Calendar
The new book, China on Strike, is based on dozens of interviews with workers in Pearl River Delta factories, an industrial region of region of 60 million people that has become the “workshop of the world,” as China has become the fastest growing major economy in the world over the last three decades. Pearl River Delta factories supply the world’s most profitable corporations, like Apple, Nike, Hewlett Packard, and many others. These interviews document the processes of internal migration in China, changing employment relations, worker culture, and other issues related to China’s explosive growth. China on Strike is the first English-language book to provide an intimate and revealing window into the lives of workers as they organize against low pay and brutal working conditions, launching the world’ largest strike wave in the 21st century. Two of these contributors will be in attendance and will speak and answer questions via interpreter Alex T. Tom.
“As these vivid case-studies illustrate, the real sleeping dragon—China’s enormous factory proletariat—is wide awake and fighting back on all fronts. Indeed, here is first-hand evidence that Chairman Xi Jinping may soon confront the largest labor rebellion in history.”
—Mike Davis, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Riverside, and author of Planet of Slums
Fang Gang has worked in factories since he graduated from university, conducting interviews with other workers about their collective struggles in the Pearl River Delta and compiling them into articles that are published and distributed. An example is his 2013 piece “Strikes over the relocation of factories.” Currently, Fan Gang assists with workers taking collective action in the Pearl River Delta.
Mi Tu has been engaged in doing translations of literature on workers’ struggles in other countries, as well as researching the conditions of workers in China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs), since her university days. Since graduating, Mi has worked in factories, interviewed workers engaged in struggles in the Pearl River Delta, and compiled and circulated these oral histories. Mi currently assists workers taking collective action against occupational diseases.
Alex T. Tom (interpreter) is the Executive Director of San Francisco’s Chinese Progressive Association.
Admission is free.
 AROC Presents: Palestine Before 1948
Sherene Seikaly on her new book, Men of Capital: Scarcity and Economy in Mandate Palestine.
Men of Capital examines British-ruled Palestine in the 1930s and 1940s through a focus on economy. In a departure from the expected histories of Palestine, this book illuminates dynamic class constructions that aimed to shape a pan-Arab utopia in terms of free trade, profit accumulation, and private property. And in so doing, it positions Palestine and Palestinians in the larger world of Arab thought and social life, moving attention away from the limiting debates of Zionist-Palestinian conflict. |
Sometimes you’ve just got to take it to the streets, and this is one of those times. Sunflower Alliance is sponsoring a canvassing day to put rent control and just cause for eviction on the Richmond ballot in November. Bring a friend, or partner up with another canvasser when you get here. And if walking isn’t your thing, you can man (or woman) a table outside FoodsCo, Walgreens or Target. We’ll provide juice, coffee, and snacks at the Bobby Bowens Center to get you jump-started or tide you over. Come for one hour or the full four—or more. Bring a hat, sunscreen, and water bottle. Added bonus: An overwhelming majority of Richmond voters support this ordinance, so it’s an easy sell. If you care about stabilizing low-income communities and slowing rampant gentrification, this is your opportunity to make a difference.
Please join us on Saturday, April 9th for “Fair Chance to Advance,” a community resource fair!
Free services include: Proposition 47 lawyer consultation, DMV vouchers, job training, EBT and Medi-Cal Support, veteran services, immigration consultation, and housing assistance services. There will be a bouncy house and childcare services for kids.
– Do you have a felony that is keeping you from securing housing, employment or public assistance?
– Do you have questions about your immigration status?
– Would you like information about the new DMV amnesty program?
If you or someone you know answered yes to any of these questions, please join us and spread the word about this incredible community resource fair.
Fair Chance to Advance events were created to reach community members who may qualify for Proposition 47 crime reclassification. Indivduals with felony convictions often experience difficulty secure housing, employment and public assistance. Proposition 47 allows individuals with certain types of non-serious, non-violent felony convictions to re-classify their conviction as a misdemeanor, helping to increase an individuals’s ability to get their life back on track.
Of course, this is an event for any and ALL community members in need of legal assistance, housing assistance, support with access to jobs, assistance filling out healthcare documentation, and more, not only for those seeking conviction reclassification.
