Calendar

9896
Jan
20
Mon
March to Reclaim MLK’s Radical Legacy @ Oscar Grant Plaza
Jan 20 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

A great way to spend Inauguration Day — in community with other progressives at the 11th annual March to Reclaim Martin Luther King’s Radical Legacy, demanding “freedom from white supremacy, war, genocide, colonialism, extractivism, and imperialism.”

The event is hosted by Oakland’s Anti Police-Terror Project , which writes:

“Are you enraged because of the deepening facism and police state in this country? Disgusted and heart sick by the ongoing genocide in Palestine? Appalled at the attacks against our unhoused neighbors?

“Oakland will not concede to fascism. We knew no matter the outcome of this election, this system was never meant to serve the people: WE take care of US.”

 

78095
Jan
23
Thu
Learn about the CA Office of Health Care Affordability @ Online
Jan 23 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

The Office of Health Care Affordability, (OHCA), is a relatively new office tucked inside one department of California’s Health and Human Services Agency. Its three stated aims are to “slow spending growth, promote high value, and assess market consolidation”.

Doctors James G. Kahn, moderator, and Ana Malinow, presenter, are both single-payer advocates. Along with participating panelists, they will share information about the office and the actions it has taken so far and share their views about how it might impact healthcare in the state.

Until we shift to a single payer system, it looks like this office will be a focal point for proposing reductions in healthcare spending and changes in provider payment models. It will also study the effects that market consolidation is having on our healthcare.

Here is the event flyer. Click register to attend.
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NIBlnPaATMeaVeCa3D8DEg

To get some background and more out of the forum, you can acquaint yourself with the part of the bill SB 184 – Health that created OHCA in 2022. Scroll down to Section 19, and begin with part 127500.5. This section describes existing healthcare problems and needs along with the intentions and structure of the office.

This forum is hosted by The Movement to End the Privatization of Medicare.

78112
Jan
25
Sat
A Celebration of the Life of Howard Keylor @ ILWU Local 10, Henry Schmidt Room
Jan 25 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Photos of Howard Keylor in action

A CELEBRATION OF

THE LIFE OF HOWARD KEYLOR

 

Longtime “Militant Longshoreman” and political activist Howard Keylor passed away in October 2024, two months before his 99th birthday. His friends, family and comrades invite you to attend a memorial meeting and educational in his honor on:

 

January 25, 2025, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Local 10, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)
Henry Schmidt Room
400 North Point Street, San Francisco (near Fisherman’s Wharf)

Light Refreshments Will be Provided

 

A veteran of the Battle of Okinawa – an experience that led him to become an anti-militarist, anti-racist and anti-imperialist revolutionary socialist – Howard opposed the atomic bombing of Japan. He quit college to support Filipino agricultural workers in the 1948 asparagus strike and became a labor organizer and activist during the McCarthy period, joining the longshore union in Stockton in 1953.

 

Like the core founders of the ILWU, Howard fought to replace capitalism with socialism. During his decades on the waterfront, including twelve years on the Local 10 Executive Board, he initiated, organized and participated in countless picket lines and protests, most notably the historic 11-day strike in 1984 against unloading a South African container ship, the Nedlloyd Kimberley, and the 1986 community picket of South African cargo in support of the anti-Apartheid movement. (See the biography below for other actions Howard participated in or organized.)

 

Please Join Local 10 and Howard’s Friends, Family and Comrades in a Celebration of Howard’s Life and Work.

 

Howard Keylor – a Brief Biography

 

Born in rural Ohio, Howard Keylor attended a one-room country schoolhouse. He became a member of the National Honor Society when he graduated from Marietta High School.

 

After enlisting in the U.S. Army, Howard fought in the Pacific Theater in World War Two, during which he participated in the Battle of Okinawa as a Corporal. The 96th U.S. Army Division, which Howard trained with, had casualty rates above 50%. The incompetence and racism of the military command, the destruction of the capital city of Naha and the deliberate killings of tens of thousands of Okinawan civilians – a third of the population – made Howard a committed revolutionary communist, anti-imperialist, anti-militarist and anti-racist for the rest of his life.

