Activism

‘Life Over Rent’ Rally Speakers Urge Tenants to Organize, Prepare next Steps

Published

4 years ago

September 11, 2020

Kieryn Darkwater (left) and Casey Busher (right) of Alice Street Dunsmuir Tenant Union. Photo by Zack Haber

About 175 tenants gathered on the steps of Alameda County’s Superior Courthouse for a rally called Life Over Rent/Nuestrxs Vidas Si Renta No last Saturday.

A Facebook invitation for the rally claimed “Our needs come before our landlord’s profits” and showed that five different tenants’ unions organized the event: Tenants and Neighborhood Councils (TANC), SMC Tenants Council, Lonay Tenants Council, Village Residents Association at UC Berkeley Family Housing and JDW Tenants Union.

Jourdan Sales (far left) of JDW Tenants Union speaking to tenants at the Life Over Rent / Nuestrxs Vidas Si Renta No rally in front of the Alameda County Courthouse on September 5. Photo by Zack Haber

The invite also listed three goals: canceling rent during the pandemic, recognition and negotiation from landlords of collectively organized tenants, and prohibiting all evictions and expanding unemployment and food stamps for those hit hardest by the pandemic.

Although the day was hot with temperatures in the upper 80s and 90s, the courthouse provided shade where tenants sat in as they listened to about a dozen speakers representing different local grassroots tenant, labor, and housing justice groups.

A march was planned, but it was canceled as smoke increasingly blew into the area. Tenants held signs, mostly in red, some of which read “EVICTIONS = POLICE VIOLENCE,” “BLACK LIVES MATTER, BLACK TENANTS MATTER,” “HOMES FOR ALL, WE WON’T WAIT” and “LANDLORDS MUST NEGOTIATE.”

Photo by Zack Haber

Gerald Smith, a former Black Panther who’s currently a member of the Oscar Grant Organizing Committee spoke first and encouraged people to join in the fight to release people from San Quentin State Prison, where currently 26 people have died from COVID-19. Then Smith spoke of lessons he learned participating in The Harlem Rent Strikes in the mid-1960s and highlighted the importance of organized leadership and planning beyond small wins against landlords. After some landlords abandoned buildings during the Harlem strike, Smith said many renters weren’t organized or prepared on how to respond.

“We figured if you beat them, things are going to be all right,” Smith said. “But it’s not going to be all right. As long as capitalism exists it’s not going to be all right. You have to prepare people for the next step.”

Judy Greenspan, a local teacher and member of the Oakland Education Association spoke next and pointed out that COVID-19 could cause massive privatization of schools in addition to evictions if people do not organize well.

ILWU Local 34 president Keith Shanklin spoke against the Howard Terminal Project, which plans to place an Oakland A’s ballpark and market-rate condos in The Port of Oakland, and said it would destroy union longshoreman jobs.

Members of several local tenants’ unions including JDW Tenants Union, SMC Tenants Council and Alice Street Dunsmuir Tenant Union spoke of the need to connect and organize with other tenants, particularly ones who rent from the same landlord.

Jourdan Sales of JDW Tenants Union said her landlord, Justin Douglas Wallway, found a loophole he tried to use to remove rent control from more than 30 of the households he rented to in 2017. But through tenants organizing and collaborating with Centro Legal De La Raza, they were able to close the loophole.

“We actually changed housing legislation,” they said. “This battle took two years before it was won. This isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight. These things that we want to take time.”

Kieryn Darkwater and Casey Busher of Alice Street Dunsmuir Tenant Union spoke of how they have fought to stop their landlord from charging them for utilities they claim they are not legally obligated to pay. As their fight has been hung up in the Rent Adjustment Program and court, they have expanded and worked with the Ivy Hills Tenant Union.

Their landlord has refused to negotiate with them. Together, both groups have 25 units currently on rent strike. They’ve also started meeting regularly and have a bulletin board in their shared laundry room where they lend out tools and help each other with pet sitting.

“We have become our landlord’s worst nightmare,” said Darkwater.

Dayton Andrews of The United Front Against Displacement spoke of unifying unhoused and housed people together, dismantling distinctions between different struggles including housing, immigration, and queer rights.

“We have to come together as a class to oppose the enemies of the people,” said Andrews.

Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

Published

19 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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‘Donald Trump Is Not a God:’ Rep. Bennie Thompson Blasts Trump’s Call to Jail Him

“Donald Trump is not a god,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

Published

3 days ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Congressman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he not intimidated by President-elect Donald Trump, who, during an interview on “Meet the Press,” called for the congressman to be jailed for his role as chairman of the special congressional committee investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Donald Trump is not a god,” Thompson told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

“He can’t prove it, nor has there been any other proof offered, which tells me that he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said the 76-year-old lawmaker, who maintained that he and the bipartisan Jan. 6 Select Committee – which referred Trump for criminal prosecution – were exercising their constitutional and legislative duties.

“When someone disagrees with you, that doesn’t make it illegal; that doesn’t even make it wrong,” Thompson said, “The greatness of this country is that everyone can have their own opinion about any subject, and so for an incoming president who disagrees with the work of Congress to say ‘because I disagree, I want them jailed,’ is absolutely unbelievable.”

When asked by The Grio if he is concerned about his physical safety amid continued public ridicule from Trump, whose supporters have already proven to be violent, Thompson said, “I think every member of Congress here has to have some degree of concern, because you just never know.”

This story is based on a report from The Grio.

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City of Oakland Celebrates Reopening of Main Library

“Libraries are such critical facilities for all Oaklanders, whether it’s children coming to story-time, adults reading the newspapers or borrowing the latest novels, and people engaging with a range of services and programs that the library hosts,” said Council President and District 2 Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas. “Such library services and programs are only possible when the facility’s electricity, heating, roof, and lighting are fixed and running efficiently. I’m proud to join this re-opening of our Main Public Library.”

Published

3 days ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Left to Right- Jamie Turbak, Director of Library Services, LaTonda Simmons, Assistant City Administrator, Nikki Bas, President Oakland City Council, Shen Thao, Mayor of Oakland, Carroll Fife, Oakland City Councilmember District 3, Harold Duffey, Assistant City Administrator, Sean Maher, Projects Coordinator. Photo by Kevin Hicks.

The branch had been closed since May for critical infrastructure upgrades

Special to the Post

The City of Oakland leadership and community partners gathered to celebrate the reopening of the Main Library after completion of critical infrastructure upgrades to enhance the library’s facilities and provide a better experience for patrons.

Renovations include new roof installation, skylight repair, critical electrical system upgrades, new boiler control system installation, auditorium heating and cooling system installation, and improvements to lighting, flooring and ceilings throughout the building.

“This is truly something to celebrate, the reopening of our wonderful Main Library! I congratulate the staff and our partners for this important project to make the Main Library a more comfortable place for everyone for years to come, said Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. “Thank you to Oakland voters and the California State Library for making these crucial improvements possible.”

“Public libraries are a wonderful resource for our residents, offering a safe space for learning and being,” said District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife. “It is critical to improve and modernize our libraries so more members of our community can utilize and enjoy them. I’m excited that the necessary renovations to the Main Library have been completed successfully and thank everyone involved, particularly the City team, who helped secured the necessary grant funds for this work.”

“I am proud of the City staff and project partners who kept this important project on schedule and under budget,” said Assistant City Administrator G. Harold Duffey. “The library is an incredibly important resource for our community members, and this project is an investment into the library’s future.”

“December 2nd was a momentous occasion for Oakland Public Library as we proudly reopened the doors of the Main Library following extensive infrastructure repairs,” said Director of Library Services Jamie Turbak. “Closing the Main Library for six months was no easy decision, as it serves as the central hub for our library system and is truly the heart of Oakland. Yet, this renovation was essential, representing more than just physical upgrades—it reflects our ongoing commitment to creating a safe, welcoming space for everyone.”

The City Administrator Jestin Johnson also attended the press conference and signalled his support for the completion of the record-setting completion of the renovations. Gay Plair Cobb, a newly appointed Library Commissioner said the Library represents the soul and brains of our community.

The Oakland Public Library secured funding for these crititcal repairs through a variety of sources. The California State Library’s Building Forward Library Facilities Improvement Program awarded the Main Branch $4.2 million. To comply with the grant terms, the City of Oakland provided matching funds through Measures KK, as approved by the Oakland City Council in October 2023.

The Main Library will host an Open House to celebrate the reopening on February 22, 2025, 10 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

About the Oakland Public Library

The Oakland Public Library is a part of the City of Oakland in California and has been in existence since 1878. Locations include 16 neighborhood branches, a Main Library, a Second Start Adult Literacy Program, the Oakland Tool Lending Library, and the African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO). The Oakland Public Library empowers all people to explore, connect, and grow. Oaklandlibrary.org