This event is sponsored by Oakland Community Organizations, the Ella Baker Center, Imani Community Church, the East Bay Community Law Center, the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office and other assistance providers.
With support from Oakland Vice Mayor Annie Campbell Washington and Supervisor Nate Miley.
When heavily militarized police in Ferguson, Missouri, confronted African American protesters angry at the police murder of Mike Brown in 2014, Palestinians watching events unfold from Gaza began sending tweets about how to cope with the teargas filling the streets.
Such an act of solidarity was more than a mere expression of support from people who, though half a world away, know firsthand about state repression. Police in cities across the U.S. – including police in Ferguson and Baltimore – have turned to Israel for training in how to deploy tactics honed in suppressing the Palestinian struggle for justice. The U.S. directly supports Israel’s dispossession of the Palestinians – to the tune of some $3 billion per year.
Many of the issues facing the Black community in the U.S. – police violence, job discrimination, poverty, and environmental racism – are the same problems that Palestinians face.
A new generation of activists is forging ties of solidarity between the struggles of Palestinians and African Americans – struggles for equal rights, for dignity, for freedom. This tour hopes to make a modest contribution to this project – by unearthing the inspiring history of Black/Palestinian solidarity and by making these lessons relevant for present-day efforts seeking to transform the future.
Featuring
Aaron Dixon is one of the co-founders of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party, chronicled in his 2012 book http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/My-People-Are-Rising. Dixon has since founded Central House, a nonprofit that provides transitional housing for youth, and was one of the co founders of the Cannon House, a senior assisted-living facility. Aaron ran for US Senate on the Green Party ticket in 2006.
Boots Riley is the lead vocalist for The Coup, a hip hop group from Oakland. He is a lifelong revolutionary, and he played an important role in Occupy Oakland and other Bay Area political struggles. Boots recently released a book about the lyrics and backstories of his music: Tell Homeland Security – We Are The Bomb.
Khury Petersen-Smith co-authored, with Stanford alum Kristian Davis Bailey, the influential 2015 Black Solidarity Statement with Palestine, covered by Ebony and other outlets. Khury is a member of the International Socialist Organization and is active in Palestine solidarity and anti-racist organizing. He has written about the politics of Black liberation for Jacobin Magazine and the International Socialist Review.
Wael Elasady* is a Palestinian-Syrian activist living in Portland. He is a co-founder of Students United For Palestinian Equal Rights at Portland State University and a member of the International Socialist Organization. He was co-host of One Land, Many Voices a community radio show bringing the question of Palestine to the Portland area.
Majd Quran* is a member of Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine. She grew up in Ramallah, a city in the West Bank of Palestine. Majd worked with Area C students in the Jordan Valley as part of her school’s Right to Education club. She also worked with internally displaced refugees and victims of home demolitions
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Oakland
Saturday April 9th – 5:30 PM, Oakland Peace Center, Shelton Hall, 111 Fairmont Ave. Sliding scale: $5 – $20 / no one turned away for lack of funds *Wael and Aaron will be speaking on Sat. April 9th *Boots will not be speaking on Sat. April 9th
Stanford University
Tuesday April 12th at 7 PM, Black Community Services Center. *Majd will be speaking on Tue. April 12th. Cosponsors for Stanford event: NAACP, Black Student Union, Students for Justice in Palestine, Muslim Student Union, MEChA, Asian American Student Association, Students for Alternatives to Militarism, Stanford Asian American Activism Committee, Student and Labor Alliance, National Lawyers Guild
UC Berkeley
Wednesday April 13th at 7:30 PM, Valley Life Sciences Building room 2040
Presented by
Haymarket Books
Cosponsors
International Socialist Organization
Arab Resource and Organizing Center
Middle East Children’s Alliance
When heavily militarized police in Ferguson, Missouri, confronted African American protesters angry at the police murder of Mike Brown in 2014, Palestinians watching events unfold from Gaza began sending tweets about how to cope with the teargas filling the streets.
Such an act of solidarity was more than a mere expression of support from people who, though half a world away, know firsthand about state repression. Police in cities across the U.S. – including police in Ferguson and Baltimore – have turned to Israel for training in how to deploy tactics honed in suppressing the Palestinian struggle for justice. The U.S. directly supports Israel’s dispossession of the Palestinians – to the tune of some $3 billion per year.
