Calendar
Pertinent agenda items:
4. 5:15pm: UC Berkeley’s Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic – presentation of draft Privacy Principles; review and take possible action.
5. 5:30pm: Federal Task Force Transparency Ordinance – OPD – presentation of inaugural annual report for FBI/JTTF; review and take possible action.
6. 5:40pm: Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – Hofer/Patterson – proposed amendment to prohibit use of facial recognition technology; review and take possible action.
7. 6:00pm: Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – OPD – Remote Camera Impact Report and draft use Policy – review and take possible action
Alan Haber is one of the creators of Students for a Democratic Society as well as a founder of the Long Haul in Berkeley in 1979.
Odile Hugonot-Haber is the co-chair of the US Middle East Committee of the Women International League for Peace and Freedom and co-operated Long Haul from 1986-1993.
This event will be a wide-ranging discussion featuring Alan, Odile and the audience on:
1. The history of the Long Haul and the history Berkeley politics in general
2. Their current peace-related and community work now
3. Activism over the long haul – from SDS in 1960 to the present.
Please join us for a presentation by Ralf Ruckus on his forthcoming book with PM Press, The Communist Road to Capitalism: Rupture and Continuity in China since 1949
“Since the reforms started in China in the 1970s, the CCP has never declared the official end of its socialist project, and its leadership still uses Mao Zedong and Marxism as ideological references. Meanwhile, Chinese labor activists use the same references today to justify their opposition against capitalist exploitation under the CCP regime. This confusion is reflected in the positions of outside observers. Some support the CCP’s ‘market socialism with Chinese characteristics’ while others criticize today’s system simply as state-controlled ‘capitalism.’ Often both positions remain blurred as central aspects of China’s socialist history and capitalist present get idealized and others diminished. Clearing up the fog and confusion is not a question of using the correct ideological terms but of following the actual historical trajectory. Ruptures and continuities define the past 70 years of CCP rule. Both were produced by social and political subversion ‘from below’ – from the protests around the ‘Hundred Flowers Movement’ in the 1950s to the strikes of migrant workers in the 2010s – and the regime’s repressive and co-opting counter measures. Thereby, the Chinese society was gradually (and in the end substantially) changed while the ‘red bourgeoisie’ of the CCP managed to stay in power to this day. How and why this happened, that is at the center of the forthcoming book (out in 2020). Its main arguments and conclusions will be presented and discussed during the event.”
Ralf Ruckus supports and analyzes social struggles in China and elsewhere. For more from him see Gongchao: https://www.gongchao.org
SURJ Bay Area is excited to invite you to a special event in Oakland, When We Fight We Win: Building Community Power to Dismantle the Prison System, featuring CURB Statewide Coordinators Amber-Rose Howard and Ivette Al, Sandra Johnson, Senior Organizer with Legal Services for Prisoners with Children / All of Us or None, and Eric Henderson, Policy Director of Initiate Justice.
These four incredible movement leaders will share insights from recent fights — and victories — in the struggle to dismantle the prison system in California, from repealing sentence enhancements, to shutting down jail expansion plans, to working to restore voting rights to folks on parole. Their stories will highlight the small and big ways you can also contribute to creating a more progressive vision of justice than mass incarceration.
All proceeds from this event will go to LSPC/AOUON, Initiate Justice, and CURB, with specific focus on supporting this year’s Quest for Democracy Day, an annual advocacy and rally day, led by formerly incarcerated people and families with incarcerated loved ones to bring their voices to elected officials in Sacramento.
Showing Up for Racial Justice- SURJ, Bay Area
A Member of Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Recent years have seen important fights – and important wins – in the struggle to dismantle the prison system in California. From repealing sentence enhancements, to shutting down jail expansion plans, to working to restore voting rights to folks on parole.
Come hear from four incredible movement leaders at the frontline of these struggles about victories, strategies, and the importance of campaigns and coalitions in the continuing movement to dismantle the Prison Industrial Complex. Their stories will highlight the small and big ways you can also contribute to creating a more progressive vision of justice than mass incarceration.
