Calendar
Mayor Mark Farrell has declared war on poor folks… AGAIN! This time he has launched a full on attack and is sending out SFPD in force to cruelly sweep homeless people & encampments. You can read about it here… https://48hills.org/2018/
We are holding this community meeting to strategize how to fight back. Join us as we work together to end the sweeps!
We will meet at St. John’s in the Mission to hold a community meeting to strategize our call to action.
For more info, email Human Rights organizer Kelley Cutler at kcutler@cohsf.org.
Author Event: HABEAS DATA: Privacy vs. the Rise of Surveillance Tech
Kick off Digital Privacy Week with Ars Technicareporter Cyrus Farivar’s fascinating discussion of his new book HABEAS DATA: Privacy vs. the Rise of Surveillance Tech.
As technology has made our lives easier, it has simultaneously made it possible for all of our personal information to be collected. We are being watched.
Is it even legal? Come find out!
This week Occupy Forum is heading out to another location for several authors’ readings
The SF Tenants Union and the San Francisco Community Land Trust Present:
Amanda Huron, author of Carving Out the Commons: Tenant Organizing and Housing Cooperatives in Washington, D.C.
Provoked by mass evictions and the onset of gentrification in the 1970s, tenants in Washington, D.C., began forming cooperative organizations to collectively purchase and manage their apartment buildings. These tenants were creating a commons, taking a resource – housing – that had been used to extract profit from om them and reshaping it as a resource that was collectively owned by them.
In Carving Out the Commons, Amanda Huron theorizes the practice of urban “commoning” through a close investigation of the city’s limited-equity housing cooperatives. Drawing on feminist and anticapitalist perspectives, Huron asks whether a commons can work in a city where land and other resources are scarce and how strangers who may not share a past or future come together to create and maintain commonly held spaces in the midst of capitalism. Arguing against the romanticization of the commons, she instead positions the urban commons as a pragmatic practice. Through the practice of commoning, she contends, we can learn to build communities to challenge capitalism’s totalizing claims over life.
“Through interviews and historical research, Amanda Huron gives us an in-depth description of the formation of a housing cooperative in Washington, D.C. in the ’70s and develops a theoretical structure enabling us to generalize this experience to other cities.” –Silvia Federici, author of Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation
“Amanda Huron illuminates new ways of thinking what social justice in the City can look like. Her writing is rigorous yet upholds the dignity of the people she studies and their attempts to stake out a right to their city. Carving Out the Commons will be a go-to both for academics and organizers in the coming years.” –James Tracy, author of Dispatches Against Displacement: Field Notes from San Francisco’s Housing Wars
Agenda:
4. 5:15pm: Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – discuss methodology and department outreach for survey of existing equipment.
5. 5:25pm: Streetline Status Report. Review and take possible action on report.
6. 5:30pm: Vehicle-mounted Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) for Parking Enforcement. Review and take possible action on use policy.
7. 6:10pm: Oakland Department of Transportation/Vendor use of UAV/Drones. Review and take possible action on use policy.
FLUSH – The Documentary is the surprising story of what happens after we “go”, and a growing movement to change the way we think about waste.
Filmmaker Karina Mangu-Ward wonders if the unprecedented damage from Superstorm Sandy, the drought out West, and the future of our food supply has a lot to do with how we flush. So she gives herself a challenge: follow one flush from beginning to end.
FLUSH – The Documentary is the story of everything that happens next, and the cultural, political, and corporate forces shaping the way we deal with bodily waste in America today. Learn about our local wastewater treatment system at a brief panel to follow the film screening, and meet the Executive Director Shawn Shafter.
Public Meeting for the March for Our Health!
MacArthur Room at Oakstop
https://www.facebook.com/
Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series presents Danny Glover
RSVP 510 434 3988
Co-presented by the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center
and the Peralta Community College District
We won! After years of committed actions and struggle, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors has voted to end Urban Shield as of 2019. This would not have been possible without all of you!
The ongoing solidarity efforts of this coalition and visions of community safety have been our greatest power through these years and will continue to be the power that ensures that Urban Shield truly sees its end! Now it’s time to celebrate together, to honor the resistance that has gotten us this far and cheer each other on for the future. All are invited to join the Stop Urban Shield coalition for a night of food, drinks and dancing.
*Food and drinks will be available for purchase from the regular Reems lunch/dinner menu.
*DJ and dancing on the patio
*Indoor seating and slideshow: “Stop Urban Shield Through the Years.”
Accessibility info:
*Patio and cafe are located directly off of the Fruitvale Bart and accessible via ramp.
Come join us for the upcoming Repair Cafe, a half-day community gathering where some folks bring broken things, others bring know-how and tools, and yet others bring hospitality – and everyone brings goodwill and zeal for fixing. Though free, Repair Cafes aren’t free repair services. They’re participatory events – neighbors helping each other out, getting to know each other over coffee, baked treats, and repair projects, and squeezing more life out of the things they already have.
