Oakland, CA – Más de 20,000 personas llenaron las calles de Oakland el sábado 28 de marzo en la tercera manifestación “No Kings” para protestar contra la agenda de Trump.

La manifestación comenzó al mediodía en la Plaza Oscar Grant, en el centro de Oakland, donde los asistentes escucharon a oradores de organizaciones laborales, religiosas, de justicia ambiental y de derechos de los inmigrantes. A la 1 p.m., la multitud marchó hacia el lago Merritt para escuchar más discursos enfocados en generar impulso para las próximas acciones del Primero de Mayo en el Área de la Bahía.

Organizadores trabajaron durante semanas para movilizar para el evento. El capítulo de Oakland de la Organización de Servicio Comunitario (CSO Oakland), miembro de la Red Legalización para Todos, lideró múltiples talleres de arte junto con organizaciones aliadas de derechos de los inmigrantes como Mujeres Unidas y Activas y Pangea Legal Services, grupos también involucrados en las próximas acciones del Primero de Mayo en Oakland y en la campaña por Justicia para Guillermo. También participaron grupos revolucionarios como la Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad (OSCL).

El evento contó con más de 40 organizaciones y sindicatos, incluyendo Indivisible East Bay, East Bay DSA, SEIU 1021, el Alameda Labor Council, Bay Resistance, Berkeley Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine, CAIR-SFBA, Friends of La Peña Immigrant Rights, Jewish Voice for Peace Bay Area, la Oakland Education Association, Sunrise Movement Bay Area, y Tsuru for Solidarity.

“Hoy el pueblo de Oakland hizo oír su voz: la creciente atrocidad del gobierno de Trump debe terminar”, dijo Noah Teller de la Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad. “Estamos construyendo una alianza estratégica para proteger a las personas oprimidas y desarrollar el poder de la clase trabajadora. ¡Exigimos legalización para todos y ninguna guerra en nuestro nombre!”

La protesta reflejó la creciente frustración entre los residentes de clase trabajadora por las políticas del gobierno de Trump, incluyendo su persecución contra los inmigrantes, los ataques a los derechos LGBTQ, las órdenes ejecutivas que militarizan aún más a la policía, y las escaladas de Estados Unidos e Israel en el Medio Oriente, particularmente sus ataques contra Irán, todo mientras gente en todo el país enfrenta dificultades por el aumento en el costo de vida.

Organización contra Trump en Oakland sigue creciendo El año pasado, después de que la administración amenazara con enviar más de 100 agentes de ICE al Área de la Bahía de San Francisco, CSO Oakland, OSCL y el capítulo de Oakland de la Alianza Nacional en Contra de la Represión Política y Racista organizaron una protesta de emergencia desde Fruitvale hasta el puente de la Isla Coast Guard, donde ICE planeaba establecer su sede. Los organizadores también se han movilizado contra una propuesta de centro de detención de ICE en Dublín, California, y para detener la deportación del activista del Área de la Bahía, Guillermo Medina Reyes.

“Mientras más intenta Trump dañar a nuestras comunidades, más nuestras comunidades lucharán”, dijo Danny Celaya, de CSO Oakland. “Lo hemos visto desde los estudiantes que han salido de clases para protestar contra las deportaciones masivas, las almas valientes que han mantenido seguras a nuestras comunidades, como Alex Pretti y Renee Nicole Good, cuyas vidas les fueron arrebatadas por ICE, hasta los millones que han salido a las calles en todo el país desde ciudades como Los Ángeles, Chicago y Minneapolis hasta pueblos como Billings, Montana; Charleston, Carolina del Sur, y Decorah, Iowa. Todos ellos tienen una organización miembro de la Red Legalization for All. En resumen, la gente se está organizando, detendremos la agenda racista de Trump, y vamos a ganar.”

CSO Oakland también distribuyó volantes en la marcha para una colecta en apoyo a la familia de Guillermo Medina Reyes, mientras una coalición de organizaciones del Área de la Bahía, de la cual CSO Oakland forma parte, sigue luchando por su liberación de un centro de detención con fines de lucro en California City, propiedad de CoreCivic, uno de los más de 40 centros de detención privados que opera la empresa. Las donaciones se pueden hacer aquí.

Empresas privadas operan aproximadamente el 90% de los centros de detención de inmigrantes en todo el país.

#OaklandCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #DerechosDeLosInmigrantes #Trump #NoKings

Oakland, CA – Over 20,000 people filled the streets of Oakland on Saturday, March 28, at the third No Kings rally to protest Trump’s agenda.

The demonstration began at noon at Oscar Grant Plaza in downtown Oakland, where attendees heard from speakers representing labor, faith, environmental justice and immigrant rights organizations. At 1 p.m., the crowd marched toward Lake Merritt for additional speakers focused on building momentum for the Bay Area’s upcoming May Day actions.

Organizers worked for weeks to mobilize for the event. The Oakland chapter of the Community Service Organization (CSO Oakland), a member of the Legalization for All Network, led multiple art builds alongside partner immigrant rights organizations Mujeres Unidas y Activas and Pangea Legal Services, groups also involved in Oakland’s upcoming May Day actions and the Justice for Guillermo campaign. Revolutionary groups such as the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) also took part.

The event featured over 40 organizations and unions, including Indivisible East Bay, East Bay DSA, SEIU 1021, the Alameda Labor Council, Bay Resistance, Berkeley Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine, CAIR-SFBA, Friends of La Peña Immigrant Rights, Jewish Voice for Peace Bay Area, the Oakland Education Association, Sunrise Movement Bay Area, and Tsuru for Solidarity.

“Today the people of Oakland made our voices heard: the accelerating atrocity of the Trump administration must go,” said Noah Teller of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “We are building a strategic alliance to protect oppressed people and develop the power of the working class. We demand legalization for all and no war in our name!”

The protest reflected growing frustration among working-class residents over the Trump administration’s policies, including its crackdown on immigrants, attacks on LGBTQ rights, executive orders further militarizing the police, and U.S.-Israeli escalations in the Middle East, particularly their attacks on Iran, all while people across the country struggle with rising costs of living.

Anti-Trump organizing in Oakland continues to grow. Last year, after the administration threatened to send over 100 ICE agents to the San Francisco Bay Area, CSO Oakland, FRSO, and the Oakland chapter of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression organized an emergency protest from Fruitvale to the Coast Guard Island Bridge, where ICE planned to establish its headquarters. Organizers have also mobilized against a proposed ICE detention facility in Dublin, California, and to stop the deportation of Bay Area activist Guillermo Medina Reyes.

“The more that Trump tries to harm our communities, the more our communities will fight back,” said Danny Celaya from CSO Oakland. “We’ve seen that from the students who have been walking out of class to protest mass deportations, the brave souls who have been keeping our communities safe such as Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, whose lives were taken from them by ICE state thugs, to the millions who have taken to the streets across the country from cities like LA, Chicago and Minneapolis to towns like Billings, Montana; Charleston, South Carolina, and Decorah, Iowa. All of which have a member organization of the Legalization for All Network. In short, people are getting organized, we will stop Trump’s racist agenda, and we will win.”

CSO Oakland also distributed flyers at the march for a fundraiser to support Guillermo Medina Reyes’ family while a coalition of Bay Area organizations, of which CSO Oakland is a part, continues fighting for his release from a for-profit detention center in California City owned by CoreCivic, one of more than 40 private detention centers the company operates. Donations can be made here.

Private companies run roughly 90% of immigration detention centers nationwide.

#OaklandCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #PeoplesStruggles

Oakland, CA – On Sunday, January 4, 60 protesters rallied in Fruitvale Plaza in response to U.S. military strikes in Caracas, Venezuela, and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and the Community Service Organization called the action.

Esperanza, with Community Service Organization Oakland, highlighted the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan migrants by the Trump administration last year, saying, “The U.S. government cannot claim liberation abroad while caging, persecuting and disappearing immigrants at home. If this administration truly cared about Venezuelans, it wouldn't have terminated TPS in October, leaving thousands of Venezuelans, one of our impacted communities here in the U.S., leaving them vulnerable for mass deportation to meet Trump’s deportation agenda. The U.S. intervention abroad creates displacement and meets those forced to migrate with criminalization, detention and violence.”

Xa’miel Thompson from the Oakland Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression spoke on the connection between the attacks on the Venezuelan people and the attacks on African American communities at home, saying, “Colonial violence abroad always finds its way back home. Techniques tested elsewhere, but perfected on us. That's why this matters. In 1985 the United States government dropped firebombs on a Black neighborhood in Philadelphia. Not some foreign battlefield. Not a war zone. But a community.”

