Feature Archives

On Saturday, October 22nd, over a hundred people from across the Central Valley participated in the Caravan of Resistance against police brutality both inside local jails and on the streets. Participants from Modesto, Stockton, Manteca, Davis, Sacramento, and Merced all converged to participate in a string of actions in a total of three cities. The Caravan brought together over a hundred people: blacks, Chicanos, and working class whites joined with victims' families to protest murder and brutality at the hands of the police.

On October 27th, the City of Fresno and Caltrans did what they said they were going to do — they attacked the homeless encampment on Santa Fe street in downtown Fresno. But, they did not destroy the encampment without being confronted with significant resistance by community members who protested the eviction. Evictions at all of the other encampments — The Hill, G street, Santa Clara street, F street, and at San Benito/H street — are scheduled for Tuesday, November 1st.

The City of Fresno has announced a plan for the massive evictions of the homeless, starting at 7 a.m. on Thursday, October 27th. Speaking in front of City Hall on Wednesday, homeless people and their allies said the planned eviction was heartless and cruel. Community Alliance newspaper editor Mike Rhodes said “destroying their modest shelter and chasing them with a stick from one vacant lot or sidewalk to another will do nothing to help their lives or to end homelessness in Fresno.”

October 22nd 2011 was the 16th National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation. In San Francisco protest took place at 12pm in the Bayview, near where Kenneth Harding was killed this year, to draw attention to Harding's death as well as many other deaths at the hands of law enforcement. In Modesto, participants gathered at 2pm at the H St. Jail for a Day of Action Against Police Brutality. In Fresno, a No More Stolen Lives took place at 5 p.m. at Eaton Plaza. Everyone at the protests, as well as supporters who can't make it, wears black in solidarity with people whose loved ones have died in custody.

On September 17th, over one thousand demonstrators poured into New York City's financial district to confront corporate greed by establishing an ongoing presence, day and night, in lower Manhattan. The idea was to create an American Tahir Square on Wall Street. Police blocked marchers from reaching Wall Street, but hundreds persisted and set up camp in Zuccotti Park, now dubbed Liberty Plaza. In San Francisco, demonstrators likewise called for an occupation of the financial district starting the same day, outside of 555 California Street. The SF occupation is currently located in front of the Federal Reserve building on Market Street, although after midnight on October 6th, SFPD and city workers raided the site and took away the kitchen, tents, and truckloads of other occupier supplies. Several were beaten by SFPD and one was arrested during the raid. Occupations began in San Jose on Oct. 2nd, in Santa Cruz and Sacramento on Oct. 6th, Berkeley on Oct. 8th, Fresno on Oct. 9th, in Oakland on Oct. 10th and one is planned to start in Santa Rosa on Saturday, Oct. 15th.

On September 27th, thousands of members of the four employee unions of the United States Postal Service joined forces with allies and community members to send a message to the nation and its Congress. All around the country, protesters demonstrated against proposals to close thousands of post offices, eliminate Saturday deliveries, lay off workers, cut postal workers’ pay, and end collective bargaining rights.

Charles Hill writes: In solidarity with everyone fighting against police brutality and the police state, molotovs were thrown into the parking lot of the Fresno SW substation where police cars and pigs' personal vehicles are parked. At least two cars burned. This action is done in solidarity especially with those in the East Bay standing up against the murderous BART police.