Calendar

Monday, May 20, 2019
6:30 pm SHARP Rally
7:00pm Speakout
During Public Comment Period
at the City Council Meeting

Pittsburg City Council
65 Civic Ave
Pittsburg, CA 94565
(One block North on Railroad Ave Exit off HWY 4)
(Railroad Drive Stop at End of Line BART Extension Trolley)

Contact Info: 510-674-8181 or 925-565-8393 or email: oscargrantcomittee.ogc@gmail.com

Demand Number One: FIRE KILLER COP DILLON TINDALL
The people of Pittsburg are NOT safe with trigger happy cop Dillon Tindall on the police force. He has shown bad judgement in killing Terry Amons without just cause. At the very least, he must be fired to prevent further tragedy.

Demand Number Two: PASS THE RICHMOND ORDINANCE
District Attorneys work closely every day with the police and rely on them to get convictions. More often than not they turn a blind eye to police misconduct. We need laws and policies that hold trigger happy cops accountable. The Richmond City Council, responding to public pressure, passed. an ordinance to have an INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION of all police killings, to avoid this conflict of interest. Pittsburg and other cities must pass similar laws as a first step to justice.

Terry Amons, Jr., a 43 year old Black man, was. shot and killed by Pittsburgh police late Friday night on January 12, 2018, while eating dinner inside his car outside of Nations Burgers in Pittsburgh, as was his habit before going to work on his night shift job as a delivery driver for Presidential Propane Company. The police claim that Terry was reaching for a gun, but body cam video, which clearly shows Amons attempting to comply with shouted contradictory orders from two cops with guns drawn and aimed at him. At no time did Amons make any move toward the holstered pistol that was in plain sight in the central storage area between the front seats.

The video shows Amons complying with orders to place his hands on the steering wheel, then attempting to comply with frantic commands to “get out of the car” before being senselessly gunned down while attempting to comply.

We hold the Pittsburgh PD responsible for murdering an innocent Black man. Terry’s mother, Sandra, said: “They executed my son. The Pittsburgh Police Department (PPD) illegally, without a warrant, searched Terry’s home after they killed him.”. The PPD did not provide Terry’s family with the names of the officers involved. The Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights is the legal justification for withholding this information. Only months later did the Oscar Grant, Committee learn the names of the Police Officers involved: Dillon Tindall, who fired, the shots, and Jesus Arellano. According to the East Bay Times, the body cam video, shows Terry being shot by Tindall after. shouting “Do not reach for that fucking gun.” As Terry falls out of the car he continues fo say, “I wasn’t reaching for nothing, swear to God.” Then the officers handcuffed him. Terry died at John Muir Medical Center in Martinez.

The police claim they were responding to a drug dealing complaint that provoked the initial contact. No drugs were found on Amons or in his car.

The family is considering filing a lawsuit.‘ Family and friends of Terry Amons have launched an on-going struggle for. . Justice4Terry, along with the OGC, SURJ (Stand Up for Racial Justice), and others. So far, three monthly protest actions have been held with up to 60 energetic people involved. Monthly meetings to plan ongoing events are open to the public.

Join the struggle, for more info contact: 510-674-8181 or 925-565-8392
Or email: oscargrantcommittee.ogc@gmail.com

Click on Image to download PDF flyer

The Oscar Grant Committee . Justice4Terry Amons Committee

You can help! Join the Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality and State Repression
Born from the struggle for justice for Oscar Grant, murdered by BART police on Jan 1, 2009. We organize working class resistance in support of families whose loved ones were murdered by police.
JOIN US, our meetings are normally on the First Monday of every month at 7:00 PM at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Avenue in North Oakland
Confirm time at: www.oscargrantcommittee.org . oscargrantcommittee.ogc@gmail.com

Join Berkeley Copwatch for a training.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
– On the street
– When observing/recording
– Safely assert your rights
– What/how to document
– Respond to police misconduct
– Effectively observe the police in your community

This is a free event; snacks will be included! Bring your bodies and your buddies, as well as questions, concerns, stories, resources.

Check out the Berkeley Copwatch Know Your Rights Pocket Card here: http://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/resources/pocketguide05.pdf

Who or what is driving gentrification? How has gentrification played out in Oakland in particular? And what can be done to address the crises of displacement and homelessness caused by gentrification? Join East Bay DSA’s Socialist Night School on Tuesday, July 2 to discuss these questions and more.

Accessibility: The venue and restrooms are wheelchair-accessible.

Required Readings

See the readings that we’ll be discussing after a brief introduction from our members.

 There is a growing network of rapid response volunteers forming to help our neighbors in the face of Trump’s threatened ICE raids. And you can be part of it!

Join a training this Wednesday to learn how to document and film ICE raids, and help ensure that the law is being followed. Note that the role of legal observers is not to stop ICE activity, but to help lawyers in the court process by documenting any possibly illegal detentions.

At Wednesday’s training, participants will:

• Learn how to be a legal observer
• Learn how to verify ICE activity
• Obtain training on what your rights are when interacting with law enforcement

Participants will then be able to join a network of volunteers that is forming across the Bay Area and beyond to provide real-time assistance both to those facing deportation and family members left behind.