Featuring:
Sandra Johnson, Senior Organizer, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC)/ All of Us or None (AOUON)
Eric Henderson, Policy Director, Initiate Justice
Ivette Alé & Amber-Rose Howard, Statewide Coordinators, Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB)
All proceeds from this event will go to LSPC/AOUON, Initiate Justice, and CURB, with specific focus on supporting this year’s Quest for Democracy Day, an annual advocacy and rally day led by formerly incarcerated people and families with incarcerated loved ones to bring their voices to elected officials in Sacramento. No one turned away for lack of funds.
ASL interpretation available if requested by April 30th by 5pm.
TONY PERROTTET with Steve Wasserman
CUBA LIBRE! Che, Fidel, and the Improbable Revolution that Changed World History
Advance tickets: $12: brownpapertickets.com :: T: 800-838-3006 or
Pegasus Books (3 sites),Books Inc (Berkeley), Moe’s, Walden Pond Bookstore, East Bay Books, Mrs. Dalloway’s Books,
$15 door, This is a KPFA benefit.
The surprising story of Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Celia Sanchez, and the scrappy band of young men and women who followed them. Cuba Libre! is an absorbing look back at a liberation movement that captured the world’s imagination with its spectacular drama, foolhardy bravery, tragedy, and, sometimes, high comedy—and that set the stage for Cold War tensions that pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war.
Most people are familiar with the basics of the Cuban Revolution of 1956–1959. It was led by two of the twentieth century’s most charismatic figures, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Their movement successfully overthrew the island nation’s US–backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista, and has remained to this day an intense socialist provocation to the massive imperial capitalist country only ninety miles north of Cuba.
Less is remembered about the stirring amateur nature of the movement or the lives of its players. In this wildly entertaining, meticulously researched account, historian and journalist Tony Perrottet unravels the human drama behind history’s most improbable revolution: a scruffy handful of self-taught revolutionaries—many of them kids just out of college, literature majors and art students, including a number of extraordinary young women—who defeated 40,000 professional soldiers to overthrow the dictatorship of Batista. Cuba Libre!’s deep dive into the revolution reveals fascinating details. He describes how Fidel’s highly organized lover Celia Sánchez kept the male guerrillas disciplined, and he portrays a few of the North American volunteers who joined the Cuban rebels. He gained access to private letters, diaries, videos, and other documents no other historian has seen. Perrottet has used these as well as countless interviews to describe the years of guerrilla fighting throughout the Sierra Maestra mountains, the final victory march into Havana, the gradual building of a socialist state, and the accompanying Cold War tensions.
“Perrottet takes us far beyond the basic facts of the Cuban Revolution to the juicy details that remind us that history is deeply human.” — Chris Ryan, NY Times bestselling author.
Tony Perrottet, author of five previous books, is a regular guest on the History Channel and a contributing writer at Smithsonian Magazine. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the London Sunday Times.
Steve Wasserman, Executive Director of Heyday Books, was formerly a deputy assistant editor of the LA Times Sunday opinion pages, after which he became editor in chief of New Republic Books. He has also served as editorial director of Times Books and publisher of Hill & Wang..He returned to the LA Times in 1996 to become editor of the book review.
In partnership with the BART Office of the Independent Police Auditor and the Berkeley Police Review Commission, NACOLE is excited to announce that it will be holding one of the 2019 Regional Training and Networking events in the Bay Area. We hope that you will be able to join us in Oakland, California on May 3, 2019 at the Kaiser Center.
This event is geared toward a variety of audiences, including but not limited to community members, oversight practitioners, justice system stakeholders, and academics. It will seek to address many issues important to those who support, are interested in, or work in the field of civilian oversight of law enforcement. In particular, this training opportunity will take on topics such as civilian oversight of county jails, California’s new transparency laws, and information on the strengths and limitations of the different models of civilian oversight of law enforcement.
Please note that this event is open to all those wishing to attend. The registration fee for this event is $75 and includes training, continental breakfast, and lunch. Please note that no one will be turned away from this event for lack of funds. Registration fees will be waived or a donation accepted for those who find that paying the full registration fee would prohibit their ability to attend and who are not seeking CPO credits.