Isa Madrid-Lily, a member of the Oakland district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, had this to say about the motives for the escalation, “These attacks are clearly intended to make Venezuela kneel to the U.S. economic order; they are punishment for refusing to sell out its people and resources to American oil companies and financial interests. Just like Iraq, the United States government has crafted a web of lies and fear to manufacture consent for a war that has nothing to do with the livelihood of the working people of this country, and everything to do with making money for a few rich oligarchs.”

Other allies, such as Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America, and Oakland Divest, joined in the emergency response, demanding “Trump out of Venezuela, U.S. out of Latin America.”

#OaklandCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #Feature

Oakland, CA – Over 10,000 people flooded the streets of Oakland this weekend, October 18, for the “No Kings” protest, part of a nationwide wave of resistance. From Wilma Chan Park to Lake Merritt, chants for immigrant rights, Palestine, and working-class unity shook the city.

Marchers came from across the East Bay, with union members, immigrant families, students and socialists forming a powerful broad front. Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Oakland, CSO Oakland, and Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression joined dozens of community and labor organizations, showing the kind of broad, disciplined unity needed to confront Trump, the ruling class, and their attacks on oppressed people here and abroad.

At the amphitheater, U.S. Representative Lateefah Simon and Mayor Barbara Lee spoke to the crowd, calling on Oaklanders to stay organized and keep fighting. But it was the people’s chants that carried the real message: “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!” and “From Palestine to Mexico, all these border walls have got to go!”

Banners demanding “ICE Out of Oakland” and “Free Palestine” flew side by side. Activists tied the struggles together: U.S. bombs in Gaza, ICE raids in our neighborhoods, and police violence in Black communities all come from the same system of imperialism and white supremacy that puts profit over people.

Danny Cela from CSO Oakland led a strong immigrant rights contingent, many of whom organize weekly barrio walks and tenant-defense work. Their chants, “¡Aquí estamos y no nos vamos!” and “The people united will never be defeated,” echoed through downtown.

Marchers called for climate justice, an end to deportations, and defense of trans and Black lives, all under the banner of people’s power. The message was clear, the working class and oppressed must rely on our own strength, not politicians or the capitalist parties.

The FRSO Oakland contingent marched loudly, emphasizing that the fight ahead requires building mass organizations rooted in everyday struggle – in the workplace, the schools, and the streets – to defeat monopoly capitalism. One of their chants was, “From Palestine to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!”

Oakland has a long history of resistance, from the Black Panther Party to today’s movements for immigrant, worker and climate justice. Saturday’s march proved that spirit is alive and growing. The path forward is organization, solidarity, and struggle against every attempt by the ruling class to crush us. As one banner read, “No kings, no bosses, no billionaires – only the people, united and organized.”

#OaklandCA #CA #PeoplesStruggles #ImmigrantRights #NoKings

Oakland, CA – On October 23, Trump rushed over 100 federal agents, in a long-threatened “surge” operation, to occupy the San Fransico Bay Area. So, the Community Service Organization, the Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and over 500 Oakland residents mobilized for an emergency “Ice Out of the Bay” rally and march to take the fight directly to ICE and Border Patrol at the U.S. Coast Guard base where they were stationed.

Trump had warned and later recanted the takeover of San Francisco, but no such promise was made to spare Oakland. The Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity was flashbanged, run over by Customs and Border Patrol trucks, and Reverend Jorge Bautistathe was shot in the face with pepper rounds at the bridge connecting Oakland to the Coast Guard base island.

A mile away, in the plaza of the Fruitvale district, home to Oakland’s largest Chicano/Latino community, protesters gathered in the afternoon. Danny Celaya, with the Community Service Organization of Oakland, started the program by welcoming supporters and introducing speakers.

Romaine Charite, who represented the Oakland branch of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, started with a speech calling the president’s assault on the birthplace of the Black Panther Party “An attack on democratic institutions, an attack on the Chicano/Latino movement for legalization, and an attack on the political power of African Americans who are fed up with white supremacy.” Charite also tied the use of federal agents to crush the Black Liberation Movement, such as during the George Floyd Uprisings under Trump’s last term.

Eve Wallace from the Oakland district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “It is only through our commitment, our bravery to stand up against oppression, and our willingness to build organizations of working-class people to fight back will we ever achieve our shared liberation.”

After the speeches, the people took to the streets, marching half an hour to the military base to the chorus of “Raza si, Migra no!” and “All power to the people. No human is illegal,” with cheers and car honks from neighbors.

