Hundreds gathered
Jan. 28 for the start of Occupy Oakland’s “Move in Day” at
renamed Oscar Grant Plaza, site of its original encampment. Occupiers
and community activists spoke of the need to occupy one of the many
buildings left vacant by the economic crisis of 2008-09 and the
resulting massive cuts to social services, in order to create a
community space to further the growth of the movement
At its height, more
than a thousand people from around California and from Longview,
Wash., and elsewhere joined the action. The turnout challenged the
corporate media’s portrayal of Occupy as a diminishing movement.
Media reports
highlighted and exaggerated the vandalism by a few protesters and
played down the cops’ use of tear gas on people peacefully
assembling, though reporters were also victims of the Oakland Police
Department’s brutal tactics.
Starting at 2 p.m.,
a sound truck guided the marchers to one of the four possible sites
that had been selected for a community center. There was a palpable
sense of excitement as the marchers moved out.
A line of riot cops
followed behind, harassing stragglers. As the march passed through
Laney College, the MC on the sound truck voiced the hardships caused
by cuts to education. As the marchers were about to leave the campus,
a new line of riot cops blocked the main exit, diverting the march to
another exit over a narrow bridge.
The march ended in
front of the Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium, one of the targeted vacant
buildings. Ironically, the façade includes text expounding how this
is a public space. Occupiers chanted, “Whose big a** building? Our
big a**building!”
OPD officers had
already occupied the building grounds and erected a fence around the
property. Activists proceeded to take down the fence and move in with
their belongings. Suddenly, with no concern for public safety, the
cops set off flash bang grenades and fired tear gas into the crowd,
which included children in strollers.
When protesters
tried to retreat to a different auditorium entrance, the police
released a second barrage of flash bang grenades and tear gas.
Activists retreated back to Oscar Grant Plaza.
After a couple of
hours of food and rest, the General Assembly met and decided to try
another site for the community center. Over a thousand people
reconvened at Oscar Grant Plaza around 6 p.m. and kicked off another
march.
The march went
through downtown Oakland and almost re-occupied two buildings, but at
this point a line of riot cops formed behind the march and attempted
to kettle the marchers into an
area for arrests.
What followed was a
game of cat and mouse between the demonstrators and the OPD, with the
OPD being the cat. The OPD kettled demonstrators in a park, blocked
all exits and ordered demonstrators to disperse or face arrest. As
protesters attempted to leave, the police released another round of
tear gas and flash bang grenades. People had to jump over two metal
fences surrounding a construction zone to escape the advancing cops.
Once clear of the
tear gas, protesters marched down Broadway. Again the OPD kettled
people, this time into a one-block area, and again ordered
demonstrators to disperse or face arrest.
Demonstrators
looked to the YMCA, the only business open on the block, for refuge.
Upon reaching the front entrance, YMCA employees who had been
watching the cops’ brutal tactics showed their solidarity by opening
the doors and guiding the demonstrators to the back exit.
More than 25 OPD
officers quickly followed, chasing demonstrators through the YMCA and
arresting people, including media reporters.
Following the last
kettling, demonstrators fled for safety and refuge from the OPD
brutality. Many were caught, beaten and arrested for trying to create
a community center.
The media
mouthpieces for the 1 percent, however, did not depict the day’s
events as they actually happened. The media are trying to portray the
Occupy movement and its demands—such as an end to foreclosures and
the use of vacant buildings for housing and community centers—as
marginal and not worth supporting.
In reality, Occupy
Oakland’s “Move in Day” demonstrated that Occupy has the
potential to grow into a mass movement.
Activists
protest police brutality
In response to the
brutality unleashed by the Oakland police on Jan. 28, members of
Occupy Oakland organized a protest march on Feb. 4. Around 200
people, including members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation,
came out to show that cop violence would not instill fear in the 99
percent of the Bay Area.
The organizers
called on marchers to bring brooms in order to “clean up” the
neighborhood and demonstrate that the people of Oakland could police
themselves and care for their own community. As marchers gathered at
Oscar Grant Plaza, Bella Eiko, a young African-American Occupier
known for her spirited online coverage of the movement, addressed the
protesters, differentiating self-defense tactics from “anti-police
violence.” The crowd cheered her remarks and showed enthusiasm for
taking its anti-cop message to the oppressed sectors of Oakland.
As the
multinational march took to the streets at around 9 p.m., there was
no sign of a police presence. By this time, traffic in the mostly
commercial district was minimal and the march posed little
inconvenience to motorists. However, as the march went up a two-lane
boulevard, cops suddenly showed up and started forcing protesters
into one lane. The cops, in riot gear, appeared ready to attack when
Occupy organizers urged the crowd to take to the sidewalks.
Protesters followed their lead until far enough away from the police
to again take the street.
Throughout the rest
of the march, the cops tried to divide the crowd and push the march
along by intimidating with their clubs any who fell behind. About
half way through the two-hour march, the cops, perhaps tired of
walking, took to their cars and continued following , endangering
anyone lagging behind.
The procession
circled from downtown Oakland through several oppressed
neighborhoods. Many residents came out to voice their solidarity and
take pictures of the Occupiers. Chants included “F*** the Police!”
and “Oink, Oink! Bang, Bang! Everyday the Same Thing!” The lead
Occupiers called for money for schools and senior centers rather than
the militarization of Oakland’s police force.
The disciplined
march ended back at Oscar Grant Plaza with no arrests.
The ANSWER
Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), of which the Party
for Socialism and Liberation is a member, participated in the actions
both days. Although the movement did not succeed in occupying a
building to create a community center, the two actions exposed the
callous lack of concern of the 1 percent for the needs of the 99
percent and proved that the struggle continues.
Sarah Carlson
contributed to this report.