Lunch will be provided along with a continental breakfast. We also invite all registered attendees to join us for a networking reception that will be held at the end of the day from 5:00pm – 10:00 pm at Oakland’s Lake Chalet on the waterfront. The reception will be an opportunity for attendees to further discuss the topics of the day and will feature DJ Davey D (Hard Knock Radio/Co-founder of the Bay Area Hip Hop Coalition) and live music with performances by a number of Bay Area standouts including Troy Lampkins (Bass), Sanford Barnett (Guitar), Alcide Marshall (Drums), Mic Blake (Vocals), Cat Brooks (Spoken Word), Sistah Imina (Spoken Word) and Chris Burger’s Alphabet Soup & Luv Phenomena.
Should you need to cancel your registration you may do so by April 26, 2019. Registration fees will be refunded minus a $15 processing fee. We will not be able to issue refunds under any circumstances after this date.
Welcome to our 2019 schedule of literary conversations! These events take place on 10 indoor stages throughout Downtown Berkeley and on the San Francisco Chronicle Stage in the Outdoor Fair. Indoor events are accessed via a $10 Priority Ticket to guarantee your seat (link beside each event below) or with a $15 General Admission Wristband covering all events, all weekend, on a space-available basis. Since some events fill up, we recommend Priority Tickets for your top choices.
A few of the more political talks (scan all the talks and get tickets here):
Us vs. Them: Refugees, Asylum, and the Politics of the Borderlands
Aaron Bobrow-Strain, Jonathan Freedman, Steven Mayers, J.J. Mulligan Sepúlveda, Eileen Truax, moderated by Sara Campos 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
Unfriend: An Insider Reveals How Facebook Uses You and Threatens Democracy
Roger McNamee interviewed by Elizabeth Dwoskin 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
American Prison: Interview with Shane Bauer
Shane Bauer interviewed by John Diaz 12:15 PM – 1:15 PM
Beyond the Bars: Alternatives to Prison and Punishment
Lara Bazelon, Tony Platt, Albert Woodfox, moderated by Rachel Herzing 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM
Writing Climate: Literature of the Anthropocene
Charlie Jane Anders, Cai Emmons, Brenda Shaughnessy, moderated by David Wallace-Wells 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM
FESTIVAL KEYNOTE
Enough Is Enough: Fighting Economic Injustice
Anand Giridharadas, Robert Reich, and Kat Taylor; overture by Isheeta Ganguly; Introduction by Kate Harrison 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Sunrise is building a movement of young people to make climate change an urgent political priority and support the #GreenNewDeal to safeguard our generation’s future, create good jobs and transform our economy.
Check out more at www.sunrisemovement.org. Register here: https://forms.gle/LC7Ho9JGugEvq8eh9.
> WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE TRAINING <
1. A deep dive into the Sunrise strategy, story, and structure that make up the movement’s 4-year plan (This is a 9 hour training, with breakfast and lunch provided. We ask people to attend the whole training to get the full experience, and it’s a ton of fun! We promise!)
2. Lots of time to have fun and get to know other young people from around the Bay Area.
3. Hands-on practice and skill building to strengthen your climate organizing skills.
4. Time to dig into the Sunrise Bay Area strategy for making the #GreenNewDeal a political priority and join a team/sub-committee to help make it happen.
> WHO IS THIS FOR? <
It’s for YOU! Whether you’ve come to Sunrise Bay Area events and meetings before or whether you’re just finding out about Sunrise and the Green New Deal and are inspired to learn more, you are welcome!
This is a movement of young people – that means we have members of our hub who are high school students, college students, non-students, working young people, and more (generally between 16-35). People of all identities and backgrounds are welcomed and supported in this space. We are stronger when we join together, and we believe we need all of us to win. Join us.
East Bay DSA’s Medicare for All Committee is hosting a lakeside potluck picnic and you’re invited! Whether you have been active in our M4A work or are looking to get more involved, please bring a dish or drinks of your choice and join us!
Accessibility: Parking lot off of Bellevue Ave. Closest AC Transit stop is on Grand Avenue at Perkins Street, served by the NL, 12, and 805. Public restrooms available.
Opening Friday, April 5, please visit DESPERATE HOLDINGS REAL ESTATE & LandMind Spa, an immersive art installation organized by Cassie Thornton of the Feminist Economics Department (the FED). See our full website at http://www.desperateholdings.com.
Installation available for viewing through May 11th.
