Calendar

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Jan
20
Fri
Technology for Racial Justice @ Oscar Grant Plaza
Jan 20 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Connecting Racial Justice Organizations with Tech. Resources (part of the All Day Mutual Aid Fair: https://www.facebook.com/events/1862566130646162/)

If you’re with a not-for-profit organization or activist/advocacy group working on racial/social justice causes to support, defend, and uplift underserved and marginalized communities throughout the Bay Area and beyond, and could use help from technology resources, we’re here to help!

Fortunately, there are a growing number of people with diverse technical skills – often working in software start-ups and big tech companies, or as independent freelancers – who would gladly volunteer their time to support your technology needs upon request, for things like:

– Website set-up, hosting, and management
– Email newsletter setup and membership management tools
– How to create a crowdfunding page
– How to create and promote Facebook events
– File and document management & other cloud services
– Basic computer/wifi/website troubleshooting

Whether you work with a social justice organization or are a tech. specialist looking to volunteer, stop by our booth on #J20 for more information and to sign-up!

Are you a tech. person and able to volunteer at the event? Sign-up here:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fEPc-hOr3w71HGdHbzxT4muS5DkIGK1WWBfAVMxYTIQ/edit?usp=sharing

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J20 General Strike – Open Mic / Speak Out @ Oscar Grant Plaza
Jan 20 @ 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

NO WORK! NO SCHOOL!

#oaklandJ20 #GeneralStrike #DumpTrump #InaugurationDay

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Requiem for a Dream: A Resurrection of Hope @ Oscar Grant Plaza
Jan 20 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

A public interfaith ritual to give voice to the grief over our loss of faith in our nation’s public institutions and systems, looking toward a resurrection of hope through solidarity and community to strive for the world we imagine.

In light of the inauguration of a fascist, and in the week that we officially remember the radical legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., we seek to connect the dreams of our past with the hopes for our future.

This is a space to bring your grief, your tears, your mourning and anger, and to hold each other in love and healing. Together we will honor our feelings and honor our spiritual practices of hope. There will be chaplains on hand for those who wish to speak with one.

Everyone is encouraged to wear white (or other funeral garb for your tradition) and bring candles for the procession.
If you are clergy of any faith, wear garments that signify your affiliation.

The plan:
Gather at Oscar Grant Plaza (14th and Broadway, Downtown Oakland) at 5pm.
Procession at 5:30 in a mournful, solemn tone to Interplayce (2273 Telegraph), with stops for prayer and lamentation along the way in places that are historically significant for the movement for black lives and other struggles for justice.
Arrive at Interplayce around 6:30 pm for Interfaith Requiem Liturgy.

About the organizers:
We are an ad-hoc group of seminarians of many faiths studying at the Graduate Theological Union and our friends. We are committed to providing an anti-oppressive spiritual space for people to mourn. We welcome feedback and participation from people of all spiritual and religious backgrounds. We conceived of this liturgy in response to the grief that we and others in our many communities have felt following the election. We would love to hear in the comments section about what you, personally, are mourning and grieving right now.

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Jan
21
Sat
Woman’s March – Oakland @ Madison Park -> OGP
Jan 21 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Join women and allies across the country to stand for human rights, civil liberties, and social justice for all, on the day after the inauguration. Marches in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose will join the national Women’s March in Washington DC. The call to the national Women’s March describes its purpose as to “stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families – recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.”

The call continues: “In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government in their first day in office, and to the world, that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.

“We support the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us. This march is the first step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up. We will not rest until women have parity and equity at all levels of leadership in society. We work peacefully while recognizing there is no true peace without justice and equity for all.”

More information on the national Women’s March here

The Women’s March mission statement includes a commitment to nonviolence with a detailed description including, “attack forces of evil not persons doing evil” and “avoid internal violence of the spirit,” as well as embracing the concept of creating a “beloved community.”

Complete statement on nonviolence here

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Resist Trump – #OccupyInauguration @ Oscar Grant Plaza
Jan 21 @ 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm

This will be a family-friendly event to protest the inauguration of Trump.

We urgently need a movement to fight racism, sexism, homophobia, and Islamophobia!

– No Border Wall! Stop the deportations of undocumented immigrants!
– Tax rich millionaires like Trump! Fund healthcare for all! Make college free!
– Black Lives Matter!
– End rape culture — #PussyGrabsBack
– Stop the Dakota Access Pipeline — Green Jobs now! — #NoDAPL

The Democratic Party establishment claimed to be our only defense against Trump and the right wing. They have failed and now it’s time to create our own movement that can boldly fight against right-wing attacks on our rights and on our lives. It’s time to build a new party of the 99%, a mass organization which both runs in electi

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Women’s March- UC Berkeley @ Memorial Glade, Main UC Campus
Jan 21 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

We, in Berkeley and our surrounding cities, are joining others around the world on January 21 in championing human rights. The rhetoric of the past election cycle has insulted, demonized, and threatened many of us – immigrants of all statuses, Muslims and those of diverse religious faiths, people who identify as LGBTQIA, Native people, Black and Brown people, people with disabilities, survivors of sexual assault – and our communities are hurting and scared. We are confronted with the question of how to move forward in the face of national and international concern and fear.

