On October 25 of last year, the Oakland Commune at Oscar Grant Plaza was raided with enough brutal force to gain international attention. Since then, continuous state repression and police brutality have sought to divide Oakland and keep its residents from reclaiming public space in a time of local, national and global austerity.

The Oakland Commune served as a socio/political refuge for Oakland residents. It was open and free to all and provided a space where people could traverse race and class divides in order to share food, discussion and visions of a more just world. During this time, it was reported that crime within the beat that contained Oscar Grant Plaza went down 19 percent, which highlights the social efficacy of the community when allowed to come together and care for itself.

This Thursday October 25, Occupy Oakland will take back Oscar Grant Plaza with the intention of reclaiming the commons and the right of the people to organize in City Centers. This is a call out to all those who either experienced or were intrigued by the power of the Oakland Commune to come and contribute to the evening’s planned discussions on racism, patriarchy, state repression, and bridges to building a mass movement. A pot luck, community forum and general assembly are scheduled to begin at 4:00pm, followed by a march at 7:00pm. Films will be shown in the evening.

Come gather with us in the commons!

PHOTO: OaklandNorth.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – APRIL 4, 2012

OAKLAND STUDENTS AND PARENTS FILE SUIT TO STOP SCHOOL CLOSURE

Decision to Close Santa Fe Elementary School is Racially Discriminatory, a Waste a Public Resources, and in Violation of the California Environmental Quality Act, Plaintiffs Say

Press Contact: Michael Siegel, Siegel & Yee, Attorneys for Plaintiffs, (510) 839-1200 x207, michael@siegelyee.com

Oakland, CA. On Wednesday, four parents and six students from Santa Fe Elementary School served the Oakland Unified School District with a lawsuit to prevent the closure of their historic neighborhood school. In a verified complaint filed with the Alameda County Superior Court, the Santa Fe plaintiffs allege that the school closure policy implemented by the Oakland School Board violates the equal protection guarantees of the California Constitution. The plaintiffs also allege that the Santa Fe closure wastes public resources and violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

“The School Board’s decision to close Santa Fe violates my rights as a parent, and my kids’ rights as students,” says Thearse Pecot, the lead plaintiff and a guardian of three Santa Fe students. “They are now trying to close the fifth school in my neighborhood – and all five of these schools have served mainly African-American children. This is racial discrimination, plain and simple,” Pecot says.

Plaintiff Ural C. Dixon describes how the school closure policy will impact his son, who receives full-day special education services. “The District is saying they will bus my son from North Oakland to 81st Avenue in East Oakland – a trip, including stops, that will probably take 90 minutes each way. How is a young person supposed to get an education, when he spends three hours each day on a bus?”

In their suit, the plaintiffs make four claims regarding the closure of Santa Fe: (1) the closure violates the rights of North Oakland African-American students to an equitable education; (2) parents’ rights are also violated, because they will not be able to access the newly-assigned schools; (3) the School Board is wasting public funds by closing the school, given hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent investments at the Santa Fe campus; and (4) CEQA has been violated, because the School Board failed to consider the cumulative environmental impact of five North Oakland school closures over the last eight years.

The plaintiffs intend to request an expedited hearing on their claims, and will ask the Superior Court to issue an injunction preventing the closure of Santa Fe.

The complaint can be found online at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/88030232/Lawsuit-to-Prevent-Closure-of-Santa-Fe-Elementary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                      MARCH 19, 2012

WHAT: Press conference with parents, teachers, and neighbors of Santa Fe Elementary, as well as civil rights attorney Michael Siegel

WHEN: Tuesday, March 20 at 2:45 pm.

WHERE: The steps of Santa Fe Elementary, 915 54^th St. at Market in North Oakland.

