Feature Archives

Designs on Democracy was a three day conference on design, advertising, public relations and marketing for social change. It took place at the University of California, Berkeley from March 26 to March 28. Designs on Democracy, said organizer Favianna Rodriguez, “is not just for designers, it’s for people who are in the business of doing marketing and selling the image of the Left, to take it to a broader audience and make it more appealing.” Read More on our Indymedia page.

March26-27, SF -- One of the longest-running socially-conscious performance and visual arts festivals once again took SF by storm. With song, dance, poetry and comedy, Friday night's show included powerful performances by Samsara, headRush, Dance Brigade, Ed Holmes (of SFMimeTroupe) and more. Additionally, Matt Gonzalez read several selections, including: "A Declaration of a State of War," the first communique from Weatherman Underground; an excerpt from MLK's classic anti-war speech at Riverside Church; and a couple of pieces from Thomas More (1478-1535) in support of the abolition of private property, among other things. It was pretty amazing!

Saturday night's show was a completely different lineup (except for MG), and included performances by SF Poet Laureate devorah major, DREAM, Art in Action, Sparlha Swa, Amanda Starr, and JB R.A.P. of the Deep Dick Collective and more. Once again, Matt Gonzalez returned to the stage, this time offering us two historical documents. The first, a 1776 speech from the King of England denouncing rebellious protesters in Massachusetts Colony, provided the perfect contrast to the second and final piece, the Declaration of Independence. | - - View Gallery of Photos. - - |

Tuesday night, March 17, the Coalition on Homelessness held a benefit at Slim’s, a South of Market nightclub. The Coalition publishes Street Sheet, a quality newspaper sold on the street by people in need. The Coalition also advocates for the civil and human rights of the homeless, for services and shelter reform, and for permanent affordable housing. The benefit featured the Cuban-oriented band Ritmo y Armonía and the Latin Jazz All Stars. This was the first of what the Coalition sees as a series of fundraisers.
See concert photos.

Every year, anarchists from all over the country descend on San Francisco to socialize, browse books, and debate issues related to anarchism. The number of events associated with anarchy week has grown this year. On Saturday March 6th there was a DIY Festival in Berkeley (Photos). On Thursday night, March 11th, there will be a dance party in Berkeley to benefit Anarchy Magazine. The Anarchist Cafe will be held Friday night in San Francisco and will partially benefit political prisoner Sherman Austin. The Anarchist Bookfair will be Saturday, also in San Francisco. There will be a soccer tournament on Saturday and Sunday. Last but not least, the BASTARD Conference will be held on Sunday March 14th. The theme this year will be Organization: Beyond False Dichotomies.

2/21/04: Dead Prez and Oakland's Education Not Incarceration came together for a show in the wake of five planned school closures in Oakland. Tensions have continued to build in the Bay Area around the overall poor quality of existing schools and the prison-track they put many poor students on. In addition, though the state continues to alledge there are too many teachers in an attempt to cut resources, many schools barely have enough teachers, let alone seats for their students to study in.

Check out Education Not Incarceration for more info and to get involved.

"Man that school shit is a joke/ The same people who control the school system control the prison system, and the whole social system. Ever since slavery, nawsayin?"
— Dead Prez

In the spirit of creative resistance, Saturday, February 28th, there were performances by some of the most fiery, brilliant women in our radical community, who all rose up together to support women in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan. --PHOTOS--

Women's Voices Rise Up is a benefit that occurs once a year; this year it was a benefit for Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, Union of Palestinian Women Committees, and Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq. Details of Event

Reclaim the Streets and Desires: The RTS Valentine's Day Street Party began at 12 noon at Haight & Stanyan streets on Saturday February 14th. A ship of about 300-400 pirates marched from Golden Gate park and eventually took over the block of Haight & Ashbury and the party was in full swing with a full-on sound system with rotating djs, a pirate marching band, street theater, couches, mattresses, paint splattered on GAP, and an impromptu soccer game in the middle of the street. There was also a breakaway solidarity action that marched to the nearby Safeway.
Announcements: 1 | 2 | 3
Reclaim the Streets is part of a global, decentralized direct action movement. Direct action means that, rather than hoping and waiting for the powers that be to make the world better, one personally sets about the urgent task of reclaiming the streets (and the planet and our lives) from the destructive tyranny of global capitalism.
Retrospectives: East Bay RTS | SF RTS 2000 | SF RTS 2001
Contingents: Baby Bloc | Direct Action to Stop the War
Reports (from 2/14): 1 | 2
Photos (from 2/14): 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11