In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March in UC/Berkeley will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We will stand together exercising our freedom of speech and of assembly , recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending us all.

We would appreciate support from your organization and would love for you to join us in our Women’s March in UC/Berkeley. We are reaching out to mobilize all defenders of human rights. We hope it will be giant step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up. We invite all groups participating to bring signs honoring their organization and showing that we, as collective people, honor inclusiveness and human rights. This is not an “anti-Trump” event as we don’t wish to be defined and limited by him. Polarizing or hateful messages are respectfully discouraged. Our goal is to leave this event feeling empowered with a strong sense of community as we stand in strength and solidarity with each other.

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Womens March Bay Area – SF @ Civic Center Plaza
Jan 21 @ 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm

he Women’s March is a national movement to unite everyone who stands for human rights, civil liberties, and social justice. There will be marches in D.C. and around the country, including in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose and other communities/towns/cities in the Bay Area.

San Francisco: 3:00-5:00 Rally at Civic Center, followed by 5:00-8:00 Candlelight march To Chelsea Manning Plaza (previously Justin Hermann Plaza)

The march represents the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families — recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.

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Holiday Appeal for Class-War Prisoners (FundRaiser) @ Oakstop
Jan 21 @ 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

front_ha_2016-17_flyer.pdf_600_.jpg

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Jan
22
Sun
Healthcare For All Alameda County Chapter Revival Meeting @ Berkeley Public Library
Jan 22 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
We are very pleased to announce that our Health Care for All-California Alameda County chapter is re-forming after a long slumber! The chapter will hold a chapter revival meeting with a movie showing of the brand-new documentary about #singlepayer health care “Now Is The Time”.
They’ll also discuss the upcoming campaign to get a #singlepayer bill passed in the California legislature in 2017. The meeting and movie showing will be at the Berkeley Main Library in downtown Berkeley on Sunday Jan 22nd from 1-4pm. Admission is free but we will take donations!
The library allows food at the meetings so we’re looking into supplying some snacks but we’d also love some food donations. And we’re looking for volunteers to help out with the screening, so if you’re interested please add a comment! We’ve got room for about 110 people so please RSVP here so we know if we’re maxed out. More details to follow! Thanks everyone for reading and spreading the word! Disclaimer: This event is not being sponsored by the Berkeley Public Library. We are only using their facility.
About Health Care for All California
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Occupy Oakland General Assembly @ Oscar Grant Plaza
Jan 22 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 3 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 3:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland.  (In prior years we have agreed to meet at 4:00 PM during summer hours, that is, once Daylight Savings Time goes back into effect).

On every last Sunday we meet a little earlier at 2 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

ooGAOO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over five years! 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

  1. Welcome & Introductions
  2. Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
  3. Announcements
  4. (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

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Open Circle @ TBD
Jan 22 @ 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Join families whose loved ones have been harmed and killed by cops. Hear their experiences, share ideas for further organizing, and, most of all, love and support one another. ♥

Agenda:
– Introductions
– Family Updates
– Announcements
– Collaborate and Network

*This is a potluck event, please feel free to bring a snack or (non-alcoholic) beverage to share. ♥

Open Circle provides an opportunity to build community with one another, to offer support to Families victimized by police misconduct, including police murder and stand with Families in their struggle for justice for their loved ones.

Location TBD.  Check Facebook.

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Community Democracy Project @ Omni Commons - Disco Room
Jan 22 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

The Community Democracy Project is your connection to direct democracy in Oakland! Convened out of Occupy Oakland in Fall 2011, we’re gathering steam on a campaign to bring the people back in touch with the city’s resources through participatory budgeting.

Picture this: Across Oakland, Neighborhood Assemblies are regularly
held in every community. People come together to tackle the important issues of their neighborhoods and of the city. At these assemblies, people don’t just have discussions–they learn from one another, from city staff, and they make fundamental decisions about how the city should run. They decide the city budget.

Democratic, community budgeting is a powerful step toward building strong communities, real democracy, and economic justice–and it’s being done all over the world.