Contact:

Marianne Moore, North Oakland Neighborhood Assembly

Phone: (508) 241 0698

Email: m.mckinnon.moore@gmail.com

Michael Siegel, Law Offices of Siegel and Yee

Phone: (510) 839 1200

Email: michael@siegelyee.com

PRESS CONFERENCE AT SANTA FE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

TUESDAY, MARCH 20 at 2:45 PM

On March 12 the Oakland Tribune reported that Superintendent Tony Smith has rescinded his plan to close 20-30 Oakland schools over the next two years. Though at the beginning of this year the financial projection for the district was so dismal that the only way to break even was to close five elementary schools immediately and plan to shutter many more, apparently this coming school year the district will be operating without a structural deficit in its budget for the first time in years. http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_20149024/oaklands-painful-school-closure-era-might-be-over

The parents, teachers, and community of Santa Fe Elementary School are outraged and incredulous at Mr. Smith’s hypocrisy. If the money can be found to keep thirty schools open, surely there’s enough to keep thirty-five open. The district’s “plan” will disrupt thousands of lives for no reason.

Santa Fe is an historical Oakland school serving a deeply-rooted, African-American and working class community. The school has a baseball team and outstanding after-school and tutoring programs. The grounds are decorated with beautiful murals. In the OUSD’s Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Competition, Santa Fe has taken first prize eight years running.

The OUSD plan to close Santa Fe makes no accommodation for the transportation needs of families who will no longer be able to access their neighborhood school. The majority of Santa Fe’s parents currently walk their children—Madeline Jackson and her 3rd-grader, Sabrina, live five minutes from Santa Fe. “When I heard about the school closing, I was devastated,” she said. “On days when I have to work, my mom doesn’t drive, so it’s very convenient for my mom to walk my daughter to school.” If the school closes, Madeline will enroll her daughter in Emerson, a twenty-five minute walk from her house. “My mom has diabetes, so she really can’t do a lot of walking—she gets tired,” she added. “It would be different if they had buses for our children, to transport the children to school.” As yet, the district has provided no busing option for children like Sabrina. Elementary school kids — as young as five years old — will be expected to catch AC Transit buses to their future school site.  The district has told parent that a lottery will be held to determine which students receive free bus passes.  No bus passes will be available for parents.

The Santa Fe campus has long had an SDC-NSH program (Special Day Class, Non-Severely Handicapped), a special education classroom where students with learning disabilities can get the individual attention they need. Not every school in the district has such a program—the district’s current plan is to move all the students who participate in the SDC to Acorn Woodland School in East Oakland. Though these students will be bussed, this will be an extraordinary hardship for low-income parents without convenient transportation. How will they attend school events, after-school programs? How will they get to the school in case of emergency?

Oakland civil rights attorney Michael Siegel is advising the Santa Fe community in their struggle to save their school.  ”The Santa Fe parents and students are being deprived of their fundamental right to an education,” Siegel stated.  ”By depriving students of a neighborhood school, they are being forced to travel great distances, without assurances of safety, and without transportation for their parents, which puts them at a great disadvantage in comparison to other students. Taking away full-day special education is also a very serious issue.  We are concerned that OUSD is doing tremendous harm by pursuing this school closure strategy, without evidence of any corresponding benefits to the community.”

###

Interfaith Leaders from across the United States
Gather for National Occupy Faith Conference

Wednesday, March 21, 6:00 p.m.
Frank Ogawa/Oscar Grant Plaza, Oakland

Interfaith Service Honoring Human Dignity and First Amendment Rights

National faith leaders will offer religious sanctuary and protection to those to whom police have issued “stay away” and “non-loitering” orders that prohibit them from being on the plaza. The Service will honor their Constitutional First Amendment rights and challenge police actions against peaceful, lawful protesters. The service is expected to draw people from faith communities and Occupy encampments from across the state of California.

Oakland, CA – Beginning on Tuesday, March 20^th, interfaith leaders from occupations across the country will gather to discuss the crucial and complex role they have played in the Occupy Wall Street Movement and to create a plan for coordinated national actions in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street Movement. As the Occupy movement continues and matures, the role of faith leaders in many places has taken on crucial dimensions, especially in advocating strongly for non-violence.  Learn what faith leaders think is next. Visit occupyfaithoak.org for more information.

###