The community then came face-to-face with the Coast Guard, who were already lined up and armed along the entrance of the bridge. ICE was suddenly nowhere to be seen. The tense two-hour standoff had protesters screaming at the soldiers who were part of the attacks earlier in the day aiding ICE. Several times, the troops attempted to isolate and push back protesters. They failed, as Oaklanders in their hundreds grew too large and ungovernable. As night fell, the Coast Guard retreated far back into the bridge. The crowd cheered, “We’ll be back.”

The next morning, the city’s mayor, Barbara Lee, confirmed that Trump’s operation was canceled for the entire San Francisco Bay Area.

#OaklandCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #OAARPR #OCSO

Oakland, CA – On September 6, CSO Oakland and outraged community members took to the streets of East Oakland on 73rd and Bancroft Avenues, mobilizing just blocks from where ICE agents staged a brutal raid that tore six people from their home.

On August 12, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) forcibly detained six people in their home in East Oakland on 79th Avenue near Hillside Street. Of the six people detained, one is a minor and another is a disabled person.

The agency’s cruelty was on full display as they separated the detainees and shipped them across the country. The minor was taken to a detention center in New York, isolating them from any community support, while the other five were transported to a facility in Tacoma, Washington – a clear attempt to sever community ties and access to legal resources.

The rally served as direct opposition to the deportation force. The community chanted, “ICE out of Oakland!” “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!” and “When immigrant rights are under attack what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” Passing cars honked in solidarity and drivers raised their fists—visible proof of the growing anti-ICE sentiment that is sweeping the country in response to the Trump administration’s intensified attacks on immigrants.

The message from the community was unequivocal. Immigrants are here to stay and will not be intimidated into silence. If ICE comes into working-class neighborhoods, there will be resistance. The community is watching, is organized and determined to fight back.

This mobilization signals a renewed commitment to defend every member of our community and makes it clear: Oakland will remain a fortress against the administration's attacks.

CSO Oakland is holding a virtual welcome meeting for new members on Friday, September 12. Attendees can register at bit.ly/cso912. The agenda will include how to get involved in the fight against Trump’s mass deportations, the campaign demanding justice for Guillermo – a beloved San Jose immigrant activist, civil rights organizer and tattoo artist – and an upcoming teach-in series on the history of the CSO and the Chicano Movement organized with fellow members from the Legalization For All Network and Freedom Road Socialist Organization-Oakland.

Follow @cso.oakland on Instagram or CSO Oakland on Facebook for updates.

#OaklandCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #ICE #CSO

Oakland CA – On August 19, community members, families impacted by police violence, and anti-police violence organizations gathered at the office of Attorney General of California Rob Bonta to demand an end to racist police killings.

The rally was part of a statewide action led by Terry Lovett, mother of Jalani Lovett who was killed in the Los Angeles Men's Central Jail in 2021. The Oakland Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (OAARPR) helped organize the action, supported by local unions including the ILWU Local 10 and ATU Local 1555. Similar rallies occurred at his offices in Los Angeles and San Diego.

Jalani Lovett was alleged to have died of a drug overdose in solitary confinement, but his family believe otherwise. His body showed clear signs of physical trauma, and he was found dead in solitary confinement in a jail run by the notorious 3000 Boys, part of the LA sheriff's deputy gangs. Attorney General Bonta, who ran on a campaign of police accountability, has refused to meet with Terry Lovett and discuss the evidence surrounding her son's death. She has been pushing for four years demanding answers, but he has refused to take action on her case.

“33 people have died in LA jails in 34 weeks, how is this possible? Just because someone is incarcerated doesn't mean they give up their right to life!” Terry Lovett said, addressing the crowd gathered in front of the building, who held signs with slogans reading “Community control of the police now!” and “Jail killer cops!”

After the speaker program ended, Lovett and OAARPR members went inside the building to deliver a scroll with over 1200 signatures to Bonta’s office, which showed signs of being vacated abruptly to avoid confrontation with protesters. They demanded he meet with Lovett and look at the evidence that she has collected surrounding the death of her son. The same scroll was delivered to all six of his offices in LA, San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento and San Francisco.

Morale was high at the event, with Lovett stating, “He can't look the other way now, not after we show up at every one of his offices.”

Oakland is continuing to fight back and build the movement against police terror.

#OaklandCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #NAARPR #OAARPR #ILWU10 #ATU1555 #PoliceCrimes #PoliceBrutality #KillerCops #Feature

Oakland, CA – On the afternoon of Thursday, May 1, more than 2000 community members took to the streets of Oakland in celebration of May Day.

Themes of international working-class solidarity ran through the event, starting with a youth rally in Fruitvale Plaza followed by a march to San Antonio Park where a closing rally and resource fair took place. 25 unions, grassroots organizations, and nonprofits united behind Oakland Sin Fronteras’ call, “All Power to the Workers.”

The multinational crowd voiced strong opposition to state violence and current immigration policies. Uncle Bobby X, uncle of Oscar Grant, a young, Black man murdered by Bay Area Rapid Transit Police in 2009, electrified attendees, declaring, “All power to the people!” and emphasizing, “An attack on immigrants is an attack on all of us.” He spoke to the damaging impact of police violence and fears of increasing ICE activity and deportations, central themes of the day.

Kai Watanabe, a trans organizer with Freedom Road Socialist Organization Oakland, highlighted these concerns: “This year, we've seen the ruling capitalist class qualitatively shift towards open reaction. ICE is silencing students and sending immigrant workers to mega-prisons while basic civil rights are in the crosshairs.”

Echoing this, a childcare provider and leading member of Mujeres Unidas y Activas, spoke of heightened fear under “la nueva administración” (the new administration). She shared, “Mi miedo ha crecido aún más. Ahora trato de no salir de casa por el temor constante a ser detenida y criminalizada simplemente por mi apariencia.” (My fear has grown even more. Now I try not to leave home due to the constant fear of being detained and criminalized simply for my appearance.) She continued, “Nosotros no dejamos nuestros países por gusto. La mayoría de las veces somos forzados a irnos por las consecuencias del capitalismo y el imperialismo.” (We don’t leave our countries by choice. Most of the time we are forced to leave because of the consequences of capitalism and imperialism.)

Visuals along the march underscored these messages. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 displayed a prominent banner stating, “No military cargo for Israel's genocidal war against Palestinians.” Another community member held a sign simply reading “No state violence.” Chants of “Free, free Palestine!” and “¡Viva, viva Palestina!” resonated through the streets, further highlighting the event’s international solidarity against oppression and police violence, reinforcing the unified call for worker empowerment.

#OaklandCA #CA #Labor #ImmigrantsRights #MayDay

Roughly 25 community members came together to watch two films that spotlight the city’s pivotal role in the fight for liberation: Agnès Varda’s Black Panthers 1968 and Shola Lynch’s Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners. The films offered not only a window into the past but a mirror reflecting the struggles and solidarity still needed in Oakland today.

Agnès Varda’s Black Panthers 1968 is an on-the-ground documentary capturing the resiliency of the Black Panther Party as they rallied to free Huey Newton, co-founder of the movement. Filmed in Oakland at the height of the Panthers’ activism, the film is a testament to their ability to unite working-class people and oppressed communities against police violence and systemic injustice. Varda’s work doesn’t just document history; it brings to life the defiant hope of the movement and its roots in the city’s streets.

The second film, Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners, is an account of Angela Davis’s trial and the international movement to secure her release. Davis, a scholar, communist and activist, was charged with crimes related to a 1970 courthouse shootout. Lynch’s documentary recounts the global solidarity campaign that demanded her freedom, framing it as both a personal and collective story of resistance. It’s a powerful reminder of what can be accomplished when movements cross borders and people stand united against oppression.

FRSO Oakland members led the program, situating these stories in Oakland’s broader revolutionary history. They reminded attendees of the Black Panther Party’s core mission – building unity between oppressed nationalities and working-class people to fight systemic inequality. They also illuminated the government’s counterattacks, particularly through COINTELPRO, the FBI’s covert program that sought to dismantle revolutionary movements.

The discussion didn’t stop with history. Participants connected the lessons of the films to ongoing struggles in Oakland, particularly the work of the newly formed Oakland Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression (OAARPR). This group, a local chapter of the national NAARPR which emerged from the fight to free Angela Davis, works alongside families of police violence victims and pushes for community control of the police.

In this context, the group also critiqued the failures of Oakland’s Community Police Review Agency, highlighting its ineffectiveness as a key example of the city's ongoing systemic issues with police corruption and violence. This discussion tied the historical and contemporary struggles together, underscoring the urgent need for real change.