The budget of the City Oakland totals more than $1 billion per year. Although part of the budget must be used for specific purposes, still over half of the budget–over $500 billion per year–consists of general purpose funds paid by the taxes, fees, and fines of the people of Oakland. The Mayor and the City Council decide the city budget, with minimal input from the community.

Working together, we will not only get a seat at the table–we will REBUILD the table itself. Participatory democracy is real democracy–join us to say: Local People, Local Resources, Local Power!

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Jan
23
Mon
Teach-In: Trump in the Middle East @ 340 Stevens Hall, UC Berkeley
Jan 23 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

As Donald Trump enters office as the 45th President of the United States, what might this mean for U.S. involvement in the Middle East and North Africa, including military involvement, economic ties, and diplomatic endeavors? Join CMES faculty affiliates and community members in an informal moderated conversation about what we might expect in the first 100 days and beyond.

 

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Friends of the Public Bank of Oakland @ Small Wonder, probably upstairs
Jan 23 @ 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Join us in promoting a public bank for the City of Oakland!

The Friends of the Public Bank of Oakland was formed by members of Commonomics and Strike Debt Bay Area in August, 2016.

In November, we succeeded in getting the Oakland City Council to instruct the City Administrator to report on the usefulness of a feasibility study for creating The Public Bank of Oakland. Our next goal is to convince the City Council to commission that study as soon as possible, and incorporate it into a business plan for a public bank in Oakland.

(The City of Oakland is planning a public forum on public banking in Hearing Room 3 of Oakland City Hall, on Thursday, February 9, 2017, at 6:00 p.m., in City Hall (14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland), Hearing Room 3 – Come and support creating our bank!)

After the Administrator’s report, we will lobby the Oakland City Council to pass enabling legislation that will create and fund a public bank for Oakland. Our overarching goal is to see a public bank flourish in Oakland while it helps the community, thereby providing an example for other jurisdictions wishing to rid themselves of their dependence on Wall Street banks.

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Occupy Forum: Working with the Homeless @ Black and Brown Social Club
Jan 23 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

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!

Father River Sims and Philip O’Donnell:
Working with the Homeless

 “Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”

The way River Sims tells his horror stories, calmly, barely raising his voice, poised like the Anglican priest he is, makes them seem all the more ugly by contrast. “He’s third-generation homeless,” says Sims, speaking in tones members of Old San Francisco might use to speak of their lineage. “His mother shot him up with heroin for the first time when he was 8 years old.”

Father Christian River Sims has been working with San Francisco’s homeless, junkies and sex workers, primarily in the Polk, Haight and Civic Center areas, for the past 22 years. His ministry, which he calls Temenos Catholic Worker (temenos is Greek for that which is abandoned, cut off or separated), is really just Sims, working out of a sparsely furnished one-bedroom apartment crammed with the things that he needs for his work. Sims exchanges 2,000 needles a week, which he gets from the Prevention Point needle exchange program. He also distributes condoms, clothing  socks aree a big draw with the rainy weather  and as much advice as people ask him for, about drug rehab or shelters or where the free showers are or anything else a street survivor might want to know.

Everyone knows Sims. He knows all their stories. He never gives them money, so they don’t ask. “I must have spent $8,000 on pizza the first year I was out here, trying to gain their trust,” Sims laughs. He survives on donations, gets food from the Food Bank, lives on less than $800 per month himself. It’s his life, usually five or six nights a week, from 8 p.m. until 4 a.m.

 “I am a priest­ who feels uncomfortable within a church building because I was condemned, and pushed out because of being gay; yet God pulled me back kicking and screaming.  In this life of contrradictions what holds me together is my faith in the living person of Jesus of Nazareth My resolve is to continue to follow him in his summons that “You shall love the Lord your God with your mind, strength and your soul, and your neighbor as yourself. I see Jesus in every one of the people I see on the street.”

Presenting with Father Sims is a young man he works with, Phillip O’Donnell, who is writing a book “Rise from the Mud� Breathe.” “My name is Phillip O’Donnell. I’m 22 years old and homeless here in San Francisco. Homeless with purpose. I have been trying to get an SRO, but the waiting lists are long and space is scarce. In the meantime, I sleep on the streets, Golden Gate Park, and when luck comes my way, a hostel or a generous person’s apartment. Although I am surviving, the lack of consistency makes it extremely difficult to move forward especially when the tendrils of my depression strike at my soul… Upon receiving housing, I plan to work for one of the organizations providing the services that are critical to my survival. I want to contribute to the effort to end homelessness as well as meet more people facing homelessness and learn their story in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the root causes of homelessness. Homelessness is, in part, a consequence of the flaws in the design of our civilization. If we can illuminate these flaws and how our civilizational design creates homelessness, we can make more effective efforts to help people get on their feet and keep others from facing this hardship. Also, I will continue working on publishing my first novel, Rise from the Mud, Breathe, and finish my college education.

