Oakland, the last refuge of radical america the new york times. Oakland polices aggressive response to the occupy movement rebounds. Oct 22, 2011 occupy oakland is a tent encampment in the park facing oakland s city hall. Quans transformation from one of the more progressive mayors in the country into an object of occupy oaklands scorn has left her isolated and weakened politically. Police have arrested more than 400 occupy oakland protesters, as well as a number of journalists, in one of the largest mass arrests since the nationwide occupy protests began last year. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise andor ogp itself is inaccessible, we will meet at kaiser park, right next to the statues, on 19th st. Police in oakland, california, have been trying hard to scare off occupy wall street protesters that kept coming back to the city hall. In the case of occupy oakland, the authorities handed out a printed warning to. Mayor jean quan wants ows to disown occupy oakland rt usa news. Oakland, the last refuge of radical america the new york. Occupy, oakland blame each other for violence sfgate. The little revolution that couldnt the first published book about occupys most militant franchise. Nearly a year after the occupy protest coalesced in downtown oakland, a longsuffering casualty of the protest is finally being attended to as the city of oakland begins a fullscale restoration of the lawn of frank h.
While much of the country sat eerily quiet in the years before the hot fall of 2011, a unique rebelliousness that regularly erupted in militant antagonisms with the police was already taking root in the streets of the bay. Police fire tear gas, rubber bullets, bean bag rounds, and concussion grenades at occupy oakland demonstrators. According to the press, its purpose was to produce. Since it first cropped up last month, the occupy wall street movement has strengthened, with protests spreading throughout the nation and the world. For many of us, the primary motive for participating in occupy oakland was feeding, clothing, housing, healing, and supporting every disenfranchised person who came, regardless of who they were, what they looked like, or what they believed. Yesterday in oakland this sevenminute video gives a pretty good brief impression of what happened in oakland yesterday, following the police destruction of the occupy oakland encampment at frank ogawa plaza. Its a city almost entirely devoid of financial or corporate. The media at first blamed the violent response on the occupy protesters or smudged them all together, though to their credit many journalists properly admonished the city of oakland for terrorizing the movement, injuring civilians and overuse of force once they saw the occupy people out there scrubbing away and cleaning up the streets the very. The members are supporting the concerns raised by occupy oakland and the occupy movement to speak up for the 99 percent and against the corporate greed that is. Abebooks, an amazon company, offers millions of new, used, and outofprint books. The book shields of oakland disappeared for a few weeks after the picture above was taken.
Police officers now outnumber the 25 or so protesters at frank h. A history, a crisis, a movement was a mass movement that was rational, thoughtful, purposeful and in several ways, effective. The community, press, and city officials are all invited to attend and listen. Occupy oakland exists only as a vestige general assembly lacking authorization to act as occupy oakland without a quorum of 70 humans. In oakland, the december 12th west coast port shutdown successfully kept the port of oakland closed for over twenty four. Occupy oakland demonstrators mingle before a general assembly at frank ogawa plaza in oakland, calif.
Nov 14, 2011 crackdown at occupy oakland police are getting tougher on occupy demonstrations across the country, working to break up encampments. During recent demonstrations in rome, students brought out shields to defend against police batons, with book covers painted onto them. The blaze ap a day of demonstrations in oakland that began as a significant step toward expanding the political and economic influence of the occupy wall street movement, ended with police in riot gear. In actions against occupy oakland, opd has consistently broken with their own crowd control policies and procedures, while brutalizing those they have arrested. For those of us in oakland, occupy wall street was always a strange fit. As part of the occupy movement, protestors have staged occupations, most notably at frank h. The book s original publisher, zuccotti park press, was founded by adelente alliance, a brooklynbased non profit cultural and advocacy organization devoted to the spanishspeaking community. Heres what the laboratory of insurrectionary imaginations brilliant a users guide to demanding the impossible has to offer our emphasis. A protester holds up a sign referencing scott olsen, 24, a former marine who has shot in the head by a.
Oct 26, 2011 occupy oakland is not beaten yet ted trautman. Occupy protests test the mayor of oakland the new york times. As occupy wall street shows no signs of slowing down and some say saturdays march in oakland only added momentum to the movement after hundreds were arrested mayor quan continues to be clueless on how to handle the demonstrations. The police force dressed in black ninjalike outfits and specialforces helmets with full face shields down and armed with an assortment of the. Police ready for protests as urban shield event starts on occupy. In a sense, oakland is the last place you would expect to find the most stubbornly active outpost of the occupy movement. Occupy oakland is so far removed from occupy wall street you wouldnt know they sprung from the same concept.
The policing and repression of occupy oakland, shows how forceful policing as a means of social control. Over 400 arrests were reported, and soon after, occupy fizzled. How city hall crushed occupy oakland books oakland. Police in face shields warned them that they faced arrest if they crossed the area. Occupy oakland refers to a collaboration and series of demonstrations in oakland, california that started in october 2011. Check out portraits from the occupation, sixteen videos by individuals impacted by or part of oo. Occupy activist scott olsen, an iraq war veteran critically injured during a heavyhanded eviction by oakland police during last years protests, speaks about his experiences with occupy and where.