Adding a tangible connection to the past, CARP displayed a collection of artifacts that captured the spirit of the Black Panthers and the Free Angela Davis campaigns. Old political pins reading “Free Angela Davis and all political prisoners” and “Black Panther Party: All power to the people” sat alongside the Panthers’ iconic “Ten-Point Program”, photo books, and pamphlets from the 1980s. These materials bridged generations, underscoring the enduring relevance of these struggles.

The films and discussions drove home a powerful message: the fight for justice is as urgent today as ever. In a city shaped by revolutionary victories and ongoing battles, the event called on everyone to organize, educate and resist with renewed purpose.

Oakland's legacy as a beacon for liberation movements lives on – not just in history books but in the work unfolding right now. From the Black Panther Party’s bold defiance to today’s campaigns for police accountability, the message resonated loud and clear, the struggle continues, and our commitment must match its urgency.

#OaklandCA #CA #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #BlackPanthers #NAARPR #FRSO #CARP

Oakland, CA – On November 17, Nodutdol held an educational film screening and fundraiser highlighting solidarity between Korea and Palestine. Around 100 people gathered at East Side Arts Alliance in Oakland for the event, which was co-sponsored by Palestinian Youth Movement.

Emcee Simon Ma of Nodutdol began the program by saying, “Both the Korean people and the Palestinian people share deep histories of resistance against colonialism and imperialism, and there are many parallels between their struggles for sovereignty and self-determination.”

Ma explained how the Korean struggle against U.S. imperialism is ongoing, saying, “The Korean War never formally ended, leaving Korea divided, and the U.S. continues to occupy South Korea to this day, with over 28,000 troops stationed across over 17 military bases.”

The event promoted Nodutdol’s recently-launched “U.S. Out of Korea” campaign. The campaign lists four demands: U.S. out of Korea; end the U.S./South Korea Alliance; end all aggression against North Korea, and end the war economy.

The program included a screening of the 2003 documentary film, North Korea: Beyond the DMZ. The film follows the journey of a Korean-American woman who visits the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for the first time to meet her extended family who were separated from her parents during the Korean War.

The film highlighted the human toll of U.S. imperialist intervention in the region, showing how families remain divided more than half a century after the U.S. first invaded Korea in. It also combatted common American stereotypes about the people of the DPRK, showing their day-to-day life in a humanizing light.

The program also included a speaker from Palestinian Youth Movement, who spoke about their ongoing “Mask Off Maersk” campaign, pressuring international logistics company Maersk to stop shipping weapons to Israel.

Funds raised at the event went to the Middle East Children’s Alliance, an organization providing humanitarian aid throughout Palestine.

#OaklandCA #CA #International #Korea #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nodutdol #PYM

Supporters also rallied in front of the federal building, condemning the politically-motivated trial that targeted Odeh because of her role as an outspoken Palestinian leader and activist. Odeh was convicted on Nov. 10 in a Detroit federal court of knowingly lying on her immigration application, even though she maintains that she did not understand the questions on the application.

The main basis for Odeh’s conviction was that she had allegedly falsely answered “no” to a question asking whether she had ever been arrested or imprisoned. The government claimed that Odeh failed to disclose that she had been convicted by the Israeli government of participating in “terrorism,” even though this conviction in a military court lacked due process and was the result of a forced confession made after she was repeatedly tortured and raped by Israeli military authorities.

“The only reason Rasmea was imprisoned in Israel was because she was tortured, sexually assaulted, threatened with death and ultimately forced to confess to charges she didn't commit,” says Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesman for the Rasmea Defense Committee. “Now, more than 40 years later, and after nine years of living here with U.S. citizenship, she's being made to relive her trauma and is wrongly imprisoned once again.” Although the judge in the case allowed the Israeli conviction of Odeh to be used as evidence against her, the torture and rape she suffered – which the judge admitted was credible – was not allowed as evidence, a move that brought widespread condemnation from supporters and human rights activist alike.

“The targeting of Rasmea is purely to criminalize Palestinians who are outspoken and critical of Israel’s oppression and occupation of Palestine,” says Lara Kiswani, Executive Director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center. The case against Odeh was originally part of a larger federal investigation in Chicago and Minneapolis where the government has to this day unsuccessfully tried to convict 23 anti-war and Palestinian activists on trumped-up terrorism charges.

