Calendar
For over 4 years, we have been fighting to hold McDonalds accountable for driving wages and working standards down. They pay poverty wages, often are perpetrators of wage theft and turn a blind eye to the needs of their workers.
Sexual harassment is widespread at fast-food companies like McDonald’s, which, too often, turn a blind eye to their workers’ complaints. Forty-percent of women working in the fast-food industry have been sexually harassed on the job – that’s 60% higher than other industries on average.
Women who speak out about the problem often face negative consequences from their employers, so many women try to confront the harassment on their own, or, even worse, feel that they have to put up with harassment to keep their jobs.
Workers and allies will be silent no more.
On Thursday we will be joining workers nationwide for a press conference about this serious issue. We will be meeting at 11:30 and beginning the press conference at 12.
For info: http://www.transitionberkeley.com or email: info [at] transitionberkeley.com
Sponsored by the BFUU Social Justice Ctee, Transition Berkeley, and the Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Wheelchair accessible.
For occasional email notices of peace/eco/social justice alerts and related events at BFUU, send any email to:
bfuusjev-subscribe [at] lists.riseup.net
For weekly notices of BFUU services etc. go to:
http://www.bfuu.org/signup.html
Press conference on the 6 Month Anniversary of Luis’s Murder by SFPD
WHAT: Family of Luis Demetrio Góngora Pat —a Mayan indigenous father, husband,brother, son, uncle—, refute the biased autopsy report released by the San Francisco Medical Examiner on the six month anniversary of his murder by SFPD officers. They also plan a march to celebrate his life.
WHERE: The Luis Góngora Pat Community Altar on Shotwell Street (east side), near 19th Street in the Mission District
IMPORTANT NOTE: Afterwards, we will join the Justice 4 Mario Woods Coalition @ NOON at 850 Bryant Street in a clamor to D.A. Gascón to press charges against killer cops. More information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/153890998400464/
ArtCar Fest celebrates their 20th year exhibiting around the San Francisco Bay Area! They will be displaying their elaborately decorated vehicles on 23rd between Valley and Telegraph.
You can view the entertainment line-up for Friday here. And check out what artisan and food vendors we’ll be featuring here.
As always, the First Friday street festival is free, but we appreciate your help to keep our community-art event affordable for vendors and accessible to our community.
Please donate to Oakland First Fridays today to help us thrive and don’t forget to bring cash ($5-$10) to the event.
All donations to Oakland First Friday are tax-deductible as we are fiscally sponsored by KONO.
Thanks for helping us thrive, and see you on Friday!
This year, the Arab Film Festival is going bigger and bolder than ever: we are honored to host the US premiere of Clash, the Egyptian entry to the 2017 Oscars. Tickets are on sale, and bound to sell out, so snatch yours right away. And we will be making a special announcement on Opening Night, you won’t want to miss it!
Described as “bravura filmmaking with a kick-in-the-gut message” by the Hollywood Reporter, Clash was widely praised after opening Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival just a few months ago. Mohamed Diab’s film is set entirely within a padded wagon, traveling through the streets of Cairo in 2013, as supporters of Morsi’s toppled government and pro-military supporters fight each other inside and out. It is a hard hitting, intense action movie that will leave you at the edge of your seat, while challenging you.
Synopsis: Cairo, summer of 2013 – two years after the Egyptian revolution. In the wake of the ouster of Islamist president Morsi, a police truck full of detained demonstrators of divergent political and religious backgrounds roams through violent protests. Can the detainees overcome their differences to stand a chance of survival?
Note: Clash is an intense movie, not for young children
Renewed Hope Housing is putting on a forum on affordable housing. October 8, 10 to noon, at the United Methodist Church. 2311 Buena Vista.
They have lined two speakers who have real knowlege of the problem and the power to do something about it- Victoria Johnson, Director for Housing and Community Development, and Debbie Potter, Community Development Director for the City of Alameda. The Alameda Renters’ Coalition will be there too!
