Come by our open Delegates Meetings! We’ll give space to brief announcements, updates from working groups, proposals up for consensus, and discussion around important issues. The schedule is created weekly at the following url: https://pad.riseup.net/p/omninom

This meeting usually happens in the Ballroom, but the the location may change depending on the access needs of people attending and other events taking place in the building.

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

This month’s all-member meeting will be focused on the role of socialists in the labor movement. We’ll talk about the history of labor movement, how members are engaging with their unions, and how DSA can support and strengthen union activity.

We need volunteers! From setup to sign-in to mic-running, volunteering for our meetings is easy and low-commitment. Volunteer here: https://forms.gle/NzYMzXKQYVy1mFUC8 . Use this form, too, if you have child supervision or accessibility needs, including the need for an ASL interpreter.

Our next voting General Meeting will be in October. Member-submitted resolutions will be accepted on a rolling basis—please email them to resolutions@eastbaydsa.org. The submission deadline for each meeting is three weeks in advance of the meeting itself.

Accessibility Information: The Omni Commons ballroom is wheelchair-accessible via a lift and has wheelchair-accessible restrooms, and we provide child supervision and wireless microphones with runners. It is also accessible by BART (1/2 mile walk from MacArthur Station) and by AC Transit bus lines 18, 88, and 12.

Diablo Rising Tide is excited to host friends from the Civil Liberties Defense Center for a two-part training – specifically geared towards people doing climate justice organizing. The training will be held at The Warehouse (955 7th St) in West Oakland Oakland, beginning at 3pm. The space is ADA accessible, and just a 10-minute walk from West Oakland BART station. There is limited street parking. If you require translation or other assistance – please let us know in advance!

• Part 1: Know Your Rights – 3:00 – 5:00
  • Tips for understanding your First Amendment Rights, dealing with police, and other legal issues related to demonstrations, protests, non-violence direct action and civil disobedience. Learn how corporations and the government are attempting to undercut your activism and what you can do to better protect you and your community.

• Part 2: Digital Security for Activists – 5:30 – 7:00
  • Between government surveillance, private companies infiltrating movements, and public doxing – learn how you can better safeguard your information, communicate more securely, and protect yourself digitally. Feel free to bring your laptop or phone – and you can start to implement some of these tips on the spot.

We will have a 30 minute break between the sessions, and you can attend either training or both.

RSVP only, please sign up on this form to attend.

———————————————

The Civil Liberties Defense Center supports movements that seek to dismantle the political and economic structures at the root of social inequality and environmental destruction. We provide litigation, education, legal and strategic resources to strengthen and embolden their success.

Diablo Rising Tide is the Bay Area chapter of the Rising Tide North America network. Rising Tide is an all-volunteer climate network in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico who confront the root causes of climate change with protests and grassroots organizing.The larger Rising Tide network spans four continents and works with activists in North and South America, Europe, and Australia.

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 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 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! 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

9/9: Will be discussing issues related to this Crackdown and our strategy for the next 3 to 6 months.

9/16: We have many, many issues to discuss, including the forthcoming visit of Donald Trump and Ben Carson.

OTU’s Mission

The Oakland Tenants Union is an organization of housing activists dedicated to protecting tenant rights and interests. OTU does this by working directly with tenants in their struggle with landlords, impacting legislation and public policy about housing, community education, and working with other organizations committed to furthering renters’ rights. The Oakland Tenants Union is open to anyone who shares our core values and who believes that tenants themselves have the primary responsibility to work on their own behalf.

Monthly Meetings

The Oakland Tenants Union meets regularly at 7:00 pm on the second Monday evening of each month. Our monthly meetings are held in the Community Room of the Madison Park Apartments, 100 – 9th Street (at Oak Street, across from the Lake Merritt BART Station). To enter, gently knock on the window of the room to the right of the main entrance to the building. At the meetings, first we focus on general issues affecting renters city-wide and then second we offer advice to renters regarding their individual concerns.

If you have an issue, a question, or need advice about a tenant/landlord issue, please call us at (510) 704-5276. Leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will get back to you.

 The Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality & State Repression (OGC) is a grassroots democratic organization that was formed as a conscious united front for justice against police brutality. The OGC is involved in the struggle for police accountability and is committed to stopping police brutality.

In alliance with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) we organized the October 23, 2010 labor and community rally for Justice for Oscar Grant. On that day the ILWU shut down the Bay Area ports in solidarity. Our mission is to educate, organize and mobilize people against police and state repression. Sisters and brothers! The Oscar Grant Committee invites you to join us in this vital struggle.

We meet on the 1^st Monday of each month
You can join our discussion list by sending a blank (doesn’t even need a subject) email to

oscargrantcommittee-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

Want to get involved with SURJ Bay Area? Come learn about our current work and activities. SURJ moves white people to act for justice, with passion and accountability, as part of a multi-racial majority.
​
You will hear about SURJ’s pathways for entering the work, including committee work, upcoming workshops, and events. We’ll answer your questions and share how you can get involved in the movement for racial justice.

