Feature Archives

On Wednesday morning, March 17th, the words “f**k black people” were found chalked on the sidewalk outside the Otter Express at CSU Monterey Bay. This follows an incident the night before where an African American student was called the N-word by a student she did not know who later claimed to be "joking." The hateful words of Wednesday morning underscore that racial insensitivity is never a joke. By Thursday night, members from all racial communities came together in solidarity with the African American community that was the target of this particular racist incident.

For over three years, a community has resisted the development of a massive coal-fired power plant in the Navajo Nation called Desert Rock, blockading roads and occupying a permanent campsite. On March 17th, Elouise Brown, president of the Doodá Desert Rock committee, will launch an 11-day tour of California to speak about the dangers posed by the coal industry, the exploitation of indigenous land by energy companies, and the ongoing struggle to stop development of Desert Rock.

A protest was held on February 24th at UC Santa Cruz in response to racially themed parties held at UCs San Diego and Santa Barbara, and in response to the state of diversity at UCSC.

Anita L. Wills, mother of Kerry Baxter, writes: "This is a blog written in response to the death of a young man in Oakland, California. The courts have cleared the way for his mother to sue the City of Oakland. He died after being beaten by police in Oakland. Two of the policemen involved in the incident were also involved in the wrongful prosecution of my son in 2001. The blog is about my son, the events that transpired, and how the police and courts figured in his wrongful conviction."

UPDATE 2/23: Holly's trial postponed until April 5th
UPDATE 2/22: Case Dismissed Against JR Valrey

JR Valrey and Holly Works, the last two of the Oakland 100 — those arrested during the rebellions that followed the police murder of Oscar Grant last year — must raise legal defense funds for their imminent trials. JR’s trial starts Monday, February 22nd, and Holly’s starts Monday, April 5th. Supporters are calling out to all who are able to attend the trials.

From the Olympic Resistance Network:, "The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver and Whistler, on unceded Indigenous land, February 12–28. We call on all anti-capitalist, Indigenous, housing rights, labor, migrant justice, environmental, anti-war, community-loving, anti-poverty, civil libertarian, and anti-colonial activists to come together to confront this two-week circus and the oppression it represents. We are organizing towards a global anti-capitalist and anti-colonial convergence against the 2010 Olympic Games."

UPDATES: First-hand video, photos, and reports from Vancouver are being posted to Indybay by the Friendly Fire Collective.

On Friday, January 1st, two events took place in Oakland to commemorate the murder of Oscar Grant by BART police on New Year's Day 2009. The first was a vigil at the Fruitvale BART station organized by Oscar Grant's family. In the evening, the community gathered at the Humanist Hall in Oakland for an artistic and cultural night dedicated to networking and education. In Los Angeles, community activists made a strong presence at the court house on January 8th. It was the first hearing for Johannes Mehserle since his murder trial was moved out of Alameda County.