Volunteer fixers will be on hand who know how to repair all kinds of things – from lamps, clothing, and toys, to bikes, mechanical, furniture, electronics, and appliances … pretty much anything that can be brought through the door. The fix rate runs about 70%, so your item might not be fixed. It might even get worse! But together you’ll give it a good try and learn a lot about fixing along the way.
You can register or just bring your broken things, puzzle over them with volunteer fixers, then work together to see if you can bring them back to life.
Interested in becoming a Volunteer Fixer or Host? Great! Check the website to find out what it’s about and sign up.
Besides Fixing… We’ll have a cafe coffee, tea and goodies, perhaps repair tutorials, perhaps conversation with folks deeply involved in repair and reuse … all’s in the works.
Co-Organized by The Culture of Repair Project and Transition Berkeley
Immigrant rights activists, community leaders and people who have been directly affected by the immigrant detention system will gather in front of the West County Detention Facility (WCDF) for a people’s tribunal to hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office accountable for their culture of secrecy and systemic abuse.
The tribunal is one of a series of coordinated people’s tribunals across the country as a part of the #ICEonTrial campaign. The campaign comes with a rise of retaliation by ICE against activists, as the agency is emboldened to be less transparent and unaccountable and to act with increased impunity under the Trump administration.
Justice comes from the people!
La justicia viene del pueblo!
Who: CIVIC (Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement); Detention Watch Network; Pueblo Sin Fronteras; Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity; Let Our People Go
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CIVIC (Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement) is devoted to abolishing U.S. immigration detention, while ending the isolation of people currently suffering in this profit-driven system. We visit and monitor 43 facilities and run the largest national hotline for detained immigrants. Through these windows into the system, we gather data and stories to combat injustice at the individual level and push systemic change.
www.endisolation.org
Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a national coalition of organizations and individuals working to expose and challenge the injustices of the United States’ immigration detention and deportation system and advocate for profound change that promotes the rights and dignity of all persons. Founded in 1997 by immigrant rights groups, DWN brings together advocates to unify strategy and build partnerships on a local and national level to end immigration detention.
www.detentionwatchnetwork.org
Pueblo Sin Fronteras is a collective of friends who decided to be in permanent solidarity with displaced peoples. For more than fifteen years, members of Pueblo Sin Fronteras have been reaching out to the most vulnerable immigrants in the United States and to migrants and refugees on the move. We accompany migrants and refugees in their journey of hope, and together, we demand our human rights. We provide humanitarian aid to migrants and refugees on the move. Our dream is to build solidarity bridges among peoples and turndown border walls imposed by greed.
www.pueblosinfronteras.org
The Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity works to achieve an equitable, inclusive and healthy society, culture, and economy where the most vulnerable, disenfranchised and marginalized have equal opportunities and access to the resources and tools needed to achieve a dignified quality of life.
www.im4humanintegrity.org
Kehilla Community Synagogue’s Immigration Committee holds a monthly multi-faith, one-hour protest on site called Let Our People Go, on the second Sunday of every month. Let Our People Go is a youth-and-elder-friendly, accessible action that opposes the detentions/deportations and mass incarceration with activist debriefs, music, art, stories and representation from different faith communities (including faithful and faithless humanists).
www.kehillasynagogue.org/immigration-committee
Summon Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern to Appear at a People’s Tribunal
On Saturday, May 5, 2018 immigrant rights activists, community leaders and people who have been directly affected by the immigrant detention system will gather in front of the West County Detention Facility (WCDF) for a people’s tribunal to hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Alameda and Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office accountable for their culture of secrecy and systemic abuse.
The tribunal is one of a series of coordinated people’s tribunals across the country as a part of the #ICEonTrial campaign. The campaign comes with a rise of retaliation by ICE against activists, as the agency is emboldened to be less transparent, unaccountable and act with increased impunity under the Trump administration.
Justice comes from the people!
La justicia viene del pueblo!
Who: CIVIC (Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement) and Detention Watch Network
The SF Living Wage Coalition invites you to our spring art and literature gala. A celebration of cross-border unity and taking back the TRUE meaning of the holiday. MUSIC/ART/FOOD.
We will celebrate the two hundredth birthday of Karl Marx (b. March 5, 1818) with discussion led by three volunteers who will share their views on the contemporary significance of Marx: Antonio Trossero, an Argentinian labor leader and political exile living in the Bay Area; Eugene Ruyle, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Cal State Long Beach; and Raj Sahai, our ICSS member from India, and longtime Bay Area resident.
Sun, May 6, 2018: 1-2 pm
Planning Session
We get together after the morning session on the first Sunday of every month to discuss things in general and plan the schedule for our Sunday Morning at the Marxist Library forums. This is an open meeting. Everyone is welcome to help plan our future sessions. Please come with suggestions and concrete plans. Newcomers and Old Timers welcome
Wealth & Income Inequality: A Two-Part Workshop by Strike Debt Bay Area
Everywhere we look, everything from the headlines to our paychecks to the tents under the freeway remind us that rich people are getting richer and poor people are getting poorer. But it can be hard to understand exactly how and why that is happening. If we can’t understand it, we can’t change it. And change it we must!