 

Upon completing his military service, Howard enrolled in the College of the Pacific, but dropped out to support Filipino agricultural workers in the 1948 asparagus strike. During that strike, Howard began his lifelong association with labor leaders Ernesto Mangoang, Chris Mensalves and Larry Itliong. He became a longshore worker in Stockton in 1953. As members of the Communist Party, Howard and his wife, Evangeline, were attacked in the HUAC (McCarthy) hearings in San Francisco. Later, Howard transferred to ILWU Local 10. In 1971 he, along with Brothers Herb Mills, Leo Robinson and a majority of ILWU longshore workers, opposed the proposed 1971 contract which codified the 9.43 steadyman system. This led to the longshore strike of 1971-1972, which shut down 56 West Coast ports and lasted 130 days. It was the longest strike in the ILWU’s history.

 

In Local 10 Brother Keylor was a founding member of the Militant Caucus, a class struggle rank-and-file opposition grouping supported by the Spartacist League (SL), which based its work on Trotsky’s “Transitional Program” and published a regular newsletter, the “Longshore Militant”. The Militant Caucus was involved in organizing protests and boycotts of military cargo bound for the bloody Chilean junta in 1974 and 1978; and a picket of a ship carrying South African cargo in 1977. In 1975, the Caucus spearheaded mass picketing during ILWU Local 6’s strike at KNC Glass in Union City, during which picketers physically defeated police and scabs and won a contract for a workforce composed primarily of undocumented Mexican immigrants. Later, when the SL and the Caucus politically degenerated, Howard left the Spartacist League and the Caucus and published his own newsletter, the “Militant Longshoreman”, which was aligned with the Bolshevik Tendency.

 

Brother Keylor advocated deliberate defiance of the “slave-labor” Taft-Hartley law through illegal secondary boycotts and mass pickets. Running openly on the Transitional Program, calling for 30 hours’ work for 40 hours’ pay, breaking with the Democratic and Republican Parties, forming a worker’s party to fight for a worker’s government, expropriating the capitalists without compensation and creating a planned economy, Howard won election to the Executive Board of Local 10 for twelve years.

 

In 1984, Brother Keylor made the motion, amended by Brother Leo Robinson, which led to the eleven-day longshore boycott of South African cargo on the Nedlloyd Kimberley. Howard presented the motion to Local 10’s Executive Board, where it passed unanimously. In 1986, Howard participated in the Campaign Against Apartheid’s community picket line against the Nedlloyd Kembla. When Nelson Mandela spoke at the Oakland Coliseum in 1990 after his release from prison, he credited Local 10 with re-igniting the anti-Apartheid movement in the Bay Area.

 

Other actions that Brother Keylor initiated, organized or participated in included the successful mass picket by 1,000 union members which ran scabs off the docks at Levin Terminals in Richmond, in 1983; organizing a defense guard for the Oakland bookstore of the Socialist Workers’ Party in 1985, which fought off several hundred ex-ARVN Vietnamese soldiers; the 1995-98 struggle of the Liverpool dockworkers; the 1999 coastwide shutdown and march of 25,000 in San Francisco to demand freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal; the 2000 Charleston longshore union campaign; the 2008 May Day anti-imperialist war shutdown of all West Coast ports; the shutdown of Northern California ports in protest of the murder of Oscar Grant; the blockades of Israeli ships to protest the war on Gaza in 2010 and 2014; the 2011 ILWU struggle against the grain monopolies in Longview; Occupy Oakland’s march of 40,000 to the Port of Oakland, and countless other militant job actions and protests. Throughout his life, Brother Keylor always extended solidarity where it was needed. He was a revolutionary communist who fought racist police murders and fascist terror, defended abortion clinics, and fought for survivors of psychiatric abuse. Having grown up in Appalachia, he has always been an environmentalist, and helped shut down a Monsanto facility in Davis in 2012, as well as fighting pesticide use and deforestation in the East Bay.

 

Perhaps most importantly, Howard stood by and upheld the Ten Guiding Principles of the ILWU. They teach that workers should never cross or work behind a picket line, even if directed to do so by their union leadership. “Every picket line must be respected as though it were our own.”

 

 

78099
Peace Gathering with Presentations by 14 Activist Groups @ Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists
Jan 25 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Join us for a Peace Gathering.
This event, sponsored by the Humanist Mutual Aid Network (Hank Pellissier), will feature networking tables and presentations by 14 activist groups, an honor ceremony, Chilean & Aymara music, live texting actions, and a CodePink bake sale benefiting Prosthetics for Palestine.

