Feature Archives

A transparency collective known as Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS) made a huge trove of law enforcement files publicly available on Juneteenth, in solidarity with the widespread George Floyd uprisings against racist police violence. The massive release spans nearly 24 years and includes data from over 200 police departments, fusion centers and other law enforcement training and support resources. The Northern California Regional Intelligence Center is one of the agencies with the most data in BlueLeaks.

Pre-statehood Alta California was home to immigrants from Europe and Latin America, although most of the population spoke indigenous languages and Spanish. In 1848, gold was discovered in the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. Shortly after, a young married couple arrived in California. They were Joaquin and Carmelita Felíz de Murrieta. White settler colonizers soon concluded that California had to become a part of the United States, although it was unclear whether it would be a slave or free state.

The original Mission Santa Cruz adobe and the replica mission were spray painted during a demonstration organized in Santa Cruz in support of the abolition of police. The phrase "Fuck Your Citizenship" was painted on the Neary-Rodriguez Adobe, and the phrase "Maldita Cruz" was spray painted on two structures. Additionally, the word "genocide" was painted on the state park plaque, and the mission bell located in Mission Plaza Park was removed. Two weeks later, Mission Santa Cruz was spray painted again during a defund police march.

On July 20, as part of the national Strike for Black Lives, protesters marched on a McDonald's restaurant in Oakland. The demonstration was part of a nationwide action called “Strike for Black Lives.” McDonald's and other fast food restaurants were targeted for not taking adequate precautions against Covid-19 for their workers, predominantly Black and Brown people. Protesters marched up Telegraph Avenue and into the parking lot at the McDonald's at Telegraph and 45th Street.

Since April 24, homeless advocacy groups have been raising money to move unsheltered Oakland residents into hotels, in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Through crowdfunding and social media, the volunteer-run effort has raised nearly $123,000 in donations to house 43 unsheltered Oakland residents. The program currently has a waiting list of unhoused residents interested in moving in. Fill Hotels Not Graves is a collaboration of The East Oakland Collective, Love and Justice in the Streets, and The Village in Oakland.

Around 75 people attended a vigil in Fresno on the evening of July 18 in honor of Vanessa Guillen, where a mural featuring her likeness had just been completed. The mural is one of a number of Guillen that have been painted across the country. As part of the Black Lives Matter movement there have been several murals painted around Fresno recently. Guillen was a 20-year-old soldier in the U.S. Army who was killed by a male soldier at Fort Hood, Texas, on April 22. Her remains weren’t found until June 30.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf's Oakmore estate was hit with graffiti and a noise demonstration in the early morning on July 21. A communiqué posted to Indybay states, "We left a note on her garage, and treated her to a nice fireworks display and the musical notes of pots and pans and assorted noisemakers. Our message to Libby and other elected officials is simple: You have the power to take the boot off our necks — so we have the duty to struggle against you until that boot is lifted. You can't hide from your responsibility!"