LOCATION AND ACCESS:
The Movement Strategy Center is located at 436 14th St., Ste 500, (5th floor) at the corner of Broadway (right next to 12th St station).

There will be a greeter in the lobby until 7:15, but please arrive by 6:45 to check-in and get settled so we can begin promptly at 7 pm. If you are driving, please try to carpool and arrive early to leave time to find a spot. Street parking is generally available in a 2-3 block radius.

BUILDING ACCESS
Folks have to sign in at the front desk when they arrive (and sign out when leaving), then take the elevator to the 5th floor.

What skills, tools and approaches are useful in encouraging white people to sustain balanced engagement with anti-racism/racial justice education and work? How can we cultivate resilience (as opposed to white fragility) in ourselves, our communities, and our movements?

White Fragility is defined by Robin DiAngelo as “A state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation (2011).”

What skills, tools and approaches are useful in encouraging white people to sustain balanced engagement with anti-racism/racial justice education and work? How can we cultivate resilience (as opposed to white fragility) in ourselves, our communities, and our movements? Resilience is, in part, defined as:

1. Staying with the conversation

2. Giving and receiving information and feedback from facilitators and peers without becoming highly defensive, reactive, or shut down/dissociated for long period of time

3. Managing the guilt and shame that can arise in learning about the history and current reality of race and racism in the US.

This workshop will explore the role of the body, community, spirituality, intellectual knowledge and other themes that you bring from your experience. We will cover basic information about how the brain and body responds to perceived threats, and explore how to work with this toward greater resilience in moments of challenge.

This workshop is for all experience levels. Participants will be invited to discuss in small groups, move around the space, and hold their bodies in different shapes for 1-2 minutes if available. Content will be presented in both verbal and written formats.

Sliding Scale: $15-$85. No one is turned away for lack of funds. Preregistration is required due to limited space and a pre-workshop assignment.

ASL Interpretation: Requests must be made at accessibility@surjbayarea.org no later than 9 PM, September 12.

• special large meeting to launch a broad community campaign to get a charter amendment for a stronger police review commission in Berkeley on the 2020 ballot.

Phase 1 of our ongoing campaign:

-Recruit more people, from different sectors of the community, to get involved with this issue.

-Educate the public about the need for a stronger police review function in Berkeley, especially given the continuing racial disparities in policing.

-Build public pressure on the Mayor & City Council to put the charter amendment (Arreguin/Harrison version, which is currently under consideration) on the 2020 ballot. The vote to put it on the ballot could come as early as September.

Phase 2
-If the Council puts the charter amendment on the ballot, we will be working to ensure that it gets passed.
-If they do not put it on the ballot, we have the other option of pursuing a signature campaign to get it on the ballot.

General Meeting  

Our September General Meeting  will be an informal gathering to greet new and ongoing rebels and help them plug in to upcoming events. We’ll be on the south side of the park – look for the Extinction Rebellion banner. Come on down!

Ready to Swarm?

After the general meeting, hang around for Swarming Training – as we go over what swarming is, how it works, how to be a police liaison and a lookout, and how to de-escalate tense situations. We’ll be doing plenty of practice and role play, so you’ll be well prepared for the swarming action on September 23rd. De-centralized “swarms” briefly stop traffic to cause POLITE disruption and hand out info to drivers about the climate crisis and upcoming actions. Please swarm with us!

Business Like? Call For Business-Attired Volunteers

Number needed: 25-50, all genders, aged 21�45 ideal (we want to look like the Montgomery demographic) for an action on Montgomery St., San Francisco during the Strike for Climate Justice on Sept. 25:

• 7am�11am�Shift 1; ;
• 11am�2pm�Shift 2;
• 2�5pm�Shift 3; ;
• or any time you can come between 7am�5pm for at least one hhour

Action:

Persons dressed for success (wearing business attire) and wearing N95 masks or other respiration devices will walk up and down Montgomery St. on Sept. 25, handing out leaflets and/or carrying signs. You look like any other business person on Montgomery, except you won’t be on your phone, and you are wearing what we all may need to wear in 20-30 years: breathing masks.

Contact: MaryAnn at doctorpepp@protonmail.com

The 2018 Charter Amendment for a strengthened police commission is back for 2020.

Please join a short-term “push,” over the next two months, to get the amendment on the ballot.  Community members will meet for an hour on Sunday afternoon September 15 to get organized for action.

This push will not require you to go door-to-door or get signatures on petitions.  It will not require raising money.

All that is necessary is for you to talk to people you already know, in your organization, congregation, union, club, or family and friends, and persuade them to write the city council and mayor to vote the measure onto the 2020 ballot.

Please join us for a brief discussion 

At this meeting we will give an overview of the proposed ballot initiative and share suggested talking points for Council outreach.  We’ll leave plenty of time for questions and answers.

* * * * *
Background.

We came very close to getting the charter amendment on the city ballot last summer, but at the last minute the city council did not take up the issue.  This failure was bound up with the extended meet-and-confer process, and the intense counter-attack by those who prefer the status quo of ineffective civilian oversight.

