Feature Archives

The National Lawyers Guild of Sacramento contradicts the lies being circulated by cops and corporate media regarding what occurred at the Stephon Clark demonstration in Sacramento on March 31. NLG Sacramento states, "We witnessed cases of harassment and excessive force by the California Highway Patrol and Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, including the unprovoked hit-and-run of a demonstrator, the issuance of unlawful orders and threats to our legal observers."

Sacramento police shot Stephon Clark seven times from behind, according to an independent autopsy conducted by pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who was hired by Clark’s family. The autopsy contradicts the Sacramento police department’s claim that Clark, who was unarmed at the time, was advancing towards officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet when they shot 20 times and killed him.

To support transformational change for Black communities in Sacramento, the Build. Black. Coalition and Black Lives Matter Sacramento announced they are creating a multi-year plan in partnership with the Sacramento Kings to support the education of young people and to provide the workforce preparation and economic development efforts needed to truly #BuildBlackFutures. The effort to support and lift up Black youth begins this Friday, March 30 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the South Sacramento Christian Church.

On March 26, proponents of Monterey County’s landmark Measure Z ballot initiative filed an appeal to restore the land-use protections that voters passed by an overwhelming majority in November 2016. The appeal challenges a Superior Court ruling in March that invalidated part of the ordinance, which aims to shield the county from fracking chemicals and oil industry pollution. Measure Z won with 56 percent of the vote.

On March 14, thousands of San Francisco Bay Area students participated in a national walkout against gun violence, with 1,500 marching in the suburb of Menlo Park alone. However, not all went smoothly for some Bay Area students seeking to express themselves. One district superintendent in the South Bay accused students of not thinking things through, and stated that “Organizations have their own agendas and they’re using kids as pawns."

A group of UC Santa Cruz faculty, students, alumni, staff, and concerned community members have joined together in an effort to prevent development on one of the most important scenic landmarks of the UCSC campus, the East Meadow. East Meadow Action Committee writes: The open meadows are central to UCSC’s world-renowned design aesthetic. This proposal overturns a fifty-year tradition of environmentally-conscious planning. We support more, better, and more affordable student housing and improved childcare facilities on campus. There are other places to build them that do not overturn UCSC’s proudest traditions.

On March 24, the kids and families of March For Our Lives took to the streets to demand that their lives and safety become a priority, and that gun violence comes to an end. Northern California is marched in solidarity. The national mission statement declared: March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who will no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass school shootings that has become all too familiar. In the tragic wake of the seventeen lives brutally cut short in Florida, politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns. March For Our Lives believes the time is now.