Participating groups include CodePink, Veterans for Peace, Mount Diablo Peace & Justice Center, Berkeley Banner Drop, Nor Cal Sabeel, Prosthetics for Palestine, Taxpayers Against Genocide, Berkeley Network for Palestine, RACCOON, People’s Arms Embargo, Women in Black, Albany El Cerrito for Palestine, Divest Bay Area, and Doctors Against Genocide.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $5. Tickets are available at the door or through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/peace-gathering-tickets-1129756826079?aff=oddtdtcreator. Proceeds will support Myanmar refugees.

78113
Jan
26
Sun
Occupy Oakland General Assembly @ Oscar Grant Plaza
Jan 26 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

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

64398
Film Screening: “The Zone of Interest” @ It’s Your Move Games & Hobbies
Jan 26 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

The Zone of Interest is a 2023 historical drama film written and directed by Jonathan Glazer, co-produced among the United Kingdom, the United States, and Poland. Loosely based on the 2014 novel by Martin Amis, the film focuses on the life of German Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig, who live with their family in a home in the “Zone of Interest” next to the German concentration camp.

Join the Oakland Greens for this free community event: dinner starts at 6:30 PM PST and movie promptly at 7 PM PST.

The Oakland Greens Free Dinner & a Movie Discussion Series is a community event that runs January—October. Get in-persxn tickets and information thru:  https://www.eventbrite.com/o/the-oakland-greens-30818034656  or:   https://www.facebook.com/oaklandgreens  or just show up, walk-ins welcome. These community engagement events are held the last Sunday of the month January thru October.  All Oakland Greens events are held in community partnership with It’s Your Move Games & Hobbies 4920 TELEGRAPH AVE, SUITE B OAKLAND.

Express your green ideas and “like” us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/greenpartyofalamedacounty/

Participation and/or donations appreciated!  https://acgreens.wordpress.com/donate/
FLIER to print, post, distribute please:
https://acgreens.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/gpcaac_gs.png

78114
Jan
29
Wed
CLASS STRUGGLE UNIONISM IN THE ILWU AND BEYOND – PANEL DISCUSSION @ East Bay DSA Offices
Jan 29 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm


Panelists:

Bob Mandel, founding member of the ILWU Militant Caucus; OEA Executive
Board (ret.) co-founder, Adult School Teachers United

Tom Riley, co-founder, with Howard Keylor, of the External Tendency of the
iSt / Bolshevik Tendency

Mary Jane Galviso, lifelong Marxist, Communist and comrade of Howard
Keylor; founding member, Filipino Farmers Cooperative and its parent
organization, the Rural Communities Resource Center

Howard Keylor was a long-time communist militant in International
Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10. A veteran of the Battle of Okinawa, he
made the motion in Local 10 for the 11 day strike of the Nedlloyd Kimberley in 1984
against South African apartheid. For twelve years, Howard was elected to the
Executive Board of Local 10 on an open class struggle program which described
the government as the “executive committee of the capitalists” and the class
collaborationist labor leadership as its tool.

The Howard Keylor Conference Room at the DSA offices is named in his
memory. To dedicate the conference room, Howard’s comrades present a panel on
his work, beginning with Howard quitting college to support Filipino agricultural
workers in the Stockton asparagus strike in 1948, the bi-coastal ILA/ILWU boycott
of Chilean cargo against Pinochet in 1974, to the three community pickets against
Zim ships for Palestine in 2014, and more.

Link to event:
bit.ly/3Chw5zC

To learn more about Howard’s life:
http://bit.ly/42953VH

Audio and video about Howard:
https://linktr.ee/howardkeylor

78117
Feb
1
Sat
The War on Immigrants, and How We Fight Back @ Starry Plough
Feb 1 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Suds, Snacks, and Socialism
at the Starry Plough

The War on Immigrants,
and How We Fight Back

Please register in advance at
https://bit.ly/SSS_WarOnImmigrants
to receive your personal link to participate in this event online

Most immigrants come to this country to escape violence and persecution and to work to support their families. While Trump is virulent in his threats against them, politicians of both capitalist parties spew the rhetoric and advocate various policies including detention and deportation to ban immigrants, even while they and their allies benefit from their labor.