Many of the issues facing the Black community in the U.S. – police violence, job discrimination, poverty, and environmental racism – are the same problems that Palestinians face.
A new generation of activists is forging ties of solidarity between the struggles of Palestinians and African Americans – struggles for equal rights, for dignity, for freedom. This tour hopes to make a modest contribution to this project – by unearthing the inspiring history of Black/Palestinian solidarity and by making these lessons relevant for present-day efforts seeking to transform the future.
Featuring
Boots Riley is the lead vocalist for The Coup, a hip hop group from Oakland. He is a lifelong revolutionary, and he played an important role in Occupy Oakland and other Bay Area political struggles. Boots recently released a book about the lyrics and backstories of his music: Tell Homeland Security – We Are The Bomb.
Khury Petersen-Smith co-authored, with Stanford alum Kristian Davis Bailey, the influential 2015 Black Solidarity Statement with Palestine, covered by Ebony and other outlets. Khury is a member of the International Socialist Organization and is active in Palestine solidarity and anti-racist organizing. He has written about the politics of Black liberation for Jacobin Magazine and the International Socialist Review.
Wael Elasady is a Palestinian-Syrian activist living in Portland. He is a co-founder of Students United For Palestinian Equal Rights at Portland State University and a member of the International Socialist Organization. He was co-host of One Land, Many Voices a community radio show bringing the question of Palestine to the Portland area.
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Oakland
Saturday April 9th – 5:30 PM, Oakland Peace Center, Shelton Hall, 111 Fairmont Ave. Sliding scale: $5 – $20 / no one turned away for lack of funds * Wael will be speaking o Sat. April 9th
Stanford University
Tuesday April 12th at 7 PM, Black Community Services Center
UC Berkeley
Wednesday April 13th at 7:30 PM, Valley Life Sciences Building room 2040
Presented by Haymarket Books http://
Cosponsors International Socialist Organization http://
Monthly interfaith prayer meeting, held on second Sundays, dedicated to survivors and victims of violence and police terror in Oakland.
The Baha’i community of Oakland is organizing this gathering for the community to connect, share prayers, writings and poems from all spiritual traditions, reflect and recharge and build coalitions interested in healing.
Come share prayers, quotes, poems, and favorite passages from your scriptures with us.
Thank you to everyone who came out to our hugely successful canvassing kickoff last Saturday! We had nearly fifty people and gathered hundreds of signatures. Come out this Sunday for our next canvass to collect signatures for our three ballot initiatives.
We will be gathering signatures for our three endorsed ballot measures for 2016: the Protect Oakland Tenants Initiative, sponsored by Oakland Tenants Union and the Citywide Development Network, the charter amendment to create a police commission sponsored by the Coalition for Police Accountability, and the measure to establish a $20 minimum wage by 2020 and enforce fair scheduling regulations from the Oakland Livable Wage Assembly.
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
OccupyForum presents
“From The Heart of the World:
The Elder Brothers’ Warning”
A documentary about a South American Indian tribe and their plea for ecological sanity in a time when the earth is being ravaged by so-called civilized people.
Seeing themselves as guardians of life on earth, the Kogi have a spiritual understanding of the bond between humankind and the natural world. This bond, they insist, must be honored. The Kogi are governed by priests called “mamas.” As children, the mamas were educated in the dark and this early sensory deprivation has made them finely attuned to the mysteries and pleasures of their mountain environment. The Elder Brothers, as they call themselves, are convinced that we, the Younger Brothers, have wounded the earth through industrial exploitation, mining, and clearing of forests. They have seen signs of an ecological crisis in changing bird migrations and the lack of snow in the highest regions of the Sierra Nevada. The Kogis warn that unless we change our ways, the world will end:
“If we act well, the world can go on.”
There have been many articulate calls for citizens of this planet to live in harmony with the natural world. But this video stands out as an especially cogent and moving plea for ecological wisdom.
Time will be allotted for announcements.