Hundreds were present in court to support Odeh over the course of her trial in Detroit, and many more across the country have held solidarity demonstrations demanding that she be freed. Activists in the Bay Area will continue to protest, and vow to intensify their efforts until Odeh is released.

#OaklandCA #Palestine #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh

Oakland, CA – Several thousand protesters marched to demand justice for Trayvon Martin here, during the afternoon of July 14. The protesters began by rallying at Oscar Grant plaza and from there marched through the working-class neighborhood of West Oakland.

#OaklandCA #OppressedNationalities #AntiRacism #TrayvonMartin #GeorgeZimmerman #InjusticeSystem

Oakland, CA – More than 20 people came a rally on Dec. 14 at the Oakland Federal Building in support of veteran Chicano leader Carlos Montes, who was in court in Los Angeles that same day.

Montes faces trumped up charges as a result of the FBI-orchestrated campaign against anti-war and international solidarity activists. His next court appearance is set for Jan. 24.

Members of the Bay Area Committee against Political Repression pledged to continue the fight to get the charges dropped against Carlos, and to drop the subpoenas against the other 23 solidarity activists from around the country.

#OaklandCA #InJusticeSystem #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #CarlosMontes #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #BayAreaCommitteeAgainstPoliticalRepression

Montes faces trumped up charges as a result of the FBI-orchestrated campaign against anti-war and international solidarity activists. His next court appearance is set for Jan. 24.

Members of the Bay Area Committee against Political Repression pledged to continue the fight to get the charges dropped against Carlos, and to drop the subpoenas against the other 23 solidarity activists from around the country.

#OaklandCA #InJusticeSystem #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #CarlosMontes #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #BayAreaCommitteeAgainstPoliticalRepression

Oakland, CA – The Occupy movement is planning a dramatic set of blockades at West Coast ports Dec. 12.

We urge readers to check out this inspiring video promoting the shipping shutdown:

#OaklandCA #OccupyWallStreet #OccupyOakland

#OaklandCA #OccupyWallStreet

Oakland, CA – About 75 people came to the June 16 rally here to denounce the arrest of Carlos Montes in Los Angeles, and the grand jury subpoenas which are being resisted by 23 other anti-war and international solidarity activists in the Midwest.

A loud picket line at the Oakland Federal building brought people from many organizations, and was marked by statements vowing not to be intimidated by grand juries or the FBI.

#OaklandCA #CarlosMontes #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression

Oakland, CA – The power of workers to bring production to a halt was on dramatic display April 4, when longshore workers of ILWU Local 10 shut down the ports of Oakland and San Francisco for 24 hours, in solidarity with the heroic struggles in Wisconsin.

The big container port of Oakland was deader than a doornail Monday at 6:00 a.m. I saw a long snake-line of trucks bearing shipping containers idled on the roadway. The shipping cranes were all “standing at attention” – i.e., not working any containers (These are same Port of Oakland cranes that gave George Lucas the idea for some of his “Star Wars” imagery).

The ILWU hiring hall was practically deserted at dispatch time for the night shift, leaving several hundred jobs unfilled. The dock workers stayed away, and no cargo was worked on any shift Monday in Oakland or San Francisco.

The rank-and-file-initiated shutdown was part of nationwide actions on April 4 to challenge the draconian budget cuts and union busting in Wisconsin and other states.

An “organized act of resistance” by rank-and-file dock workers

“This was a voluntary rank and file action – an organized act of resistance,” said Clarence Thomas, a dock worker and Local 10 executive board member.

“It is significant that the action by Local 10 was taken in solidarity with Wisconsin public sector workers who are facing the loss of collective bargaining,” Thomas said. He pointed out that April 4 is also the anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – who was killed in Memphis demanding collective bargaining for sanitation workers in that city.

“So we’ve come full circle,” he concluded. The Memphis public workers got their union, after a two-month strike. Now 40 years later their Wisconsin counterparts are threatened with losing theirs. But it is Wisconsin’s fierce resistance that is inspiring all of us today.”

It is not surprising that the 24-hour port work stoppage came out of International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 10, a racially diverse, predominantly African American local, and the home local of legendary labor leader Harry Bridges. Martin Luther King was named an honorary member of Local 10, six months before he was killed in 1968.

