Calendar
July 16, 2013 will mark the two year anniversary of the murder of Kenneth Harding Jr. who was murdered by San Francisco police at the age of nineteen for allegedly failing to pay a $2.00 transit fare. While the family still awaits information for an investigation of the police; the Kenneth Harding Jr. Foundation would like to call upon everyone to come together in solidarity to support a transit shut down against the San Francisco Municipal Transit.
MUNI Transit has to take responsibility for their role in this horrific murder. They request for police officers to conduct fare inspections within the impoverished areas and upon the “impoverished” youth and people of color. We want free transit for all youth; no one should have to worry about losing their life for not having transit fare, and/or not paying transit fare. No one should be racially profiled, stopped and frisked, and/or have their rights violated to determine if they have paid transit fare. Everyone should have the right to ride transit without fear of losing their life.
We are asking for full support and cooperation from all unions especially transit, organizations, movements, and our community members. We want mothers who have lost their children to step up and speak out with us on this day and allow your cries to be heard. We want to affect the city of San Francisco’s economic system in order to allow our voices to be heard. We are asking those who stand in solidarity against police brutality and those who would like to help organize and/or endorse the shutdown to contact the Kenneth Harding Jr. Foundation at (415) 505-6331 or you can email justice4kennethhardingjr@gmail.com
We are all still Kenneth Harding Jr., Alan Blueford, Derrick Gaines, Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Rhamarley Graham, Raheim Brown, James Rivera Jr., Gary King Jr., Mario Romero, Ernest Duenez Jr., and so many more…
THEY TAKE US DOWN WE SHUT THEM DOWN!
Tuesday, July 16th NOON – Community Bar B Que – MLK PARK 5701 3RD ST
Tuesday, July 16th 4:00pm – Muni Transit shutdown – San Francisco, Ca.
(SAME PLACE MEET AT THE SAFEWAY ON CHURCH AND DUBOCE)
Tuesday, July 16th 6:30pm – Vigil for Kenneth Harding Jr. on Kenny’s Korner @ Third St. & Oakdale
Tuesday, July 16, 5:30PM, City Council Meeting
Council is seeking to pass a resolution to administer a $2 million payout to major defense contractor, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for needed software and infrastructure to integrate “Phase 2” of the Domain Awareness Center (DAC) a mass centralized virtual data center for intelligence gathering in Oakland. If this gross violation of privacy has you concerned come out and voice your opinion on Big Oakland Brother the DAC to the Council.
http://oaklandwiki.org/Domain_Awareness_Center
Sign up to speak against increased government surveillance, Item 7.19:
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/CityClerk/s/SpeakerCard/SpeakerCard/OAK032373
Last night 8 year old Alaysha #Carradine was at Khamel Hardin’s apartment at a #sleepover for his age 7 daughter and 4 year old son along with his 64 year old grandmother when at 11pm a maniac opened fire on their apartment wounding the others and #killing #Alaysha. She becomes the 54th person to be murdered in #Oakland this year.
There is a rally for her at 6:30pm today, 3400 Wilson Ave, West Oakland.
ONYX, Justice 4 Alan Blueford, Advance the Struggle, People’s Community Medics and the Kenneth Harding Jr. Foundation are calling for a rally, march and vigil on Friday at 6 pm. ALL OUT FOR ALL OUR BABIES will honor all of the young black and brown men and women killed as a result of state sponsored terrorism.
Marissa Alexander, mother of 3, was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison, after firing a single warning shot into the wall to stop her husband from attacking her. She was prosecuted by the same attorney that initially refused to prosecute the murderer of Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, and was ironically denied protection under the Stand Your Ground law because she didn’t run away, but stood her ground instead.
It’s not just Florida, it’s everywhere in America. The foundations of these systems that govern are bigoted; they are built broken so they can break us.
We won’t stop, can’t stop, until prisons are emptied of women defending themselves from violence, of black and brown people, and of poor people. We will fight for Marissa, we will fight to defend ourselves, and we will fight for liberation!
Free Marissa Alexander – Oakland.
Let’s return to Wells Fargo CEO/President’s $5 million penthouse home to let him know that if our friends can’t go home due to Wells Fargo evictions, then he shouldn’t be able to go home either.
The Occupy the Auctions / Evictions campaign demands an immediate bank moratorium on all predatory or for-profit evictions or foreclosures of the 99% and a halt to all for-profit foreclosure auctions and evictions.