Instead, thousands of occupy protesters met at various strike stations and fanned out into the streets with shields and gas masks or the. Because, as we all know, a violent riot is the most effective way of creating jobs and reducing corporate political influence. In oakland, california where the occupy wall street movement has spawned a series of intense demonstrations, mayor jean quan has run out of ways to try and put out the flames of the fiery protests. Arnold described the scene as a standoff between police in riot gear and people with homemade shields and cudgels. The components of a book shield are relatively simple. Police made dozens of arrests on monday morning in oakland. Occupy wall street protests continue after violence in oakland. Oct 26, 2012 more than 150 occupy oakland activists gathered downtown thursday to mark the anniversary of the dismantlement of their encampment with chalk drawings, speeches and an evening march, and though. I was the one who established the first interfaith tent on the third day of the first occupy i dont really need to have that mentioned but it would be nice if the facts where right. Ogawa plaza in front of oakland city hall occupy oakland began as a protest encampment at frank h. Arthur chen, 60, was an unusual addition to the counterculture of the occupy oakland movement.
Occupy oakland s future depends on its ability to maintain this multifront war while making broader efforts to truly include the people it. Kaiser convention center, parker said people used shields made out of corrugated steel to advance on police. Dec 22, 2011 after the tents fall at occupy oakland. Oct 14, 2018 the book shields of oakland disappeared for a few weeks after the picture above was taken. I served food and washed dishes as my contribution to the movement. Mayor jean quan wants ows to disown occupy oakland rt. How the black bloc occupied oakland east bay express. By wednesday morning in downtown oakland, a dim cloud of gas still hung in the air over frank ogawa plaza, images broadcast on cnn showed. Aug 05, 2012 in a sense, oakland is the last place you would expect to find the most stubbornly active outpost of the occupy movement. Dozens of police maintained a latenight guard around city hall following daylong protests that. The fine tooth combs continue to run over occupy oaklands general strike on wednesday, november 2nd, its sequence of marches, port. Occupy oakland was seeking to take over an abandoned building so that it could reestablish the community, the food programs, and the medical clinic it had set up last fall. Located across the bay from liberal san francisco and just next to the studentactivist hub of berkeley, oakland is a postindustrial city with its own unique social conditions and strong progressive history. Occupy oakland protesters marching towards port of oakland on november 2, 2011.
Veteran scott olsen was near the police line when he was shot with a tear gas canister and permanently injured during the raid on occupy oakland. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. A users guide to demanding the impossible asians art. Oakland officials and occupy protesters confronted the fallout from their increasingly toxic conflict on sunday, a day after the tensions reignited in chaotic, often violent demonstrations that. Rats and drugs mar occupy oakland tent city, officials say.
Among other things, i call your attention to a poignant interaction around 4. Oct 26, 2011 occupy oakland was the largest occupy wall street movement in the bay area, regularly swelling to 500 campers on a given night. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Police officers fired tear gas at hundreds of occupy protesters in. Jan 29, 2012 300 arrested in occupy oakland protests. Oakland panel weighs ban on protesters tools sfgate.
But they reappeared briefly the night the police evicted the occupy oakland encampment, invading it from all sides, gassing everyone, and arresting the people unlucky enough to get out. Oct 26, 2011 at least 53 people connected to the protest group occupy atlanta were arrested, and the park was cleared by 2 a. Witness to the occupy oakland assault consortiumnews. From italy to england, sweden to spain, oakland to new york, the book bloc has surfaced as a. Eastern time, the atlanta journal constitution reported. Police fire tear gas at occupy protesters in oakland the. It was originally published on hella occupy oakland. Over the last weeks, the occupiers had set up art galleries, libraries, a childrens play area and internet cafes within their encampment. This forum had been intended to allow the community to discuss the oakland police departments opd handling of occupy oakland. Celeste ng, ann patchett, min jin lee and others on the books that bring. Oakland city officials said tuesday they may have to shut down the occupy oakland tent city in coming days because it is attracting rats, alcohol and illegal drug use.
They often hold the american flag and engage the officers during standoffs, which can last hours. Students occupy university of london senate house in opposition to the. Occupy oakland protesters demonstrate day after clash with police oakland, ca october 26. Kaiser convention center, parker said people used shields made out. Since that time occupy oakland protests, as well as occupy groups in other cities, have continued to engage in violent protests. If there was any city in the us that was predisposed to the occupy movement, it was oakland.
Le guin says she is in full sympathy with occupy oakland protesters who reportedly safeguarded themselves behind shields made to look like the dispossessed, her 1974 scifi novel. Oakland restores city hall plaza and lawn, damaged by. Beginning october 25, 2011 and continuing through the present, occupy oakland has been joined by other direct action groups, 1 frank ogawa plaza park is located at one of the primary entrances to oakland city hall. Wooden pathways wend between dozens of tents inhabited by over a hundred activists. A photo from the cuny and cooper union book shields workshop on december 14, 2012.
After the tents fall at occupy oakland the atlantic. As a result, occupy oakland is hosting its own cprb to address these issues and instances of misconduct and brutality. Like so many others, i now feel that the window is opening once again. But the connecticutborn oakland resident who works in the citys chinatown had a cause health care reform and the protests gave him a forum. Since 20, the bay area has been trying to transform urban shield from a highly militarized swat competition and.
Occupy protesters and police clash in oakland the new york times. Independent investigation occupy oakland response october. My church first congregational church of oakland was used daily to cook for occupy. Oakland restores city hall plaza and lawn, damaged by occupy campsite.
Occupy wall street, as portrayed in david graebers compelling the democracy project. Saturday, october 22 was a special day for the occupiers. What the hell do they have helmets and shields for. Occupy oakland is not beaten yet ted trautman world news. A guy with a guitar is singing about freight trains as people mill around. Occupy protesters march at the port of oakland on dec. In the liminal space between the state and the people, identity politics does not matter. Occupy was the first of a series of publications known as the occupied media pamphlet series. Some protesters carried plastic garbage cans cut into shields in preparation for. Ogawa plaza, the site of the former occupy oakland camp. Occupy oakland refers to a collaboration and series of demonstrations in oakland, california.