Bay of Rage writes Last Friday [June 17th], we marched on downtown banks behind a bloc of book shields in an anti-capitalist defense of the Oakland libraries. Tensions were high throughout the afternoon and the action quickly escalated into a showdown with police that took many off guard.

With book shields flanking the second sound system which began blasting Ol' Dirty Bastard, the dancing crowd managed to move into the street and we were on our way. Taking inspiration from recent anti-austerity demonstrations in Italy and the UK, we chose to experiment with the colorful and confrontational tactic of the book bloc. The 14 (out of 18) Oakland libraries which are currently being threatened with closure represent a visceral example of the economic violence being imposed on poor and working people during this wave of capitalist crisis. We felt the books made a lot of sense as a tool for defense and disruption in this context.

Read More | oakland librarians speak out after anticut 2 | Photos: 1 | 2

Previous Indybay Feature: From the Streets of Oakland: Report on Anticut 1