Feature Archives

On January 7th, a rally was held to protest the police murder of Oscar Grant. Protesters gathered at the Fruitvale BART station at 3pm. After dozens of speakers addressed the crowd for about 2 hours, a march began. Hundreds of protesters marched up International Blvd towards downtown Oakland. As the crowd passed the Lake Merritt BART area, there was a brief confrontation where a police car was attacked and a dumpster lit on fire. Within minutes, riot police arrived and shot tear gas into the crowd. The protest continued into the night as dozens of protesters massed and split up repeatedly, smashing windows, lighting fires in dumpsters, and torching at least two cars as police struggled to keep up. Oakland police are reporting that they arrested 105 people for a variety of offenses.

The Coalition Against Police Execution (CAPE) has announced a "Rally for Justice for Oscar Grant" at Oakland City Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 14th. There will be a benefit for legal defense Saturday, January 17th. On January 12th, a demonstration against the police murder of Oscar Grant was held in SF.

In the early hours of January 1st, BART police shot and killed a 22 year old man, Oscar Grant, on the platform of the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland. Witnesses report that Grant was "lying on his stomach with his hands out in a non-threatening position when he was shot". Police have confirmed Grant was unarmed and have suggested the shooting was an accident. Grant lived in Hayward and leaves behind a 4-year-old daughter.

On Wednesday, January 7th, there will be a memorial service at 11am at Palma Ceia Baptist Church and then a rally to protest the shooting from 3pm till 8pm at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland.

On the December 19 indynewswire program on Free Radio Santa Cruz, danielsan spoke with Paul Kivel about opposing racism and patriarchy, pitfalls to progress in the struggle, moving beyond discussion to action, myths like american exceptionalism and progress, the individual and the institutional, and more.

On Saturday, December 6th, supporters of death-row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal gathered at Philadelphia City Hall for a protest march through downtown that concluded at the Federal Court Building. International solidarity actions were alsoheld in France, Switzerland, Germany, England, and Mexico, while in the US, events were held in Detroit, San Francisco, Baltimore, Portland, and San Diego.

On Thanksgiving morning, November 27th, the International Indian Treaty Council and American Indian Contemporary Arts will be holding their annual sunrise gathering on Alcatraz Island.

AIM-WEST is holding events November 24th through the 28th in San Francisco for the 40 year anniversary and reunion of the American Indian Movement. The AIM reunion includes invited speakers from California indigenous nations, and congratulatory statements from governments and community organizations. The theme of the gathering is “Somos Un Solo Rio” (We Are One River), and “No One Is Illegal.”

On November 10 the Palo Alto City Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning racial profiling. In doing so they acknowledged the damage caused when Police Chief Lynne Johnson, commenting on a recent crime spike, said that she ordered her officers to question African Americans they see in Palo Alto to find out who they are. At a rally against racial profiling in front of Palo Alto's City Hall on November 9, several hundred people called for the police chief's resignation and a boycott of Palo Alto businesses.