Calendar
Author Lisa Fithian on New Book: “Shut It Down Stories from a Fierce, Loving Resistance”
Doors open at 6:30pm. Event begins at 7pm.
Our dear friend and long time direct action organizer Lisa Fithian has released a new book, called “Shut It Down Stories from a Fierce, Loving Resistance,” and we’re excited to host her in the Bay Area.
Details on the book:
For decades, Lisa Fithian’s work as an advocate for civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action has put her on the frontlines of change. Described by Mother Jones as “the nation’s best-known protest consultant,” Fithian has supported countless movements including the Battle of Seattle in 1999, rebuilding and defending communities following Hurricane Katrina, Occupy Wall Street, and the uprisings at Standing Rock and in Ferguson. For anyone who wants to become more active in resistance or is just feeling overwhelmed or hopeless, “Shut It Down” offers strategies and actions you can take right now to promote justice and incite change in your own community.
In “Shut It Down” Fithian shares historic, behind-the-scenes stories from some of the most important people-powered movements of the past several decades. She shows how movements that embrace direct action have always been, and continue to be, the most radical and rapid means for transforming the ills of our society. “Shut It Down” is filled with instructions and inspiration for how movements can evolve as the struggle for social justice continues in the Trump era and beyond.
While recognizing that electoral politics, legislation, and policy are all important pathways to change, “Shut It Down” argues that civil disobedience is not just one of the only actions that remains when all else fails, but a spiritual pursuit that protects our deepest selves and allows us to reclaim our humanity. Change can come, but only if we’re open to creatively, lovingly, and strategically standing up, sometimes at great risk to ourselves, to protect what we love.
A general strike is a strike action that includes a large part of the total labor force in a city, region, or country. General strikes are characterized by the participation of workers in a multitude of workplaces, and tend to involve entire communities. The idea of the general strike is powerful precisely because a massive and persistent withdrawal of labor can bring a capitalist city or even an entire economy to a halt.
The last general strike in the United States occurred here in the East Bay in 1946. One hundred thousand members of the American Federation of Labor shut down the economy of four local cities for two and a half days. Thousands of strikers took over the streets of downtown Oakland. It was an explosive protest against employers’ refusal to recognize the union of newly organized retail workers, and against police intervention to disrupt picket lines.
What touched off the Oakland general strike and why did it end almost as suddenly as it began? Why have there been no subsequent general strikes in the United States in over 70 years? Should activists on the left today be calling for general strikes? Or following Rosa Luxemburg, should we view general strikes as historical phenomenon resulting from specific social conditions?
To find out the answer to these questions and more, please join us for a special edition of Socialist Night School. Fred Glass, local labor historian and author, will be joining us to give lead-off talk on the history of the last Oakland General Strike.
Find the readings here: https://www.eastbaydsa.org/night-school/
You believe in making a difference, but when it comes to racial justice, are your actions aligned with your beliefs? The work begins with looking in the mirror. Without intentional learning and reflection, white people may uphold beliefs and systems that perpetuate injustice. Join us for an intimate and interactive workshop in which we will unpack how whiteness has shaped our lives and discuss how white people who care can take action for racial justice.
This workshop offers those who are new to racial justice work an opportunity to reflect on and analyze the role that whiteness has played in their lives. Through individual, small-group, and whole-group activities, participants will be invited to:
*Reframe racism as a system, rather than a product of individuals who are “good” or “bad”
*Reflect on how their own racial identity has influenced their experiences in the world
*Create a plan for taking at least one action in their own lives to deepen their commitment to racial justice
This workshop welcomes anyone who would like to participate, but it is especially well-suited for white people who are:
*In the early stages of exploring what it means to be white
*Seeking to grow their skills in analyzing and discussing the effects of racism
*Feeling ready to take action to create a more just world
Preregistration is required due to limited space.
Care about climate change? Want a Green New Deal? Join us! Learn more about how to participate in the September 20 Climate Strike and week of action!
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
Because of the conflict with Night School, we will be changing this event to 9/19, and will be holding it over Zoom.
EVICTION SUPPORT NEEDED: Tomorrow morning, Friday in Berkeley. Camp across from Seabreeze Deli, University & Frontage Rd.