A year later the meet and confer process appears to be winding down.  A number of Council members have promised to put a version of the amendment on next year’s ballot.  This is the version crafted by Mayor Arreguin and Councilmember Harrison.  It is the tamest of all the versions bruited about last year, but still stronger than the current toothless Police Review Commission (PRC).  The main advance is that it would remove community oversight from the domain of the City Manager, resolving a clear conflict of interest as the CM is the leader of the police force as well as overseeing the PRC.   Also, it provides the PRC confidential access to internal department data as necessary to fulfill its role.

Any initiative drive has two phases. The first one, qualifying for the ballot, is critical.  If Council votes the amendment onto the November 2020 ballot this fall, they will ensure that the public has a chance to vote for police accountability.  A coalition of community groups that has been working on this issue, the Racism and Criminal Justice Reform (RCJR) group, is not taking anything for granted.  We are planning a fall drive to inundate Council members with messages demanding they strengthen civilian oversight of the police.

Who is organizing this push?

The RCJR is a coalition of organizations and individuals with a long history of anti-racist and police accountability work.  It includes members of Indivisible Berkeley, the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, and local chapters of the NAACP and the ACLU, among others.  Alongside the charter amendment campaign, we are involved with the ongoing campaign for the City of Berkeley to take swift and effective action to overcome racial disparities in policing.

What is our immediate objective?

RCJR has a very realizable goal of organizing five hundred or more Berkeleyans to write or call Council in the next two months.  A thousand messages would be overwhelmingly effective.  We need to contact all nine Council members including the mayor, taking no one for granted.  Their promises aside, we know that political leaders are subject to pressure from all sides.  We must deluge the Council members to ensure they remember their promises.  Phone calls, emails, letters, office visits, council meeting comments, all help get the message across.

Resources:

Promote Progressive Policing

RCJR information sheet

Thanks for your participation in this historic campaign.  Always remember that this is a simple matter of justice.  Public safety requires the trust of the community, and a certain knowledge that policing is done impartially.  This moderate initiative will enhance public accountability and improve the policing experience for everyone involved.

Contact RCJR at:

racialandcriminaljustice@wellstoneclub.org  or
middeen@berkeleynaacp.com

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 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 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! 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

We’ll be holding our regular meeting of the Public Bank East Bay organizational group. We have moved the meeting to regular third Mondays, to make it more predictable and allow some new people to attend. We would LOVE to see you there.

Lots to discuss!

• We had a very successful kick-off meeting for our interim bank board, which happened to be the same day the bill passed the state assembly.
• We have fundraising leads, and we think that the legislation being complete may open fundraising doors. The business plan is absolutely our next step.
• 
  

  Proposed agenda
  1)      AB 857, victories and next steps
  2)      Interim board member meeting reportback and next steps
  3)      Fundraising reportback and next steps
  4)      Anything not covered

AB 857, the bill enabling local public banking has passed both California state houses! On Friday, September 13, we crossed the finish line. The bill now goes to Gavin Newsom, who has expressed public support for public banking in the past. He has until October 13 to sign or veto; if he doesn’t do either, the bill becomes law.

This has been an exhilarating, fascinating, complex, process. Literally thousands of people have been involved. Of course, we will keep you updated when the bill is signed, and when cities and regions start making public bank charter applications to the state Department of Business Oversight.

Please join us! Now is such a great time to get involved.

If you have questions or want to understand the group better, you can come half an hour early, at 5:30. Just let us know in advance.

For Your Reading Pleasure

You might appreciate this detailed, informative, and accurate article on public banking. (We love how the author calls us out as early participants in this initiative.)

Public Bank East Bay (formerly Friends of the Public Bank of Oakland) were at the forefront of these efforts. Activists there advanced the project so far that they were poised to found their bank even before AB 857 gave them an explicit way to do so. San Francisco opened a task force to explore the possibility and state and local treasurers began their examinations as well.  Quickly, it became clear that intermingling public funds with cannabis money would be bad politics and likely impossible as long as marijuana is classified Schedule 1.  But even with that issue off the table, the appetite for greater financial independence in the form of public capital sources was growing, and with more attention came more knowledge, more scrutiny, and more opposition.

The big banks ignored this effort as long as it was a handful of activists in a handful of towns. An effort to change statewide banking regulations, creating public entities that would compete with entrenched financial powerhouses, would not go unopposed. Knowing that the fight to create local public banks would be futile without unity with other California cities, and without the cooperation of regulators operating against a defined legal framework, organizers from these local movements founded the California Public Banking Alliance, with the primary goal of modeling and sponsoring legislation to make local public banks a reality. In one short year, this alliance mobilized activists behind legislation to do just that.

How to reach us

Email us any time.

9/9: Will be discussing issues related to this Crackdown and our strategy for the next 3 to 6 months.

9/16: We have many, many issues to discuss, including the forthcoming visit of Donald Trump and Ben Carson.