THE 9TH ANNUAL LIFE IS LIVING FESTIVAL
LEGACY: A TRIBUTE TO THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
The Coup will rock the Life Is Living festival.
October 8th. Oakland. Defremery Park.
It’s free. pic.twitter.com/96n5eOZpa6— Boots Riley (@BootsRiley) September 16, 2016
This year marks the 9th Annual Life Is Living Festival in Oakland. Over the past 10 years, we have transformed deFremery Park (Little Bobby Hutton Park) from vacant to vibrant. We are indebted to the local West Oakland heroes and sheroes of The Black Panther Party for inspiring us to use culture as a vehicle for social change. That said, we are honored to pay tribute to the enduring legacy of The Black Panther Party at this year’s Festival.
Through efforts such as The Free Breakfast Program, we re-dedicate ourselves to sustaining the Panther’s revolutionary commitment to community generated solutions. From babies to grandparents, Life Is Living believes in intergenerational dialogue that honors the wisdom of children and elders. Our partners have been engaged in a year long process to envision, strategize and create a Festival that is inclusive, dynamic and democratic.
We hope you will join us for what is to be a beautiful day as we honor the 50 year legacy of the Black Panther Party.
Payday Loans, Panama Papers and Poverty
Why the fight to end extreme poverty is global, local and winnable
Keynote Speaker: Andrew Hanauer,
Campaigns Director at Jubilee USA in Washington, D.C.
We can heal our broken economy and build strong, safe and prosperous communities. Learn how predatory financial behavior from the East Bay to East Africa harms people and communities and what we can do about it.
Workshops will discuss predatory payday loans, anonymous shell companies, and how East Bay organizations, congregations and individuals can help stop the damage they do in our local communities.
To RSVP, email: Meg Bowerman megbowerman@gmail.com
FAME is a network of clergy, spiritual leaders, and people of faith who work to educate and mobilize communities to stand with low-wage and immigrant workers.
Jubilee USA is a coalition of 550 US faith communities working to address the structures and systems that perpetuate poverty and inequality here and around the world. Jubilee seeks to build an economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable.
Jubilee East Bay, a coalition of 20 congregations and individuals based in the Bay Area, works with Jubilee USA through education and local organizing.
Panelists: Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Steven Pits, Austin Long-Scott
RSVP – seats are limited. Call 877-687-1021.
Sponsored by SEIU 1021’s SEJ and Afram Solidarity Committees.
Beyond Occupy!
An art show with music and speakers, celebrating the 5th anniversary of the Occupy Movement, highlighting its achievements and the work that has continued since the heady days of October and November, 2011.
GA. Kitchen. Info. Medics. Library. Garden. Media. Labor Solidarity. Anti-Repression. Occupy Forum. Foreclosure Defense. Occupy the Farm. Strike Debt. Anti-Surveillance. Berkeley Post Office Defense. And more!
A bit of history: The Port Shutdown Video featuring Boots Riley.
We are fundraising for an incredible local resource, the Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area. The Step Up for Down Syndrome walk is a 1/8th mile lap around a flat track in a wheelchair accessible location. Folks can donate online or collect pledges in real life and bring them to the event.
Please donate, share the link, join the team as a virtual Walker, solicit donations offline, and/or come to the event as a refistered participant on October 9th, and generally support this fundraiser!
https://
WHAT: A community quilt making event in honor of Luis Góngora Pat. The family of Luis in San Francisco and our coalition in collaboration with our community allies at Praxis, Paseo Artístico and Alley Cat Bookstore invite you to help make a quilt in honor of Luis.
The finished quilt will be taken to his hometown of Teabo, Yucatán and delivered on November 2nd Day of the Dead to his wife, parents, and children.
This is a family friendly and community event!