Join our speakers who will present a picture of what may be coming from the Trump administration and how we can resist.

David Bacon � photojournalist, author of Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants

Marisa Almor � community organizer, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant

Jesus Moctezuma � educator, organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation

*Organizations listed for identification purposes only.

Please help us celebrate our return to the Starry Plough by ordering food and/or drinks.
Please arrive early to place your order so that you do not miss any of the presentations.
An open discussion will follow the presentations.
We will be accepting donations which will be divided among the sponsoring organizations.

This event is sponsored by the Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party,
the Alameda County Green Party and Bay Area System Change Not Climate Change.

For more information email <info@sudssnackssocialism.org>

78120
Feb
2
Sun
Maduro Assumes a Third Term – Prospects and Problematics for Venezuela @ Online
Feb 2 @ 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

Speaker: Roger D. Harris

To Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85175860127?pwd=bfZRQOSMuhX9Pfm4qhPMOZMrmE9Ohm.1

Forecasts are favorable for Venezuela’s quarter-century-old Bolivarian Revolution. Initiated by Hugo Chávez and seamlessly carried forward by Nicolás Maduro, it is threatened by an increasingly aggressive Yankee hegemon. Venezuela’s regional role will be pivotal with key left-leaning presidents in Brazil and Colombia up for reelection in the next two years.

Our speaker, Roger D. Harris, accompanied the January 10 presidential election in Venezuela and the concurrent antifascist conference. He will report back on what happened there as well as on Washington’s campaign to delegitimize the country’s Bolivarian Revolution with the ultimate aim of regime change.

Roger is on the executive committee of the US Peace Council. He is active with the anti-imperialist human rights group Task Force on the Americas, the SanctionsKill Campaign against unilateral coercive measures, is a founding member of the Venezuela Solidarity Network, and is on the secretariat of the US Peace Council. He is also on the ICSS program committee.

Some of the recent articles by or co-authored by Roger on Venezuela and Latin America:

****************************

 

 

 

 

 

78118
Healthcare For All California @ Online
Feb 2 @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

We are living in a time like no other, with incredible challenges to our democracy and to communities. Thankfully, our strong values continue to drive productive work, with common goals. Health Care for All – California’s work is focused on helping create an equitable, efficient, cost-effective healthcare system for all Californians, from birth to death. Given the current political climate, we realize that there are major challenges right now to such changes. But great progress has been made over the years in educating the public, producing studies that validate the goal we seek, and writing legislation that is moving us in the right direction. Public opinion and increasingly the opinion of healthcare providers are on our side.

Please join us at our first 2025 chapter zoom meeting

Sunday, February 2, 2025

from 3:00 – 5:00 PM

Links to December Draft Meeting Notes and Agenda – including ZOOM link

78115
Occupy Oakland General Assembly @ Oscar Grant Plaza
Feb 2 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

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

64398
Feb
3
Mon
Oscar Grant Committee Meeting @ Zoom Meeting
Feb 3 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Because of the COVID pandemic we will be meeting virtually via Zoom on the first Monday of the month.

Meeting ID: 828 0976 4186

If you wish to get the password please subscribe to the Oscar Grant Committee mailing list by sending an email to:

The Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality & State Repression (OGC) is a grassroots democratic organization that was formed as a conscious united front for justice against police brutality. The OGC is involved in the struggle for police accountability and is committed to stopping police brutality.

In alliance with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) we organized the October 23, 2010 labor and community rally for Justice for Oscar Grant. On that day the ILWU shut down the Bay Area ports in solidarity. Our mission is to educate, organize and mobilize people against police and state repression. Sisters and brothers! The Oscar Grant Committee invites you to join us in this vital struggle.

We meet on the 1st Monday of each month
You can join our discussion list by sending a blank (doesn’t even need a subject) email to

oscargrantcommittee-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

63650
Feb
4
Tue
ACLU Town Hall: Fighting Trump’s First Attacks @ Online
Feb 4 @ 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Join us in this critical fight and secure your spot at our upcoming town hall by RSVPing now.

