By Eric Louie
March 16, 2012
Despite the continuing rains, the first in a series of Occupy Oakland Saturday barbecues to bring the movement into the neighborhoods will begin this weekend.
Four barbecues are scheduled through mid-April, with the March 17 event from noon to 5 p.m. at Arroyo Viejo Park, 7701 Krause St. in East Oakland near Bancroft and 77th streets. All will include free food, arts and crafts, music, a children’s play area, literature and workshops.
“It’s base building,” said Leo Ritz-Barr, a member of the events committee. Just a couple weeks following the last barbecue will be the national May 1 assembly highlighting workers and immigrants. Organizers hope to attract as many 400 occupiers to each of the barbeques, and to do outreach twice a week such as passing out flyers in the neighborhoods.
Ritz-Barr said the barbecues are also working with previously scheduled events in the community. Saturday’s barbeque will include first-aid training for seizures, gunshot wounds and other emergencies since organizers say response is slow in low-income and communities of color. There will also be information on rights against police and opportunities for attendees to further organize and strategize. Others include an effort to save a school from closing, HIV testing and a Black Panther event.
Occupy Oakland’s general assembly approved earlier this month up to $500 for each of the barbeques, but more help is needed. Organizers are asking for side dishes and desserts, and help cooking will also be appreciated. They also hope to print T-shirts and give them away for free. Donations of any blank shirts, especially white XL and XXL tall-tees, are being taken.
Saturday barbeques lineup:
– March 24, from 1pm to 5pm at Rainbow Park near Seminary Avenue and International Boulevard following a free food giveaway.
– March 31, from 2pm to 6pm at the park near ?52nd Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The event is in support of the North Oakland Neighborhood Assembly and the effort to save Santa Fe Elementary. Nonprofit Casa Segura-The HIV Education and Prevention Project of Alameda County will be providing free HIV tests and passing out condoms and safe sex kits.
– April 7, from 3pm to 7pm at DeFremery Park, also known as Lil’ Bobby Hutton Park? at 18th and Adeline streets. It follows a Black Panther “Let’s Not Forget” Party at the West Oakland Library, which starts at 1 pm.
For more information, visit http://www.oobbq.org.
Eric Louie is covering the Occupy movement for The Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America.
The Hunger Site
March 16, 2012 at 12:58 pm
Are these veggie barbecues? There must be a lot of vegans involved in Occupy Oakland. I find it hard to believe that consensus was reached by an Occupy group to organize around the gratuitous slaughter of fellow animals in such a hedonistic and excessive class of meat eating.
The point of Occupy is to end hierarchical domineering, slavery, cruelty, selfishness, and violence for unnecessary and excessive personal luxury; all behaviors exemplified by barbecuing other animals for pleasure and camaraderie.