HOW: Just show up and if you want to make donations contact Praxis (415-800-6601)
On Sunday, October 9th, join us at Mosswood Park near the ampitheater for a benefit BBQ and open discussion and update on the unfolding prison strike and how to support prison rebels in California. Organizers will discuss the September 9th strike, what has happened in the US and across the country, and talk about the situation in Merced county jails which joined the prison strike on the 9th giving a list of demands to the guards who proceeded to put the facilities on lock down. In response, the inmates went on hunger strike in protest of horrible conditions, brutal guards, and lack of access to basic food, programs, and legal services.
Bring drinks and/or a dish to share and come hungry. Donations will be collected that will go towards the Merced hunger strikers which will help them stay in contact with their loved ones and outside organizers.
Lastly, this BBQ is being organized to build support for a caravan to Merced happening the following week that will work to build bridges between the bay area and the central valley and hold a solidarity demonstration.
Organized by Oakland IWOC: https://
More info:
Merced Hunger Strike Interview:
https://itsgoingdown.org/
and
https://itsgoingdown.org/
Indepth Look at Reasons and Conditions Causing Hunger Strike:
http://
Many have been alarmed by the recent spectacle of law enforcement in full riot gear and armored vehicles moving through peaceful demonstrations. At first glance, it’s easy to suspect our police forces are preparing for war or terrorism instead of protecting and serving citizens exercising their civil rights. In Craig Atkinson’s disquieting documentary, such suspicions are reinforced as we learn that since 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security has given police departments $34 billion in grants to purchase equipment, while the Department of Defense has contributed additional billions in free military equipment. What changed and where are we heading? Have the War on Drugs and the War on Terror formed an alliance that apparently justifies the use of military technology, including preemptive surveillance systems on civilians? Sure to spark debate, Do Not Resist thrusts the viewer into the action on the streets and seeks to examine the growing culture of militarized policing.
A multi-faceted documentary filmmaker, Craig Atkinson is a notable producer, editor and cinematographer. Most recently, Craig was an additional cinematographer on documentaryNorman Lear: Just Another Version of You. Craig also produced, and was the co-cinematographer on feature length documentary Detropia, a lyrical exploration about the city of Detroit trying to re-invent itself in a post-manufacturing United States. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and won the Editing Award for U.S. Documentary. Detropia went on to win ten additional awards worldwide and was short-listed for an Academy Award. While in Detroit, Craig was also a cinematographer on The Education of Muhammed Hussein, a 40-minute short documentary exploring the Muslim population in the Detroit area. The film, made for HBO, was short-listed for an Academy Award in 2012. Earlier is his career; he was Enat Sidi’s (The Wolfpack, Jesus Camp) assistant editor during 12th and Delaware, an HBO film that takes a compelling look at the ongoing abortion debate in America. The film was an official selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Craig holds a MA in Visual Media Arts from Emerson College.
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PRECEDED BY
THE DEAN SCREAM
US 2016, 10 min
Director Bryan Storkel
A case study of how the media can take a simple, innocent moment in time and spin it into something completely different.
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A message from Kevin Pina:
Many of you are aware of my work in Haiti and the documentaries I produced about the struggle for justice by the Haitian people. While reviewing footage from the spectacle of violence created by the Oakland Police Department against Occupy Oakland protesters, I was often reminded of experiences in Haiti where I saw US Marines, and later UN military forces, draw their guns on those protesting against the 2004 coup.
Many times a brutal Haitian police blatantly gunned people down in broad daylight in their neighborhoods in joint operations with US Marines and UN forces. This was almost always followed by mass arrests in those same neighborhoods and a campaign to demonize the victims in order to justify state violence against those who would dare to resist and continue to fight. For me the parallels with Occupy Oakland are undeniable and as such, I would also like to share proceeds from this screening of #OO (Occupy Oakland) to support the work of the Haiti Action Committee as they continue to work in solidarity with the historic movement of the Haitian people for real democracy and change.