ACLU Town Hall:

Fighting Trump’s First Attacks

RSVP

The town hall will focus on the ACLU’s response to the Trump administration’s very first actions in office, including attempts to end birthright citizenship, shut down the southern border to asylum seekers, ban health care for transgender youth, and dismantle the core principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

AJ Hikes, ACLU Deputy Executive Director for Strategy & Culture, will be the moderator, joined by a panel of the ACLU’s leadership team:

  • Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Executive Director
  • Cecillia Wang, ACLU National Legal Director
  • John Gilbert, ACLU National Organizing Director
  • Naureen Shah, ACLU Deputy Director of Government Affairs, Equality Division
  • Chase Strangio, ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project Co-Director


They will provide key insights into the ACLU’s response to the Trump administration, from litigation to advocacy and grassroots organizing, as well as the crucial role states and cities have to play in protecting our freedoms. Importantly, more than just a briefing, the town hall will be a space for community and solidarity as we work to defend our democracy and advance the fight for justice and equality.

RSVP right now to receive a link to the virtual event and to submit your questions in advance.

78121
Feb
9
Sun
Occupy Oakland General Assembly @ Oscar Grant Plaza
Feb 9 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

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

64398
U.S. Middle East Policy Under Trump: How it Will Differ (and How it Won’t) from Biden  @ Online
Feb 9 @ 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88083342274

A second Trump administration will push U.S. policy in the Middle East in a very dangerous direction. Already, Trump has thrown his weight behind the most extremist elements in Israel while effectively renouncing international legal precedence, embracing Arab dictatorships, and making the U.S. very much of an outlier even among our pro-Western allies. However, the Biden administration pursued many of these dangerous policies as well. As a result, supporters of Palestinian rights–and proponents of human rights and international law in general–must be willing to challenge the leadership of both political parties in the coming months and years.

Dr. Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he served as founding director of the program in Middle Eastern Studies. Recognized as one the country’s leading scholars of U.S. Middle East policy and of strategic nonviolent action, Zunes has served as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies, an associate editor of Peace Review, and a contributing editor of Tikkun.

He is also the principal editor of “Nonviolent Social Movements” (1999), author of the highly acclaimed “Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism” (2003) and co-author (with Jacob Mundy) of “Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution” (second revised expanded edition, 2022.)

Zunes was the recipient of the 2015 Dean’s Scholar Award from USF’s College of Arts and Sciences and, in 2002, he won recognition from the Peace and Justice Studies Association as their first Peace Scholar of the Year. He is also a frequent contributor to periodicals and major daily newspapers on four continents and has also served as a consultant and board member for a number of peace and human rights organizations in both the United States and overseas.

Green Sundays are a series of free public programs & discussions on topics “du jour” sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County and held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party follows at 7:00 pm, after a 30-minute break. Council meetings are open to anyone who is interested.

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88083342274

Meeting ID: 880 8334 2274
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/k39IUnw59

78122
Feb
10
Mon
Oakland Tenants Union monthly meeting @ Madison Park Apartments, community room
Feb 10 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

OTU’s Mission

The Oakland Tenants Union is an organization of housing activists dedicated to protecting tenant rights and interests. OTU does this by working directly with tenants in their struggle with landlords, impacting legislation and public policy about housing, community education, and working with other organizations committed to furthering renters’ rights. The Oakland Tenants Union is open to anyone who shares our core values and who believes that tenants themselves have the primary responsibility to work on their own behalf.

Monthly Meetings

The Oakland Tenants Union meets regularly at 7:00 pm on the second Monday evening of each month. Our monthly meetings are held in the Community Room of the Madison Park Apartments, 100 – 9th Street (at Oak Street, across from the Lake Merritt BART Station). To enter, gently knock on the window of the room to the right of the main entrance to the building. At the meetings, first we focus on general issues affecting renters city-wide and then second we offer advice to renters regarding their individual concerns.

If you have an issue, a question, or need advice about a tenant/landlord issue, please call us at (510) 704-5276. Leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will get back to you.

59289
Feb
12
Wed
Public Bank of the East Bay General Organizing Meeting @ Online
Feb 12 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

The Friends of Public Bank East Bay host general organizing meetings every Wednesday at 6pm via zoom

If you’d like to join us, send us an email and one of our members will be in touch.