Buses Leave from OGP at Midnight
On July 21, 2012 Anaheim police murdered Manuel Diaz while he was surrendering and following police orders. He was shot in the head in front of his community. In response to the outrageous (and common) murder, community members began peaceful gathering outside their homes. The Anaheim police responded with extreme violence, unleashing attack dogs and shooting life-threatening munitions on babies, small children, elderly and everybody in range.
Now, on the 1 year anniversary of the murder of Manuel Diaz (which set of this chain of events), scores of families of police brutality victims (including the mothers of Manuel Diaz and Joel Acevedo) are calling on people of conscious all over California to unite for a mass march in Anaheim. Only a people’s movement can turn the tide against the epidemic of police brutality.
Facebook: Much more info & RSVP
Transportation:
Bay Area: Call 415-821-6545 or email answer@answersf.org
July 24, 2008 marks the last minimum wage increase in California.
While the cost of our basic needs–rent, groceries, healthcare, daycare, and gas–continue to increase, the minimum wage has remained at $8/hr for 5 years!
The City of Berkeley is considering a city-wide minimum wage increase, but opponents say that Berkeley workers don’t need a wage increase, and that those who work in the restaurant industry should be excluded if any increase does take effect.
No one who works hard should be living in poverty. We’re fighting to raise the floor for our lowest paid workers and to keep good paying, middle class jobs that allow us to support our families.
JOIN US! RALLY AND MARCH FOR THE MINIMUM WAGE!
5PM: Rally and March at Downtown Berkeley BART station
7PM: Berkeley Labor Commission meeting
North Berkeley Senior center – 1901 Hearst
Facebook
Initiating organizations: EBASE & FAME; Restaurant Opportunities Center; SEIU 1021; SEIU ULTCW; Unite Here 2850; ATU 1555; Our Walmart; Raise the Wage East Bay (RWEB); ACCE
A Proposal To Block Everything
The Zimmerman verdict reminds us that in the United States Black life is given no value by the forces of law, order, and property. While #hoodiesup shows a historical force drawn up in opposition, the direction of the protests is still uncertain. Some demonstrators call for a federal civil rights suit, while others draw attention to the larger structural oppression faced by black and poor people. Some want to stay focused on a single vigilante, while others draw the connection to Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, and Rodney King. Some want to ignore the institution of the police, while the rest of us know that Zimmerman is a wannabe cop, and that every cop is a wannabe Zimmerman.
Leaders urge peace, calm, and obedience. But even if peaceful rallies result in a federal suit against Zimmerman, will that change what brought us into the streets in the first place? Do we mean it when we say, “Never Again”? What would it take to actually stop all this misery?
Every movement that’s ever meant anything has given itself the means to disrupt daily life. If there is a common thread that runs through Civil Rights to Black Power, this is it. The simple question is how to become a force. Moments of disruption teach us new ways to relate to each other and our cities. Most importantly, they teach us that we are powerful. A determined people doesn’t have to rely on wannabe cops or politicians. That’s why the cowards caution us to obey the law over the call in our hearts. They know this—and it terrifies them.
“I’m not shocked, I’m outraged.” The murder of a black teen is not the exception, but the norm; we are coming to fists with normal life in America. Hence, #hoodiesup must disrupt the places that sustain this normal: cities, highways, trains, ports, social media—all the flows that compose the false harmony of America. The sit-ins in Pittsburgh and Florida, the marches blocking streets around the country, the highway takeovers in Oakland, LA, and Houston, all share a wisdom: every place that politics and commerce carry on as if nothing has happened is ripe for disruption. Block everything!
It is an “EMERGENCY SITUATION! WE HAVE TO KICK OUR SUPPORT OF THE HUNGER STRIKERS TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL!”
Meet us at MacArthur BART at 7:30 am for a day in Sarcramento – Speaking out, leafletting, rallying, banner-ing, and going out to the people. CALL US (510-926-5207). Facebook.
Statement by the Hunger Strikers.
Greetings of solidarity and respect to all of our supporters, all people of conscience around the world, and all similarly situated prisoners. You should know that once again our peaceful protest is making history, bringing international attention to our collective efforts to bring an end, once and for all, to the inhumane conditions and torture of indefinite solitary confinement.
