Sepulvedo, host of KQED California Report
Panelists: Jovanka Beckles, Richmond City Council member and  candidate for the California Assembly 15th district,
Andres Soto, Richmond organizer, Communities for a Better Environment

The filmmakers will also be present

(tickets through the theater website, TheNewParkway.com)

Join the Women’s Entrepreneurs of Berkeley for a Women’s History Month celebration!!!

Legendary mountaineer & activist, Arlene Blum, will talk about her ascents up the world’s highest mountains and how that compared to the obstacles she overcame in her domestic science policy work.

Arlene’s talk will be followed by a networking hour kicked off with an icebreaker game featuring historical female entrepreneurs.

And to wrap up a fun evening, we will raffle off those iconic “A Woman’s Place is On Top” T-Shirts!!

El Cerrito Shows Up#Enough #ICEoutofCA
Please join us today & every Wednesday 6 – 7 PM
West entrance El Cerrito Plaza nr Daiso, San Pablo Ave & Carlson.

ECSU rallies weekly to speak out in favor of equality and justice. #NoHatehttps://t.co/Wotbz2eRWM pic.twitter.com/E88ORoKhhq

— IndivisibleELCERRITO (@ECindivisible) March 14, 2018

Please join us from 6 to 7 PM at the west entrance to El Cerrito Plaza, intersection of San Pablo Ave & Carlson Ave. We’ll meet on the side nearest to Daiso.

The ECSU goals are to create a significant community presence to speak out in favor of equality, justice, inclusiveness and more. We say NO to hatred, racism, white supremacy and nationalism, bigotry, and anti-Semitism.

You can bring your own sign with your own words expressing what you stand for and against. Use BIG lettering so people in cars can see! We’ll also have some sign-making materials.

We’re from the El Cerrito area. Our Show Up location is at the borders of El Cerrito, Richmond and Albany — all are welcome!

We will assemble lawfully, and won’t block the sidewalk. All locations we select will be wheelchair-accessible. To participate you must commit to non-violent and respectful conduct. Family-friendly.

UNA-USA Eastbay Chapter presents: “International Women’s Day – Empowerment Summit and Dinner Celebration”. The United States of America is one of seven countries who still refuse to protect women’s and girl’s rights based on a United Nations convention.

For details call, 510.849.1752.

The United Nations Association-East Bay’s dinner celebration for International Women’s Day will address Human Rights for Women and Girls: Promise Fulfilled or Just Dreams?

The keynote address is by Keshet Bachan-Dvorat, Vice President of Partnership and Policy for The US National Committee for UN Women San Francisco; panelists include Dr. Patricia M. Valdespino Castillo on women in science, Nathalie Delrue Mcguire, Honorary Consul of Belgium on women in diplomacy, Antonia Lavine on Human Trafficking, Beverly Upton from the Domestic Violence Consortium. The panel will be moderated by Roxana Damas of the UNA-USA East Bay Chapter.

Lee Kane’s Theater Dance Program will perform with dancers Samantha Kane, Lea Schickler, Olivia Braun, & Roan Pearl. Special guest is vocalist Melanie O’Reilly, Celtic Jazz professional singer/composer, Musician-in-Residence at the University of California Berkeley.

The 2018 United Nations theme for International Women’s Day is Press for Progress, a call-to-action to press forward for gender parity.  The United Nations Association-USA East Bay Chapter focus is on CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women. Can the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals be met about women’s needs and rights? How can the targets be reached locally and globally in order to achieve what the USA and 192 other UN Member Governments agreed to in the Development Agenda for 2030? Presentations will complement the understanding of this UN vision; narratives by the panelists will tell of progress by women in the arts, struggles in the diplomatic and scientific fields and their day-to-day lives.

Please RSVP through EventBrite: https://eastbayiwd2018.eventbrite.com

Cosponsors are The United Nations Association-USA East Bay Chapter, the US National Committee for UN Women, the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, the San Francisco Coalition Against Human Trafficking, The National Council of Jewish Women San Francisco, San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium, Psi Upsilon Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha International Incorporated, and UC Berkeley Women and Gender Studies.