We can match your interests and skill set to our needs!

Public Bank East Bay hopes to open by 2025, as a transformative institution that keeps our money local, allowing local governments to divest from Wall Street and reinvest its profits back into our community. Public Bank East Bay’s initial loan policies will support affordable housing development, provide support for small businesses (especially for marginalized entrepreneurs), finance the renovation and electrification of existing buildings, and help cities and counties refinance their municipal debt.

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Oakland Privacy: Fighting Against the Surveillance State @ Online
Feb 12 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Please email contact@oaklandprivacy.org a few days before the meeting to get up-to-date location information or obtain Zoom meeting access info.


Join Oakland Privacy to organize against the surveillance state, police militarization and ICE, and to advocate for privacy, surveillance regulation of both corporations and the state, and government transparency, around the Bay and nationwide.

op-logo.2.1We fight against spy drones, facial recognition, tracking equipment and online tracking, police body camera secrecy, anti-transparency laws, and requirements for “backdoors” to cellphones; we oppose “pre-crime” and “thought-crime,” —  to list just a few invasions of our privacy by all levels of Government, and attempts to hide what government officials, employees and agencies are doing.

We draft and push for privacy legislation for City Councils, at the County level, and in Sacramento. We advocate in op-eds and in the streets. We pursue lawsuits as necessary to protect our rights. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and believe no one is illegal.

Check out some of what we worked on in 2024, with links back through 2019.

Oakland Privacy originally came together in 2013 to fight against the Domain Awareness Center, Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub. OP was instrumental in stopping the DAC from becoming a city-wide spying network.  We helped fight and in 2018 we helped win the fight against Urban Shield.

Our major projects currently include local legislation to regulate state surveillance (we got the strongest surveillance regulation ordinance in the country passed in Oakland!), supporting and opposing state legislation as appropriate, battling mass surveillance in the form of facial recognition and other analytics, mass aerial surveillance, ubiquitous license plate readers,  online tracking and ID requirements,  street surveillance, and fighting to ensure local governments adhere to State privacy and transparency regulations.

On September 12th, 2019 we were presented with a Barlow Award by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for our work, and on March 16th, 2021 the James Madison Freedom of Information Award by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists.

If you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy email listserv, coming to a meeting, or have questions, send an email to:

contact@oaklandprivacy.org


Check out our website: http://oaklandprivacy.org/

Follow us on twitter: @oaklandprivacy, and/or on Mastodon at https://mastodon.social/@oaklandprivacy, and/or at Bluesky at @oaklandprivacy.bsky.social

77911
100 Days: Debtors’ Assembly @ Online
Feb 12 @ 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Debtors of the world, unite!

Alone, our debts are a burden. Together they give us power. When we share our experiences of debt and economic pressure with each other, we begin to see our collective power to change the systems that exploit us. Everyone is welcome to participate in this debtors assembly, whether or not you are currently debt-burdened.

This is a 100 Days to Build Debtor Power event. Over the first 100 days of the new presidential administration, we’re embarking – together – on an intensive campaign of organizing trainings, political education, and debtors assemblies to build our solidarity AND prepare us with the skills we’ll need in the months & years ahead.

Register

78125
Feb
15
Sat
Extinction Rebellion U.S. All-Chapter Gathering @ Online
Feb 15 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Where do we go from here? Come to the next All-Chapter Gathering and join the discussion! RSVP HERE
One by one and in groups, people are peacefully resisting. An Episcopal bishop, mayors of sanctuary cities, states’ attorneys general. What is the role of a grassroots climate group dedicated to non-violent civil disobedience?

Our newly-formed Strategy and Action Circle, working with break-out room ideas from our last All -Chapter Gathering, will report on their developing recommendations for the Spring Rebellion and gather your input. We need your experiences, wisdom, expertise, and energy to fully develop a Spring Campaign focused on climate, justice, and democracy.

With all the human suffering caused by a wide array of cruel policies, the climate crisis is getting only minor media attention. That’s understandable, but one of our roles is to remind people that fossil fuels were the beginning and must be at the end of this multidimensional crisis. Let’s work together to plan a dramatic, imaginative, and peaceful campaign that focuses on fossil fuels but also connects the dots with all the other policies that help keep the climate deniers in well-funded power.

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