The Battle Cry of the People
Enough is Enough
Enough of Racist Police
Enough of the Killing of our People
Enough Discrimination
Enough of the Injustices against Black and Brown Communities
Enough of the Powers at Be Ignoring the People’s Cry
Enough of Rogue Cops within SFPD
We the People say Enough is Enough
This is our Battle Cry!
Fire Chief Suhr
Come and Join Justice 4 Mario Woods Coalition
Alex Nieto Coalition
Amilcar Perez Coalition
Jeff Adachi…SF Public Defender
Lead Counsel of ACLU
SF BOS (some)
and You the Community
Press Conference
SF City Hall Front Steps
11AM
We Can’t Stop
We Won’t Stop
Until Justice Reigns Down on Our Community
Please share with friends and family
#SFPD: Town hall meeting on latest police shooting to be held Wednesday at noon at 3271 Mission St.
— Jonah Owen Lamb (@jonahowenlamb) April 12, 2016
From the SF Fist: According to a a press release sent by SFPD at 1:08 p.m. Tuesday, the noon town hall meeting will be held “to provide the Mission community with an update,” at Union Local Hall located at 3271 18th Street.
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 ♥
Tenants in Bay View Apartments are fighting displacement despite passage of the Alameda Rent Ordinance that went into effect on March 1st, 2016. The Rent Review and Limitations on Evictions Ordinance is not protecting tenants from unfair evictions and allows landlords to create a climate of fear and intimidation. Tenants Together, the Alameda Renters Coalition, and Filipino Advocates for Justice will be holding a press conference at 10am Thursday April 14th at Bay View Apartments 470 Central Ave.
The landlord Matt Sridhar, CEO of San Jose-based Sridhar Equities, LLC, is determined to raise rents and evict all tenants in the building. Last year, he used a loophole in the original Alameda moratorium to give tenants at Bay View Apartments no-fault eviction notices. The tenants fought back and won.
Now, he is using a weakness in the current tenant legislation to use the threat of eviction against tenants. The Ordinance allows 25% of tenants in a year to be evicted through no fault of their own. Some units are empty and under heavy construction, while the rest of the tenants are being harassed. Sridhar has used the construction as a tactic to harass tenants and make the community feel unsafe in their own homes.
“I feel unsafe because our landlord’s construction crews are creating huge amounts of dust and not cleaning it up, using vacant units like hotel rooms, and fighting late at night. The other day I watched as construction workers threw a heavy bag from the 2nd floor which came within 5 feet of hitting a small child,” said Mel LaGuardia, a tenant who lives at the Bay View Apartments with his family.
Tenants Together, the Alameda Renters Coalition, and Filipino Advocates for Justice will be holding a press conference at 10am on Thursday April 14th at Bay View Apartments 470 Central Ave. to stand up against Sridhar’s harassment, and call for residents of the City of Alameda to pass stronger protections at the ballot this November.
“This landlord is harassing tenants with the intent to make them leave their homes. The Alameda City Rent Review & Limitations Ordinance allows for unfair evictions. We will continue to see displacement in Alameda without stronger tenant protections.” said Leah Simon-Weisberg, Legal Director with Tenants Together.
“Right now we are gathering signatures to put real Rent Control and Just Cause for Eviction Protections on the ballot in November. These policies are essential to keeping tenants in their homes,” said Catherine Pauling of Alameda Renters Coalition.
The press conference will be held in front of the Bay View Apartments .Tenants and advocates will be available for media interviews.
#OAKLAND! Join workers in their #Fightfor15 at our #DayofAction! APRIL 14TH AT 2PM! https://t.co/teoxkpOuPE pic.twitter.com/i5fpMJFVQL
— Fight For 15 Nor Cal (@NorCalFF15) March 30, 2016
Dear Friends,
Thank you to everyone who came out to support us a couple weeks ago. Our hearing to present a motion to dismiss the charges brought against four Land Action organizers was rescheduled for this coming Friday, and we would appreciate your support once again.
Specifically, the Land Action 4 are being prosecuted for their involvement in a recent adverse possession project. There are seven criminal charges, including three felony counts and four misdemeanors. Contrary to established precedent from similar cases in Oakland in recent years, the District Attorney (DA) has deliberately, and in violation of the law, pushed this civil dispute into criminal court.
Please read our latest press release to learn more.