After a look at the causes of runaway inequality in Part 1, we’ll talk about some fairer ways to provide economic security for all in Part 2. What do alternatives to corporate capitalism look like?
Part 1: How Corporations Move Money from the Many to the Few
Sunday, April 29, 11:00am to 12:45pm
Do you wonder what role racism plays in wealth inequality? Do you wish you understood exactly how Wall Street exploits Main Street? The answers are not terribly complicated, but they are shocking. We’ll learn about stock manipulation, financialization, strip-mining, redlining and more.
Part 2: How We Can Build a More Just Economy for All
Sunday, May 6, 11:00am to 12:45pm
Using our shared understanding of the problem, we will examine past and existing movements for change: what they are, how they work, and how they can grow. We’ll talk about better ways to make sure all have access to the basic necessities. Then we’ll discuss how we can keep the wealth we create in our communities instead of paying it into the bank accounts of global elites. In sum, what might a fair, sustainable, and joyful economic system look like?
We’d love you to RSVP to strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com so we know how many people to expect.
This workshop is free.
We’d love you to come to both parts if you can.
Wealth & Income Inequality: A Two-Part Workshop by Strike Debt Bay Area
Everywhere we look, everything from the headlines to our paychecks to the tents under the freeway remind us that rich people are getting richer and poor people are getting poorer. But it can be hard to understand exactly how and why that is happening. If we can’t understand it, we can’t change it. And change it we must!
After a look at the causes of runaway inequality in Part 1, we’ll talk about some fairer ways to provide economic security for all in Part 2. What do alternatives to corporate capitalism look like?
Part 1: How Corporations Move Money from the Many to the Few
Sunday, April 29, 11:00am to 12:45pm
Do you wonder what role racism plays in wealth inequality? Do you wish you understood exactly how Wall Street exploits Main Street? The answers are not terribly complicated, but they are shocking. We’ll learn about stock manipulation, financialization, strip-mining, redlining and more.
Part 2: How We Can Build a More Just Economy for All
Sunday, May 6, 11:00am to 12:45pm
Using our shared understanding of the problem, we will examine past and existing movements for change: what they are, how they work, and how they can grow. We’ll talk about better ways to make sure all have access to the basic necessities. Then we’ll discuss how we can keep the wealth we create in our communities instead of paying it into the bank accounts of global elites. In sum, what might a fair, sustainable, and joyful economic system look like?
We’d love you to RSVP to strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com so we know how many people to expect.
This workshop is free.
We’d love you to come to both parts if you can.
Please join us for our regular biweekly meeting of the Sunflower Alliance. We’ll discuss ongoing campaigns and plans for the future. Newcomers and old friends welcome — we need your participation and your voice.
Mobilization to Submit Reports to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
It comes as no surprise that the Trump administration seems to have failed to submit its report to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) by the deadline November 20, 2017. The Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute (MCLI) continues to reach out to the community to ensure that all forms of racism by the federal, state, and local governments in the U.S. are included in a shadow report to be submitted by MCLI and allies working in communities experiencing racism at the hands of the government.
With the election of Donald Trump racism in the U.S. has been amplified. The struggle of the Water Protectors at Standing Rock, the “Muslim Ban”, the repeal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the police violence against and mass incarceration of African Americans, harassment and criminalization of immigrant communities, and exploitation of immigrant labor are just some of the forms of racism that the MCLI would like to address in the upcoming report.
MCLI is holding this event to explain the process of holding the U.S. accountable for racism, to include the lived experiences of community members who have experienced racism at the hands of the government as well as social justice organizations working in communities of color, and to seek assistance compiling the report.
MCLI wants our shadow report to be as expansive and comprehensive as possible. The only way we can do this is with community input and assistance. Please come to this event to find out how your experiences can be included and how you can help MCLI compile this report.
There will be a presentation by organizers working with MCLI followed by a Q and A.
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
The People’s Community Medics teach basic emergency first aid skills free of charge “BECAUSE NO ONE SHOULD DIE WAITING FOR AN AMBULANCE.”
Currently, Sharena Diamond Thomas is the only first aid trainer at the People’s Community Medics and she has asked us, The Community Democracy Project (Oakland)* to help her find other folks in Oakland willing to help her do this incredibly important and life-saving work. We’re honored to help her out and invite YOU to come join us.
Feel free to bring food (and booze! because we’re also celebrating Shawn and Tia‘s birthdays!)
*The Community Democracy Project is an all-volunteer campaign working to turn the power structure right side up by putting the people of Oakland in charge of the city budget.
We document current events, make films together, steward an editing suite and share a film equipment library. We also host film screenings, often with local directors, and put on an annual short film festival for independent Bay Area filmmakers. Our goal is to make the digital filmmaking accessible – no overpriced college degree or certificate program required!
We are also a good group to reach out to if you’d like to screen a film at the Omni. We can be reached at [ liberatedlens@lists.riseup.net ].
We usually meet in the basement, unless otherwise noted.