#OaklandCA #InternationalLongshoreWarehouseUnionILWU #DrMartinLutherKingJr #Wisconsin #PublicSectorUnions #April4 #InternationalLongshoreWarehouseUnionLocal10 #ILWU

Speakers expressed solidarity and made donations from Seattle, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Bay Area Committees to Stop FBI Repression, from the United National Anti-War Committee, from the San Francisco labor council and other northern California unions, from socialist and left organizations, from Spanish Civil War veterans, from Sacramento Peace Action, and from the Revolutionary Student Union in Utah and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in Los Angeles.

Subpoenaed activists Hatem Abudayyeh, Anh Pham, Thistle Parker-Hartog, Tom Burke, along with attorney Bruce Nestor, shared their decades of experience as anti-war and international solidarity activists. Each described their commitment to social change at home and abroad, organizing with students, unions, immigrants and community groups. They spoke about the U.S. government’s repression of free speech and the right to organize. Bruce Nestor spoke about the likely indictments and trial of some of the 23 activists. The lawyer also described the new interpretations of U.S. law that make it possible for political activists to go to prison for providing humanitarian aid or promoting political speech that goes against the views of the U.S. empire.

Tom Burke, who chaired the meeting, said, “U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald, raising the ghost of Senator Joe McCarthy, is carrying out a political witch-hunt against American activists. The U.S. government is criminalizing international solidarity, and focusing on the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Fact is the U.S. empire is losing its grip on the world and the regimes it props up are falling one by one. Our groups challenge U.S. wars and occupation, while saying the organizations who resist oppression are legitimate and good.”

Hatem Abudayyeh, whose home was raided by the FBI in Chicago, said, “Right now there is a dynamic and successful international movement to boycott, divest and sanction Israel for its apartheid system where Palestinians are militarily occupied or treated as second-class citizens. Israel is more and more isolated in the world and American taxpayers are growing weary of funding Israel and its occupation of all of Palestine. Some in the current administration are targeting Palestinian-Americans and the Palestine solidarity activists as an ‘internal enemy.’ They are supporting oppression overseas and repression at home.”

Anh Pham of Minneapolis addressed the standing room only crowd, “Now we know a U.S. Federal Agent, whose fake name was Karen Sullivan, spied upon the anti-war movement and lied her way into the lives of many activists. She lied about everything over more than a two years. It is likely Fitzgerald’s trial will be based on her half-truths, distortions and lies.”

Thistle Parker-Hartog , a member of the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee in Minnesota, spoke about two decades of international solidarity activism she has been part of. Thistle stated, “When I was in El Salvador, I learned from organizers how U.S.-funded death squads killed farmers and rural community members, nuns and priests, union organizers, and activists. I was able to accompany these targeted members in the first national free elections in that country. As a pacifist, the solidarity trips confirmed my commitment to working for peace and justice. The trips made me determined to promote international dialogue and understanding, and actively oppose the threats and war-making of the U.S. government. It is an ironic sign of the true malleability of U.S. foreign policy and the “terrorist” designations of the state department that the FMLN, who were called terrorists in the '80's by the U.S., is now the recognized governing political party of El Salvador.”

A second panel, “Speak Out Against Repression,” expressed solidarity and lessons learned from others facing FBI and government repression. It included Michel Shehadeh of the Los Angeles 8 on “Organizing to defend the Palestinian movement,” Richard Brown of the San Francisco 8 on “FBI repression of the African-American community and the grassroots response,” Zahra Billoo of Council on American-Islamic Relations on “Attacks on Muslim charities and community leaders,” Nina Farnia of the Impact Fund on “The relationship between U.S. foreign policy and domestic FBI repression” and George McKinney, Southern California Immigration Coalition on “Organizing to oppose raids and deportations.”

The West Coast conference finished with a unanimous vote to organize for the March 19 and April 9 united national anti-war protests. Breakout meetings discussed local protests to respond to the next FBI raids, grand jury subpoenas, or the very real possibility of indictments and a trial. Others discussed further visits to U.S. Representatives and Senators to shut down the Grand Jury and stop the political repression. All the participants took note of the tremendous response of the anti-war movement and discussed ways to reach out to more groups and unions to join in ending this abuse of government power and stop the grand jury.

#OaklandCA #FBI #September24FBIRaids #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #grandJury

#OaklandCA #StudentMovement #News #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Ollin #Cárceles #Prisiones #ElMovimientoDelTercerOjo #JuventudOrganizandoComunidades #LaNuevaRazaIzquierda #FuerzaJuvenil