*** IMPORTANT! Please register at Eventbrite link so we can provide food for everyone. oaklanddistrict6workshop.eventbrite.com

For free childcare, complete the form by July 12: bit.ly/2EQjbro

For language interpretation, complete the form by July 7: bit.ly/2EQjbro

Wheelchair accessible workshop. ***

The City of Oakland is developing its 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan (ECAP) to identify how the City can equip Oaklanders (businesses and residents) to take critical actions to stop climate change, and adapt to a changing climate.

Oakland has a strong history of bold climate action and community advocacy. In October 2018, City Council adopted a Climate Emergency and Just Transition Resolution, calling for an urgent climate mobilization effort to reverse global warming, reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible, and accelerate adaptation and resilience strategies in preparation for intensifying climate impacts. This includes actions that create good green jobs, reduce pollution, and help Oaklanders thrive.

The ECAP is the tool that will make this happen. Come take part in shaping this important plan, to ensure that it reflects the District 5 communities’ needs and dreams!

What: District 6 Community Workshop – Oakland 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan (ECAP)

When: Wednesday, July 19
– Doors open and dinner served at 5:30 pm
– Program begins at 6:00 pm

Where: Rainbow Recreation Center, 5800 International Blvd in East Oakland, corner of Seminary Ave

Join the Oakland Climate Action Coalition, Environmental Justice Solutions, City staff, and your neighbors at the Citywide Community Workshop to share your vision and solutions for how the city can combat and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equitably over the next decade.

The Oakland Climate Action coalition has been holding community meetings in every neighborhood inviting everyone to help shape equitable climate actions that benefit existing Oakland residents with improved health, green jobs and better neighborhoods. Now this citywide workshop will help create Oakland’s 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan.

Dinner: 5:30 PM
Meeting: 6 – 8 PM

Info/RSVP

This workshop will discuss the legal and social history of whiteness and how this impacts us today on a legal, economic, social, and spiritual level. RSVP below!

After setting up the framework for how whiteness developed in the early colonialism in the United States, we will engage in discussion questions about our own consciousness around whiteness and the way whiteness  works in our workplaces and lives. Bringing the historical and the spiritual together, we will together imagine what is beyond white supremacy. This workshop will draw from research from the Racial Equity Institute and an emerging organization that Tracy helped to start called Freedom Beyond. Read Tracy’s blog post People & Planet Over Programs & Profit here.

About the presenter: Tracy Bindel is a current intern for the Sustainable Economies Law Center. She is a white woman who has spent the last four years working to organize (mostly) white people to dismantle white support for white supremacy through the Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Boston and through Freedom Beyond, an emergent collective that creates space for white people to face their whiteness in holistic community.  Tracy lives at the intersection of spirituality, justice, and alternative economies and loves creating spaces of ritual and practice in order to move people through grief and pain through healing.

Please REGISTER in advance here: https://forms.gle/LcZoL7uKySCghnMP9

This training will take participants through many of the strategies, tools and considerations of non-violent direct action, including power and privilege, de-escalation, blockades, legal, direct action organizing models, and the opportunity to form affinity groups. This training will be an important place to get plugged into for upcoming actions around the Climate Strike Week of Action beginning on September 20.

WHO: DiRT (Diablo Rising Tide, the San Francisco bay area chapter of Rising Tide North America.

Amber Cummings, a known fascist organizer is planning a rally, “No to Marxism in America” in Berkeley, CA on September 1st at Sproul Plaza. It is critical that the people of the greater Bay Area show up to resist their hateful actions and rhetoric. The ideology and presence of fascist forces are on the rise not only in the United States but around the globe.

Domestically, the U.S. government is carrying out the imprisonment of tens of thousands of Latin American migrants and refugees at the southern border who are escaping war and terror in their countries created by the imperialist policies of the United States. In the Bay Area alone there are over 55,000 homeless people living on the streets. We will mobilize against the fascists and we will not forget the daily oppression of working people.

This is the environment that allows fascism to develop.

Our plan is to meet at People’s Park (2556 Haste) at 10AM. We will rally there and march to Sproul Plaza at noon.

If you would like to co-sponsor this event or if you have an accessibility request, please email wewontgo@riseup.net

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.

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.

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

“Where do we go?” March to the West Berkeley Town Hall Meeting

Join the unhoused residents of the Seabreeze and I-80/University encampments in a march to the West Berkeley Homeless Town Hall Meeting. If you are housed, please march with us in solidarity.

Objective: This is a march to demand an answer to the question: “Where do we go?” Homeless residents at these encampments are tired of the constant harassment, citations, and arrest. All want a clean and safe place to stay. They want a lawful place to stay. Instead of harassment, they want an answer: “Where do we go?”

Where: We will meet at the Seabreeze Market, 598 University Ave, Berkeley, CA 94710

When: We will gather at 1:30 p.m, Sunday, 9/22/19. We will begin the march at 2 pm.

Route: Is approximately 1.9 miles. Exact route TBA. We will march to 999 Harrison Street, Berkeley

Want to Help: We need paper for signs, pens, water, food, rides back from the meeting, rides to meetings, etc. We need a bullhorn too.

Bring: Please bring signs, drums, etc. We will also make signs at the Seabreeze Market.

In order to raise awareness about the reality of the climate crisis, as well as the actions in the coming days, we will be disrupting traffic and performing outreach to every car stops. Low risk and high rewards, we’ll offer trainings day of.

Use swarms, banners, theater, dance & music to disrupt traffic & communicate with drivers.