CalTrans is coming between 7:30 & 11:30am. Come ready to assist residents and document. #WhereDoWeGoBerk— Indybay (@Indybay) September 20, 2019
We call for a youth-led climate strike march, going to different targets that are contributing to climate breakdown, leaving our mark to let these places know what we are fighting for. We will again start at the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and will connect targets in government, finance, and energy. For those that can’t join in person, we will be asking people to post on social media and tag our targets.
Demands:
1.WE DEMAND A SAFE, HEALTHY AND JUST PLANET.
This climate crisis threatens our ability to live. If climate change continues on this course, we won’t be able to eat, breathe, or have safe shelter. In order to successfully fight the climate crisis we are facing, we must also fight the systems of white supremacy, racism, greed, and exploitation that have led us to it. Fighting for climate justice means fighting for a world that is safe, healthy, and just for all of its inhabitants. We must enact climate emergency plans at the local, national, and international level.
2. WE DEMAND JUSTICE AND ASYLUM FOR PEOPLE DIAPLACED BY CLIMATE CHANGE.
Individuals and families displaced by climate change seek asylum in a safe place because they have nowhere else to go. Climate justice means abolishing ICE, closing concentration camps at the border, ending family separation, and creating inclusive new laws and regulations that treat everyone as human.
3. WE DEMAND POLICY BASED ON SCIENCE.
We have eleven years before the effects of the climate emergency are irreversible. We can’t afford to compromise with climate change deniers. We must enact immediate legislation based on scientific analysis of carbon emissions and the ways that climate disasters impact certain communities. Science clearly shows that global temperatures are rising dangerously, and that we are on track to face unprecedented climate disasters. We demand a Green New Deal, a resolution that lays out a science-based plan to reach negative carbon emissions by 2030.
4. WE DEMAND THAT PEOPLE, NOT CORPORATIONS, INFLUENCE POLICY.
Representation and transparency are vital for successful democracies; corporate money must be taken out of politics. We demand all politicians sign the “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge.” We demand Citizens United must be overturned and super PAC’s be abolished. Corporate funding and donations from millionaires and billionaires must be replaced with public funding of elections in addition to small-dollar donations. To ensure that every vote counts, we must restore the Voting Rights Act, secure automatic registration for every citizen above 18, and re-enfranchise those convicted of felonies.
5. WE DEMAND EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL.
The government must be for the people, by the people; all policies and decisions made must be for the benefit of all. Black and trans lives matter; the Equality Act must be passed. The rights of Brown, Black, and Middle Eastern migrants must be respected. Women deserve full reproductive justice, and equity in the workplace. We demand universal background checks and Medicare for All in order to ensure a safe and secure environment for everyone. We demand diversity and representation, and intersectionality must fuel the climate justice movement. Frontline communities must have a voice and leadership role, and we look to indigenous communities to lead the transition to a just and sustainable world.
6. WE DEMAND THAT HUMANS PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF NATURE.
Just as humans have rights, nature has rights. Humans have a moral obligation to respect and protect plants, animals, and ecosystems. We demand that the rights of nature be legally represented. This includes legislation to provide sanctuary for endangered species, regulate hunting, and end deforestation, pollution, destructive fuel extraction, fracking, factory farming, and unsustainable agriculture. All life is interconnected, and we must live in harmony with the Earth.
7. WE DEMAND A JUST TRANSITION
Countries and individuals that have contributed the most to climate change must be held accountable. We demand urgent climate action, including the GND, that protects vulnerable communities and create economic justice. Policies must respect workers’ rights ’to living wages and health care, young people’s rights to free, relevant education, and everyone’s right to affordable housing. To quote Movement Generation:
Transition is inevitable. Justice is not. A just transition is the process of getting from where we are to where we need to be by transforming the systems of economy and governance.
A just transition requires moving from a globalized capitalist industrial economy to linked local living participatory economies that provide well-being for all.
This September 20 – 27th, millions of people around the world will walk out of our workplaces and homes to join youth climate strikers on the streets to march and demand an end to the age of fossil fuels, corporate pollution, and environmental destruction.
Our house is on fire — let’s act like it. We demand climate justice for everyone.
Help us change the world.
Strike events on Global Climate Strike Day: Friday, September 20, 2019
- Berkeley Climate Action Coalition/Ecology Center Strike
- Friday, September 20th, 15:00 p.m.
- Ecology Center Store/Offices
- Berkeley, United States
- Berkeley Climate Action Coalition/Ecology Center Strike
- Join this event
- Students for Climate Action
- Friday, September 20th, 11:00 a.m.