We are being tortured each day by state officials (Governor Brown, his appointee CDCR Secretary Beard, and all his underlings). Increased retaliation has been perpetuated upon defenseless and starving prisoners who only seek what any human being strives for—humane treatment, dignity, equality, and justice for our families, loved ones, and ourselves. These are the fundamental rights of all people, including those incarcerated by the state. We are doing all we can, together with our outside supporters, to bring about a positive changes. Gov. Brown is not above the will of the people of California, and if he refuses to recognize the legitimacy of our human and civil rights struggle against the practices of this prison system, then it is the responsibility of the federal government and President Obama to use their powers to stop the harm being done to thousands of prisoners being held in solitary confinement.
CDCR officials are attempting to undermine the voluntary actions of prisoners who truly want better treatment and living conditions by wrongfully accusing us of forcing tens-of-thousands of prisoners across California, along with our supporters in the free world, to participate in our protest. Prisoners across the state are participating because of the inhumane conditions they are being subjected to. As HUMAN BEINGS prisoners are collectively resisting such treatment, and they are doing so peacefully. The attempted repression of our protest has not broken our spirits. In fact it has only helped to strengthen each of us—individually and collectively. Despite CDCR’s retaliations and propaganda, we remain steadfast in our commitment. We will see our peaceful hunger strike through to victory, even if this requires us to endure the torture of force-feeding. We believe at this point in our struggle we are prepared to do what is necessary in order for Gov. Brown and the CDCR to realize how serious we are, and how far and long we are willing to go to have our reasonable demands implemented.
We are hopeful that all those brave men and women across the state who are participating in this strike—all who are able health-wise—will be encouraged to issue public statements of their own, via media outlets across the country, letting the world know why they have taken part in this historic, collective struggle.
In closing, we want to inform the world that this hunger strike is far from over. We are in it for the long haul. Thus, we strongly urge Gov. Brown to return from his “get-away” vacation overseas and deal urgently with this crisis before more prisoners suffer serious health damage or death. If any deaths do occur, the responsibility for them will fall squarely on Brown and the CDCR in their callousness and inaction.
We believe that we will prevail.
In Solidarity,
PBSP-SHU Short Corridor Representatives
– Todd Ashker, C-58191, PBSP-SHU, D4-121
– Arturo Castellanos, C-17275, PBSP-SHU, D1-121
– Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa (Dewberry), C-35671, PBSP-SHU,D1-117
– Antonio Guillen, P-81948, PBSP-SHU, D2-106
The ONYX Organizing Committee, Advance the Struggle, People’s Community Medics, the Kenneth Harding Jr. Foundation, the Justice for Alan Blueford Coalition, Workers World, The Oscar Grant Foundation, Young Oakland, Healthy Hoodz and East Bay ISO call on the people to keep the pressure on the state. Not just for Trayvon but for ALL of the young Black and Brown lives that have been stolen by the state! We Need to STAY in these Streets!!!!!
A Rally in Direct Defense of our Post Office!
Our heritage is being auctioned off to privateers, as austerity and Congressional mandates squeeze the US Postal Service to the point of breaking. The same forces that want to privatize Social Security and prisons are now in the process of selling off Post Offices across the United States.
Come help save the Berkeley Post Office and send a message across the United States that our Post Offices – jobs, services, buildings and history – are worth saving!
– Starting at 1:00 pm at 2000 Allston Way (1 block from Berkeley BART), with speakers, music and dance, street theater, public forums, and a Birthday Cake to celebrate the founding of the Post Office in July 1775.
– We need everyone’s help to mount a defense that cannot be ignored.
– National Weekend of Action to save the Post Office, including actions at threatened post offices in the Bronx, New York; Portland, Oregon; Berkeley; Tacoma, Washington; and at the Southern Calif. offices of Rep. Darrell Issa, who’s leading the Congressional effort to dismantle and privatize the Post Office.
Help plan and run this event: Come to the organizing meeting. We need everyone’s help
Sponsored by: Direct Defense Action Team to Save the Berkeley Post Office in coalition with Strike Debt Bay Area.
Please show up at the City Council meeting at 6:30 PM, July 3oth on the third floor of City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland and tell the City Council what YOU think.
Fill out a speaker card on Agenda item 35 so you can let your voice be heard at the City Council meeting.
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/CityClerk/s/SpeakerCard/SpeakerCard/OAK032373
Read more here.
Send a message to Attorney General Eric Holder and Bureau of Prisons Director Charles Samuels Jr. that Lynne deserves compassionate release!