As San Francisco contends with its growing population of people pushed out of housing and onto the streets, its mentally ill and people in need, Father River Sims can help orient and guide us as to how we can be most useful and take responsibility for our sisters and brothers on the streets.

Time will be allotted for announcements.

Donations to Occupy Forum to cover costs are encouraged; no one turned away!

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Jan
24
Tue
The Resistance Begins – Take Action Against Federal Cuts to Health Care!
Jan 24 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Rally. Hear from seniors, people with disabilities and families who would be affected by repeal of the ACA and cuts to Medicaid.

 

Then Come to the Health Care Action Center 

10:30 AM – 2:00 PM Lighthouse for the Blind, 1155 Market St., 10th Fl, San Francisco

or

Noon – 2:00 PM, Movement Strategy Center, 436 14th St., Oakland

Drop in to learn about ACA repeal and proposed Medicaid cuts, call member of Congress, share on social media, and make your voice heard.

Coordinated by Senior & Disability Action, Hand in Hand, SEIU Local 21, Independent Living Resource Center and Rapid Response Network.

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Public Meeting: What Strategy Can Defeat Trump? @ Oakstop
Jan 24 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Donald Trump is on a collision course with millions of people. He’s threatened to deport 2-3 million immigrants and to target Muslim immigrants for “extreme vetting.” Women’s reproductive health, democratic rights, and workers rights are all under threat. People are understandably afraid. But also, huge numbers of people are prepared to resist.

Trump’s agenda of hate and greed can be defeated by a strong enough movement centered on the social power of working people. Let’s not forget that previous generations have faced down and defeated war-mongers, hate-mongers, slave-owners, and billionaires, and they won.

But what strategy is required to take on Trump and his right-wing cabinet? Our movement can’t limit itself to playing defense – experience has shown that we must also put forward a bold left-wing alternative to corporate politics. Come to this meeting we’re hosting just days after he takes office so we can discuss the way forward.

SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE DEMANDS:
● No deportations! Full rights for all undocumented workers.
● Defend and extend reproductive rights.
● No cuts to healthcare, defend the expansion of Medicaid. We need Medicare for All.
● $15 an hour federal minimum wage.
● Black Lives Matter! End police brutality and the racist mass incarceration state.
● We need a Party of the 99%!

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Oakland Livable Wage Assembly meeting @ SEIU Local 1000 Union Hall
Jan 24 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Join us to fight for a livable wage for all Bay Area workers! We collaborate in principled reflection and action on what the Bay Area livable wage would be and where we are at on the right to a livable wage.
Living-wage

The Oakland Livable Wage Assembly builds Community and Power among those who seek higher wages and better work life conditions for area workers.

Our work together encompasses:

(1) The concerns of precarious, care and contingent workers,
(2) Campaigns to improve wages for low wage workers, and
(3) Efforts by unionized workers and unions to improve wages and quality of work life.

We share stories and information in an egalitarian and participatory way to build relationships and build the movement.

Oakland Livable Wage Assembly meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, 6:30-8:00 PM at the SEIU Local 1000 Union Hall, 436 14th Street #200, Oakland, CA

Please love and support one another ~ We have a duty to fight ~ We have a duty to win!

olwa.org

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1568668586707336/

Since 1978

 

 living_wage

 

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Jan
25
Wed
“When We Rise” – Cleve Jones
Jan 25 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

sm_cleve_jones_in_berkeley.jpg

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Jan
26
Thu
An evening in Oakland with the ACLU of Alameda County @ Oakland City Hall, Oscar Grant Plaza
Jan 26 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

With victories from reining in civil asset forfeiture abuse to ensuring that all those who are eligible to vote in California are able to, it has been an amazing year for civil liberties in California. Of course, our work is never done.

Join the Alameda County Paul Robeson Chapter on Thursday, January 26 at 6 p.m.at Oakland City Hall to celebrate our impact and learn what we can do to continue the fight for justice. Learn more about upcoming events & volunteer opportunities 

We are excited to feature guest speaker John Jones, III. Mr. Jones has been recognized by California’s 18th District Assembly Member Rob Bonta as the recipient of the 2016 Equity Champion Award for his work to empower underrepresented communities in the fight for social and economic justice. We will also be honoring Mr. Jones with the Grover Dye Activism Award – our chapter’s highest honor. We will hear from Steven Medeiros, ACLU of Northern California Program Coordinator, about potential civil liberties challenges under the Trump administration and ways you can plug in and get involved.

Please take this opportunity to hear about our chapter’s advocacy and learn how to become a part of the ACLU Alameda County Paul Robeson Chapter.

 

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