- University of California Berkeley, Sproul Plaza
- Berkeley, United States
- Students for Climate Action
- Join this event
- Massive Sept. 8th Street Festival Lead-up to Sept. 20
- Friday, September 20th, 10:00 a.m.
- Solano Avenue Street Festival, Albany between Stannage and Cornell
- Albany, United States
- Massive Sept. 8th Street Festival Lead-up to Sept. 20
- Join this event
- Oakland-Laney Climate STRIKE Rally / Merging with Youth-led March in SF
- Friday, September 20th, 10:00 a.m.
- Gather at the Main Quad, center of campus
- Oakland, United States
- Oakland-Laney Climate STRIKE Rally / Merging with Youth-led March in SF
- Join this event
RICHMOND: 11:00 AM @ Richmond Civic Center Plaza, 450 Civic Center Plaza , Richmond 94804
Three documentaries will screen outside on the plaza at National Nurses United headquarters.
The art exhibition “Recognition: Labor Meets Art in Explorations of Social Justice and Identity,” will be open to the public during the screenings.
The films feature three locations where Registered Nurse Response Network (RNRN) volunteers have deployed to provide direct relief and response to humanitarian, environmental, and social injustice: Post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, Standing Rock, and rural Arizona. RNRN volunteers will introduce the films with stories of how RNs have intervened to provide direct care in support of social justice.
Big Charity: The Death of America’s Oldest Hospital
This documentary by Alexander Glustrom tells the story of Charity Hospital, from its roots in 1736 as a hospital for the poor to its controversial closing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The film features firsthand accounts of healthcare providers and hospital employees who withstood the storm inside the hospital and interviews with key players involved in Charity’s closing. Today the towering art deco building stands empty, and the community continues to suffer devastating consequences from its absence. Screens as part of “Recognition and Response,” National Nurses United’s fall outdoor documentary film series.
JOIN US TO SAVE CHELSEA & JULIAN EVERY FRIDAY
SAVE CHELSEA AND JULIAN FROM TORTURE AND DEATH
NEWS LETTER 10/11/19
Please sign up for our emails and alerts at:
https:/bayaction2freeassnge.org and watch “XY CHELSEA” go to SHOWTIME
“XY CHELSEA” clk free 7 day suscription.or free @
https://archive.org/details/XYChelsea
The Main Stream Media (MSM) is so full of lies, it’s got the masses confused!!
There are only a few places we can get the truth.Chelsea and Julian were two of
the most important WHISTLE BLOWERS to tell the truth about USA’s illegal,
immoral WARS. USA is one of the largest TERRORIST countries in history,
killing, wounding, and forcing emigration on millions of folks (did you know there
are 65 million migrants?) all over the world!!
Saving Chelsea and Julian is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!! To the Working
class and it’s Allies.They told us the truth about the wars! And all the NEW
McArthyism (phony Russia Gate conspiracy led by the New York Times) is
blaming Julian for being a puppet of Russia. So much of all our issues stem from
the honesty of Chelsea and Julian!! That’s why the RULING CLASS imprisoned
them and want’s them DEAD.
Please write letters to Chelsea (only hand written and no post cards or
pictures, or anything written on the outside of the letter) Write to: Chelsea
Elizabeth Manning, William Truesdale Adult Detention Center, 2001 Mill Road,
Alexandria Va. 22314. Also write julian writejulian.com
We need to hip people to YouTube shows, web sites and twitter feeds ie. –
twitter.com/xychelsea, twitter.com/defendassange, and wikileaks.org
– Definitely check out these specific links, and add comments and tell your friends:
– Real News Network – “Federal judge continues Chelsea Manning’s confinement
and $1000/day fine” https://youtub.be/qjywz_U_x1c
– The Jimmy Dore Show – “Chelsea Manning jailed again for
protecting journalism” https://youtu.be/bTqVNKXZYAY (89,000 hits)
– Chelsea Manning “Abolish ICE” https://youtu.be/R7qpQGGQqa8
-Orion song”WE will keep fightin everyday even though our tears won’t
go away!” youtube/DnF6pvX4478
– Chelsea’s scathing 7 page letter to the judge about the history of the SECRET GRAND
JURIES: – https://www.aaronswartzday.org/chelsea-manning-letter
Climate Emergency Discussion at City Council Meeting:
The El Cerrito City Council is expected to discuss a resolution to declare a climate emergency and request regional collaboration on an emergency mobilization effort to restore a safe and stable climate.