As fate would have it, October 9, the date of this screening, is also the day of presidential elections in Haiti where the possibility for real change exists in the spirit of the Lavalas movement and the candidacy of Dr. Maryse Narcisse. She carries a heavy burden of history upon her shoulders especially as the elections are being threatened with violence by those who oppose real change in Haiti as well as those would buy votes and use corruption to forestall change. This event offers an opportunity to also support her and the Fanmi Lavalas movement against the forces of violence and repression.
So please join us for this benefit screening which I hope brings together a community of activists and supporters of Occupy Oakland, the Oscar Grant movement and those fighting alongside our Haitian sisters and brothers. Please consider forwarding this invitation to your personal and organizational e-mail lists along with the attached event flyer.
Join us to share and work together to support these causes we hold dear as only our communities can.
Alone we are weak, together we are strong!
Sincerely,
Kevin Pina
Producer/Director
#OO (Occupy Oakland)
OccupyForum presents…
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
Making a Killing: Guns, Greed and the NRA
The Impact of Guns on America
Since 2004, when he made Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism, Robert Greenwald has become a vital and dogged investigator whose no-nonsense approach with its accent on digging up the profit motive is reflected in his titles: Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers, Koch Brothers Exposed, and the eye-opening and influential Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.
Greenwald’s new film, Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and the NRA, is a look at how money is the secret motivator behind American gun culture. It is a crucially underreported story — at least, if you compare it to the media’s focus on the gun-control debate, or to the drumbeat of nightly news tragedy that can be linked to the American obsession with firearms. Overall, gun companies from Smith & Wesson to Glock have given $20 million to the NRA, essentially funding the organization, which is why the NRA, before it’s anything else, is a corporate lobbying group.
Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and The NRA tells the stories of how guns, and the billions made off of them, affect the lives of everyday Americans. It features personal stories from people across the country who have been affected by gun violence, including survivors and victims’ families. The film exposes how the powerful gun companies and the NRA resist responsible legislation for the sake of profit – and thereby put people in danger.
The film looks into what we can do to put an end to this profit-driven crisis. Through this film and campaign, Brave New Films will work with partners to fight for a country where public safety is more valued than profit.
www.bravenewfilms.org/makingakilling
Announcements will follow. Donations to OccupyForum to cover our costs are encouraged;
no one turned away!
Join us at the Oakland Public Library to march over to the Board of Supervisor’s chambers to support the implementation of the reentry hiring program which allots 1400 quality, fulltime county jobs for formerly incarcerated people in Alameda County.
Join us for Press Conference and to pack the Board Meeting
10am-11am Press Conference
11am-4pm Pack the Board Meeting
We want to show our power and presence at the beginning of the meeting and encourage people to show up at any point and to stay as long as they can. Coalition members will be there until the very end with signage and ready to speak about the Coalition’s report on the impact and the alternatives to Urban Shield Urban Shield: Abandoning Hope not Building Hope .
The S.F. Bay Area Stop Urban Shield Coalition has been working hard to end the militarization of Police Forces along with other organizations and individuals considered to be first responders. Yes, we need to be prepared for emergencies/disasters, but we do not need our responses to be militarized. In the face of disaster, we need our first responders to act humanely and to put the needs of ordinary people first. Hence, we are asking you help us convince the Alameda County Board of Supervisors (BOS) to refuse funding for Urban Shield 2017.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors will hold its regular public meetings on at October 4th and Oct 11th. In a closed meeting, on October 14th, the BOS will vote on funding Urban Shield for 2017. Please help us convince the BOS to refuse funding for Urban Shield 2017. Help us convince the BOS to use available funds for building healthy communities.
Attend the next two BOS public meetings and speak out against renewing funding for Urban Shield. While the BOS does not control Urban Shield, it has the power to cut its funding. The next two BOS meetings are scheduled for: 9:30 AM on Oct. 4th and Oct 11th.
Join or stay in contact with the Stop Urban Shield Coalition at:
We can win but to do so, we need your help. We know time is short, but please take the time to do as much as you can either as a group or as individuals to Stop Urban Shield. And … please share this information with others.