In 2015 Cassie Thornton, recently displaced from her San Francisco apartment, walked past the Salesforce Tower construction site in downtown San Francisco. Workers were digging 200 ft below, where they found Barbary Coast beams and thick clay-like soil. The foreman offered her and her friend a truckload of this clay, which would otherwise be sent to a toxic dump to be sanitized in Palo Alto. Since then Thornton has reconstituted, blended, and hoarded the precious clay, as liquid real estate. “At times the clay has had a home, even when I haven’t. The clay is beyond property, rent, and all the things that keep us from magic. If all I can do turn land into money, like any real estate agent, that is useless …. If I really had magic powers, what would this clay do?”
In this real estate office, we won’t sell property. Instead we will touch and hold liquid real estate sourced from underneath the financial district of SF as we imagine what it would mean to see land and our creative energies as a commons. The clay we share with our clients in this immersive installation holds the essence of the Bay Area. We are thankful for the millennia of land stewardship, reproductive labor, and revolutionary culture that has made this place so rich. Desperate Holdings is here to create new methods for land distribution which do not evict or destroy the very land and people who create this richness. In an artisanal process we have removed the toxic energy of real estate speculation by hand. For the first time in ages, you can safely touch, hold, or wear real estate as you transform into a future self, a person who holds and cares for land as if it was home.
This pop-up real estate office and spa has agents available to deal with your broken trust, lost hope and longing for a nonexistent stability. Bring your tight little pent up body over here and imagine what it would mean to see land and our creative energies as a commons, and vengeance as creative fuel. Real Estate Agents and Spa Technicians played by local artists, activists and healers, will be offering services and treatments that are meant to unravel fantasies of the good life as it relates to private property ownership on stolen land. These agents will channel their own precarious financial survival to help you heal your broken potential for finding escape, security or shelter.
What if the internet wasn’t about connecting to Comcast, AT&T, Google, or Facebook? What if it meant connecting directly with your friends, neighbors, and community…? Come over to the Oakland Public Library West Branch’s auditorium for the Build Your Own Internet (BYOI) workshop. Let’s discuss how the internet works, and how you can be part of the People’s Open Network, an open, community-owned mesh network.
* No technical expertise needed. Technical curiosity very necessary. *
Join the Peace and Freedom Party’s Alameda County chapter for the monthly Suds, Snacks and Socialism forum All are welcome to discuss the topic of People’s Park.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of People’s Park, the University is developing a new plan to destroy it. Michael Delacour, Carol Denney, Aidan Hill, and Eddie Monroe will discuss the history of the Park and the continuing struggle to preserve it as a community-run space.
Doors open at 2pm. The program will start promptly at 2:30pm and will wrap up by 4:30pm, but folks can stay and talk as long for as you like. All ages welcome!
The May forum on People’s Park at 50 is co-sponsored by the Oakland Greens, the Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party and Bay Area System Change Not Climate Change. The forum is part of our ongoing Socialist Forum Series on the first Saturday of every month. Our purpose is informed political discussion, and the views expressed are those of the speakers only, not official positions of the Peace and Freedom Party or our fellow co-sponsors.
Democratic socialist politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are calling for Medicare for All and a Green New Deal. Teachers across the country are striking for public education and winning, and tens of thousands of people across the country are getting involved in the project of building democratic socialism in the US. But what is democratic socialism?
Let’s talk about it.
Since the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign brought democratic socialism back into the mainstream, the Democratic Socialists of America went from about 6,000 members to 60,000 nationwide, making it the largest socialist organization in the US in more than 50 years.
If you’re a new DSA member or just curious about democratic socialism, come out to our What Is Democratic Socialism? picnic and find out how to get involved in DSA’s fight for democratic control of the things that matter on the job and in your community and the things we all need to lead a dignified life.
Did you see the New York Times article everyone is talking about (“When Uber and Airbnb go public, San Francisco will drown in millionaires,” March 7), on how the 2019 IPO boom in the Bay Area is going to make the housing affordability crisis even worse?
Just another reason to join us for a discussion with local author and highly successful housing activist, Randy Shaw!
We will discuss his new book: “Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America” and particularly how it relates to Richmond.
