Challenging Berkeley’s Anti-Sitting Measure

Elisa Della-Piana, director of the Neighborhood Justice Clinic in Berkeley decried the anti-sitting measure as punitive. “It will achieve nothing except create division in the community,” she said. “Enforcement of the ordinance would keep people homeless and create criminal records that could prevent them from getting housing or jobs.”

Thousands March in May Day Protests in Oakland

More than 5,000 protesters marched in Oakland on May Day to call for economic justice, full human rights for immigrants and poor people, and to demand an end to corporate greed and bank bail-outs. Demonstrators represented Occupy Oakland, immigrant rights organizations, anti-war activists, faith groups and labor unions.

Massive Protest at Wells Fargo Exposes Corporate Misconduct of Big Banks

Thousands of marchers protested the unjust gap between rich and poor by nonviolently disrupting Wells Fargo’s shareholders meeting in San Francisco. They confronted bank executives about Wells Fargo’s role in the country’s financial crisis, the high number of foreclosures that reduce families to homelessness, and the bank’s investment in private prisons.

Berkeley City Council Moves to Privatize Public Housing

“The city and BHA promised to keep its public housing permanent to receive special funding from HUD to build housing for the poor. Now they are breaking their promise to current and future generations of the poor, who desperately need low-income housing to remain in their communities.” – James Vann

Young Artists Crusade for Healthier Communities

The beautiful mural created by the young artists of Youth Spirit Artworks promotes healthy living and exposes the huge disparity between the health and lifespan of low-income and wealthier residents in Berkeley. The mural makes a strong statement about social justice by showing how poverty jeopardizes public health.

Occupy Activists Condemn Abuses at San Quentin Prison

The Occupy movement joined with prison reform groups to uphold the rights of prisoners whose suffering is concealed behind the concrete walls of California’s vast prison system. The demonstration was held to expose prison abuses and to bear witness on behalf of the multitudes behind bars excluded from our democracy.

Liberated Ads Confront the Foreclosure Crisis

The corrected ads were released just prior to the nonviolent shut down of San Francisco’s Financial District on January 20 by Occupy SF. January 20 also marks the one-year anniversary of the controversial Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted First Amendment protection to corporate political expenditures.

UC Bulldozes Community Garden in People’s Park

News   Poetry
Bulldozers destroyed huge numbers of healthy plants and trees at People’s Park in Berkeley on December 18, carrying out the orders of University of California officials. The bulldozers destroyed all the plants and flowers that had been carefully tended for decades by volunteer gardeners, leaving behind stripped earth.

Sacramento Protest of Benefit Cuts, December 15

On December 15 the governor and legislators will announce additional “trigger cuts” to education, child care, health care, senior and disability programs – all of which have already been severely cut. They need to know we are watching and that we are fighting back!

Occupy Oakland: Timeline of a Resistance Movement

Occupy Oakland is at the forefront of a grass-roots movement against injustice that is sweeping the country. Oakland’s massive marches and encampments have gained national significance. This chronology of the first month of demonstrations is a record of the amazing accomplishments of this people’s movement for social justice.

Occupy Oakland Shuts Down the Banks and the Port

Occupy Oakland galvanized thousands of people to march through the city and shut down its major banks. These determined activists then marched several miles to shut down the Port of Oakland, an amazing feat that showed this movement was so bold as to challenge the global reach of transnational corporations.

San Francisco Protesters Show Solidarity with Occupy Wall Street

The 99 Percent came to San Francisco’s financial district to call a halt to bank theft and corporate corruption perpetrated by the One Percent – the big bankers hoarding our nation’s wealth and corporate CEOs receiving enormous bonuses while the poor, unemployed, and homeless suffer in the midst of affluence.