Join us this Friday when we will present our motion to dismiss:
There is metered parking available in the surrounding blocks, as well as a couple parking garages close by.
On Saturday April 16, 2016 the African People’s Education and Defense Fund (APEDF) will hold an annual health-fair entitled “Health is Freedom”, at Akwaaba Hall in the Uhuru House, 7911 MacArthur Blvd, in East Oakland from 11:00 am to 4:30 pm.
There will be food, culture, vendors, live music, free health resources and screenings. End the health and economic disparities in Oakland! Support black community self – determination, justice, health and economic development.
We will be gathering signatures for our three endorsed ballot measures for 2016: the Protect Oakland Tenants Initiative, sponsored by Oakland Tenants Union and the Citywide Development Network, the charter amendment to create a police commission sponsored by the Coalition for Police Accountability, and the measure to establish a $20 minimum wage by 2020 and enforce fair scheduling regulations from the Oakland Livable Wage Assembly.
Check out this cheat sheet on how to collect signatures, and contact info@oaklandjustice if you are interested in gathering signatures independently. We encourage our member organizations to host their own canvasses. For your reference, quick talking points on the three measures are in the cheat sheet linked above and listed below:
Rent Stabilization Measure
- Set limits on rent increases tied to the Consumer Price Index (inflation)
- Close loopholes in the current Just Cause Eviction Ordinance to prevent no-fault evictions
Minimum Wage / Fair Scheduling Measure
- Raise minimum wage to $14/hr in 2017, slowly increasing to $20/hr by 2020
- Create and enforce rules for worker scheduling and on-call requirements, so that workers’ lives will not be turned upside down by continually changing work schedules
Police Commission Measure
- Establish civilian oversight of our Police Department
- The Commission will be able to investigate police misconduct, review complaints and discipline officers. If progress toward reform is not being made, they will have the authority to fire the police chief
Monica Moorehead, Presidential candidate of Workers World Party , and John Parker, candidate for US Senate of the Peace and Freedom Party and west coast leader of Workers World Party from LA, will be in Oakland to speak about what a real socialist program looks like and why capitalism must be overturned. http://
https://
Also hear Clarence Thomas, former Secretary-Treas
See the pinned post with the WWP 10 point campaign program short form. We are participating in the elections to expose them, not because we believe the elections have any meaning.
The location of the meeting is significant, in and of itself, right next to Lil’ Bobby Hutton Park, named in memory of the youngest Black Panther Party member to be killed by the Oakland Police. The site is wheelchair accessible. Light refreshments will be served.
Join us for the Berkeley premiere of SOLD!
Based on the award-winning international bestseller by Patricia McCormick and inspired by a true account, SOLD tells the story of a 13 year-old Nepalese girl who is trafficked from a peaceful, rural village to the brothels of Kolkata, India. One extraordinary girl’s story becomes both a call to action and a testament to the power and resilience of the human spirit. Directed by Oscar winning filmmaker Jeffrey Brown, this extraordinary story illustrates the brutality of child trafficking, which affects millions of children around the globe every year.
Saturday, April 16th @ 4PM and 7PM shows
Q&A with filmmaker Jeffrey Brown
.
LIVE FROM DEATH ROW
PHONE CALL FROM KEVIN COOPER FROM SAN QUENTIN !
Free this innocent man! END the Death Penalty NOW!
At the young age of 16, Mark Clements was wrongfully convicted for murder in Chicago when he was tortured into a false confession by the corrupt police precinct of Jon Burge. After serving 28 years toward the sentence of Life Without Parole, Mark was finally exonerated and released from prison. Mark is on a tour across the country to highlight cases of the wrongfully convicted in the fight to end the death penalty.
Join Mark Clements to hear about the VICTORY fight to win reparations from the city of Chicago for the torture of African American and Latino men by Chicago police. Please come and join Mark Clements at a gathering organized in Oakland to bring attention to the case of Kevin Cooper, an innocent man on death row in California
Featuring: the movie about the Police Torture in Chicago. Organizations welcome to come and table. Please contact us via email.
For info: contact: FreeKevinCooper@gmail.com www.Freekevincooper.org Facebook: FreeKevin Cooper