Feature Archives

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.

IVAW (Iraq Veterans Against the War) performed "Operation First Casualty" throughout downtown San Francisco on Black Friday, interrupting shoppers' routines with a graphic display of the action that they were missing by not being in Iraq. Volunteer "civilians" were detained, cuffed and hooded by the Iraq vets in a graphic reenactment of the US military's occupation of Iraq. Several volunteers were water-boarded. Volunteers pretended to be Iraq citizens suffering under the occupation of U.S. forces.

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.”

At noon on Wednesday November 12, San Francisco State University students attended a meeting with the heads of campus departments to discuss the impact of budget cuts. $31.3 million was cut over the summer, and in early November another $66.3 million in cuts was announced. The meeting spilled over into a rally, which led to actions that lasted all day and into the night, as students held an all-night sleep-in in the middle of campus.

Join the Impact organized nationwide protests on November 15th against Proposition 8 and other anti-gay measures that were passed in November 4th's election. The SF protest took place on the front steps of City Hall. The Oakland protest took place in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Other local protests included Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Fresno, Modesto, Mountain View, San Rafael, Santa Rosa and Tracy.

On November 4th, California voters passed Proposition 8. The proposition would amend the California constitution to specify that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Lambda Legal Defense, NCLR and the ACLU have urged the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8. The groups argue that Prop. 8 is invalid because it improperly attempts to undo the constitution's core commitment to equality and deprives the courts of their essential role of protecting the rights of minorities.

Supporters of same-sex marriage have protested the results of Tuesday's vote. On Friday November 7th, tens of thousands gathered at 5:30pm in San Francisco's UN Plaza for a No On 8 rally and marched to Dolores Park. Large protests have also taken place in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Oakland, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Sacramento, Modesto and even in Salt Lake City.