Long-time National Lawyers Guild member and activist lawyer Lynne Stewart needs our help and she needs it now! The Federal Bureau of Prisons has denied Lynne Stewart’s application for compassionate release, despite recommendations in favor from the warden at her facility, the Regional Office Director, and vetting of Stewart’s release plans by the Federal Probation Office in New York.
Lynne Stewart’s condition is deteriorating rapidly. Medical treatment to arrest the cancer that is metastasizing in her body has been halted because she is too weak to receive it. She remains in isolation, as her white blood cell count is so low that she is at risk for generalized infection.
For over 30 years, Lynne Stewart devoted her life to the oppressed – a constant advocate for the countless many deprived in the United States of their freedom and their rights. She, herself, was targeted and prosecuted because she defended vigorously her unpopular clients – people the U.S. government sought to execute, disappear, and demonize.
In 2006, Lynne Stewart was sentenced to 28-months. In 2009, she was resentenced to 10 years in federal prison in response to the vindictive dictates of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. In the fall, the Supreme Court will consider her Certiorari petition on the basis of both Lynne’s and her client’s first amendment rights.
Lynne Stewart’s prosecution and continued imprisonment are an attempt to intimidate all attorneys who would represent unpopular clients, particularly those accused of being terrorists. It is a message to those of us in the legal community who understand how important it is that everyone accused of a crime, especially those accused of the most serious crimes, have a capable attorney both able and willing to zealously defend them.
When BART workers went on strike July 1, the whole Bay Area was affected. BART hired a major union buster to put the workers on strike, then blame the workers in a highly visible battle to bring Wisconsin-style attacks to the Bay Area and drive down living standards for all of us. The 30-day contract extension expires Sunday, August 4 at midnight, yet BART management still refuses to negotiate, likely forcing the workers out again starting Monday, August 5.
BART workers represented by ATU 1555 and SEIU 1021 invite all workers to stand up against Wisconsin-style attacks in the Bay Area on Thursday, August 1 at 5pm at Frank Ogawa Plaza (Oscar Grant Plaza).
Special Guest: Bill McKibben
As the planet lurches past the ominous milestone of 400 parts per million atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, and Big Oil continues its irresponsible pursuit of ever more and dirtier fossil carbon to pump into our air, and local refineries begin to import Canadian tar sands for processing in the Bay Area, the moment has come to stand up to the industry that is wrecking our future.
Please join 350.org, several Richmond community groups, local unions, Gathering Tribes, Urban Tilth, Asian Pacific Environmental Network and others, three days ahead of the anniversary of the Chevron refinery’s (most recent) explosion and fire, for a march and spirited rally at the refinery’s main gate.
March: From Richmond BART to Chevron refinery
Rally: Main entrance to Chevron Refinery, Point Richmond
Article: Bay Area Battles Chevron’s Dangerous Tar Sands Refinery
It has been one month since CA Prisoners began a hunger strike demanding an end to indefinite solitary confinement and the cruel, inhumane and torturous conditions of confinement in CA Security House Units (SHU).
Stand in solidarity with CA prisoner hunger strikers as they enter their second months of an indefinite hunger strike:
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity.
STOP THE TORTURE!
One down and no end in sight… A bike ride following ART OUT! in solidarity with CA Prison Hunger Strikers, come out and help bring their message to the public sphere and wake up these sleeping masses. Let’s make their demand a reality!
~*In Memory of Billy “Guero” Sell*~
-Prisoner Demands-
• Eliminate group punishments for individual rules violations.
• Abolish the debriefing policy and modify active/inactive gang status criteria.
• Comply with the 2006 recommendations of the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons regarding an end to long-term solitary confinement.
• Provide adequate food.
• Expand and provide constructive programs and privileges for indefinite SHU inmates.
And in Support of the Hunger Strikers 5 Demands.
Bike for the Strike!!
Meet Up at 9 PM Friday August 9th at Oscar Grant Plaza.
Following Art Out 6-9 PM
Brought to you by Onyx, Young Oakland, & Hella Free Store
Sign Making & Bike Repair 2-6 PM
11:00 a.m. : Meet at the Berkeley Post Office, with signs and banners. Hear speakers, and sing with the music.
12 noon : March to CONNECT THE DOTS between FedEx, UPS, and the Blum Center at U.C.
Protest those who want to privatize our public postal service and eliminate union jobs.
We will then return to the Berkeley Post Office
There is a danger that the encampment may be raided and closed soon. Please support our
actions to protect our public property! See you Saturday!
SAVE OUR PUBLIC COMMONS
Committee to Save the Berkeley Post Office