Please urge your city council members to join the other 9 Bay Area cities and over 800 jurisdictions across the globe to take leadership and address climate change as the global threat that it is. Remind the Mayor and City Council members to support a strong Climate Emergency Resolution that supports:
–An urgent citywide climate emergency mobilization effort to reverse global warming with all segments of the community to rapidly transition to zero greenhouse gases
–Reduction of city Greenhouse Gas Emissions as quickly as possible toward zero net greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2045, and a 50% reduction by 2030.
–A regional Bay Area-wide Collaboration on a just transition to a sustainable economy and to work to catalyze an urgent climate mobilization at the local and state level.
Come to the council meeting, and/or write your city council members. And please RSVP below so we can keep you posted on any last minute changes.
Mayor Pardue-Okimoto: rpardueokimoto [at] ci.el-cerrito.ca
City Councilmembers: jabelson [at] ci.el-cerrito.ca.us; gquinto [at] ci.el-cerrito.ca.us;
pfadelli [at] ci.el-cerrito.ca.us; glyman [at] ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
Link to the city agenda materials : http://www.el-cerrito.org/Archive.aspx?AMID=41
In the Bay Area, the following jurisdictions have adopted Climate Emergency Resolutions for regional collaboration on an immediate just transition and emergency mobilization effort to restore a safe climate: Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, San Francisco, Hayward, Fairfax, Petaluma, Cupertino and Richmond. Other CA jurisdictions include Santa Cruz and Mendocino Counties and the cities of Chico and Santa Cruz.
Matewan is an awesome film by John Sayles, based on a historic coal miners strike in West Virginia. Highly recommended!
PEOPLES PARK MOVIE NIGHT
a part of the people’s park potluck initiative
Free Popcorn!
Park movie Nights, every friday at 8pm:
bring food and friends to share
help build and develop this community of Resistance
Protect our Green space, trees, Community, historical landmark, free speech, social justice, civil rights, gardens, music, art, style, freebox, recreation, climate, ecology, education, sports
People’s park committee
peoplespark.org
Come along on a free walking tour which dares to name you as having an abiding inner Trump reigning in your bosom, and supplies an opportunity to exorcise that daemon.
The walk is about real estate and justice. The old story told plainly through San Francisco anecdote.
Join us in support of the Global Climate Strike. Learn, engage and find ways you can act in the fight against climate change.
Every day you hear daunting news about the negative effects climate change is having both locally and globally and the issues may seem too big and out of reach for you to make an impact. But don’t despair, you can act and make a difference. The Global Climate Strike is happening from the 20th September to the 27th of September in countries, cities and towns all over the world.
In support, East Bay Climate Action Network is holding a Rally and Environmental Fair. We will have exciting speakers, displays and representatives from different groups and organizations involved in environmental programs, who will educate and engage you, providing you with different ways to get involved. The second part of the event will give you the opportunity to participate in Action Groups working for change.This is a free family friendly event. Bring water bottle and blanket for lawn seating. East Bay Climate Action Network: Turning energy into action for a healthy climate. facebook.com/EastBayClimateActionNetwork #climatestrike globalclimatestrike.net
We turn 4 this year and we would love for y’all to be a part of the celebrations!
Cult Mind
Younger Lovers
Godstomper
Grosero
The Leave Me Alones
We will have raffle prizes and vendors!
And as always, we will have our usual narcan trainings and harm reduction supplies for our event!
Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library
Honduras: Refugees & Resistance
Our speaker will be Karen Spring, the Honduras-based Coordinator of the Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN), a group of over 30 organizations from Canada and the United States, website: http://www.hondurassolidarity.org. She has lived and worked in Honduras since 2009 and works closely with community-based organizations affected by US and Canadian foreign policy and investments. Karen has written or contributed to several reports about mining, militarization, and human rights issues and blogs at: http://www.aquiabajo.com
Karen is married to Edwin Espinal who was a political prisoner for 18 months and fought for his release as well as the freedom of over 30 political prisoners in Honduras. Her husband’s trial is pending.
Karen is on a speaking tour, sponsored by the Task Force on the Americas (TFA) to raise awareness and funds for political freedom and independence for Honduras.
About Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library
A weekly discussion series inspired by our respect for the work of Karl Marx and our belief that his work will remain as important for the class struggles of the future as they have been for the past.