Together we will have a discussion about how to address the challenges Richmond is facing during this ongoing housing crisis, and how to fight racial and economic inequalities in our city. We need solutions to bring more affordable housing to our working- and middle-class communities, and we need local government to encourage and cultivate more inclusive neighborhoods.
This is your time to participate in this conversation. It takes a city to fix our housing crisis!
More info about Randy’s work can be found at https://generationpricedout.com
Big Green Wave Headed West Headed Your Way!
BFUU will share information on the Green New Deal, host a panel of local leaders, and provide time for discussion of local strategies for educating the public and getting politicians to endorse the Green New Deal.
Sponsored by BFUU Social Justice Committee
Welcome to our 2019 schedule of literary conversations! These events take place on 10 indoor stages throughout Downtown Berkeley and on the San Francisco Chronicle Stage in the Outdoor Fair. Indoor events are accessed via a $10 Priority Ticket to guarantee your seat (link beside each event below) or with a $15 General Admission Wristband covering all events, all weekend, on a space-available basis. Since some events fill up, we recommend Priority Tickets for your top choices.
A few of the more political and social justice related talks (scan all the talks and get tickets here):
The Heart of Hate
Bradley Hart, Bill Ong Hing, Arjun Sethi, moderated by Dennis J. Bernstein 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
The Uninhabitable Earth
David Wallace-Wells interviewed by Julian Brave NoiseCat 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
From Captivity to Power: A Remarkable Story of Women Rising Up
Julia Flynn Siler interviewed by Lauren Schiller 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM
The Unbreakable Human Spirit: Albert Woodfox on Survival in Solitary
Albert Woodfox interviewed by Shane Bauer 5:00 PM – 6:15 PM
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen called on 17 fellow refugee writers from across the globe to shed light on their experiences. The result is The Displaced, a powerful dispatch from the individual lives behind current headlines, with proceeds to support the International Rescue Committee. Join authors Viet Thanh Nguyen, Joseph Azam, Meron Hadero, and Somdeng Danny Thongsee for a reading and panel discussion. Hosted by Michael Tran.
Today the world faces an enormous refugee crisis: 68.5 million people fleeing persecution and conflict from Myanmar to South Sudan and Syria, a staggering figure more substantial than the flight of Jewish and other Europeans during World War II and beyond anything the world has seen in this generation. As this crisis mounts, today’s U.S. anti-immigrant policies have particularly impacted refugees from Southeast Asian, Muslim, and Latin American countries. New threats of U.S. deportations have risen. Since early October, U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement has rounded up over a hundred Cambodian refugees with deportation orders, making these the largest raids ever to target the Cambodian community. Nearly 2,000 Cambodian refugees are at risk of being unlawfully arrested. It is through presenting the powerful testimony of individuals experiencing refugee life that OACC strives to help shed more light on the challenges facing vulnerable communities living among us.
This program is co-sponsored by Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Eastwind Books Multicultural Services, Asian Health Services, Asian Prisoners Support Committee, and Southeast Asian Resource and Action Center.
Free, RSVP online: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/panel-with-author-viet-thanh-nguyen-tickets-58341543126
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
This is a pre-publication launch for The Battle for People’s Park, due out mid-month from Berkeley’s own Heyday Books. Get an early copy, and meet author Tom Dalzell. Join us, fifty years after, for this “only in Berkeley” event!
In eyewitness testimonies and hundreds of remarkable photographs, The Battle for People’s Park, Berkeley 1969 commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of one of the most searing conflicts that closed out the tumultuous 1960s: the Battle for People’s Park. In April 1969, a few Berkeley activists planted the first tree on a University of California-owned, abandoned city block on Telegraph Avenue. Hundreds of people from all over the city helped build the park as an expression of a politics of joy. The University was appalled, and warned that unauthorized use of the land would not be tolerated; and on May 15, which would soon be known as Bloody Thursday, a violent struggle erupted, involving thousands of people. Hundreds were arrested, martial law was declared, and the National Guard was ordered by then-Governor Ronald Reagan to crush the uprising and to occupy the entire city. The police fired shotguns against unarmed students. A military helicopter gassed the campus indiscriminately, causing schoolchildren miles away to vomit. One man died from his wounds. Another was blinded. The vicious overreaction by Reagan helped catapult him into national prominence. Fifty years on, the question still lingers: Who owns the Park?