CANCELLED: PROTEST PARTY BY THE LAKE: It’s No Longer Possible to Have Fun in Oakland

We have probably all seen the sign on Lakeshore advising us that barbecues, amplified music, beer, and fun in general are no longer allowed in the parks around the lake without a permit from the city.

Now the City has decided that musical instruments are also not allowed without prior acquisition of a permit.

What this means is that our public spaces are only truly accessible to those with the resources to procure permission to use them. What this also means is that Oakland residents who have used these community spaces as a shared yard, celebrating birthdays, weddings, graduations, and everything else in the heart of our beautiful city, can no longer continue to do so.

There is no doubt that these changes come as an attempt to make Oakland less hospitable to those who have lived here for years, and more welcoming to newcomers seeking to significantly alter the culture and landscape of the city. There is also no doubt that these regulations will be selectively enforced by the racist, classist Oakland Police Department and City Government.

It is time for our community to rise up and demand that our public spaces remain accessible for use by ALL of us.

In the interest of sending a loud and clear message, please bring your instruments, your grills, your stereos, your children, your dogs, your coolers full of beer, and your love for Oakland to the Lake Merritt Ampitheater Let’s celebrate Oakland’s history of resistance against state repression, and continue our city’s rich tradition of holding each other up in the face of adversity.