oakland rally demands: count the votes!

 

OAKLAND RALLY DEMANDS, COUNT THE VOTES! By David Bacon CFT United, 11/65/20 https://www.cft.org/article/oakland-rally-demands-count-every-vote The polls closed in Hawaii, the westernmost voting site in the U.S., at 1am, Eastern Time on November 4.  At 2:28, less than two hours later, President Trump sent out a Tweet announcing that he'd won the election.  Millions of votes had yet to be counted, especially those cast by people voting early because of the coronavirus.  But Trump demanded that counting stop, and made false charges of election rigging.  He immediately filed suits in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia to stop the count, and then defied his own logic by demanding a recount in Wisconsin. In response, people across the country came into streets and public places to protest, and to demand that all votes be counted before announcing whether Trump had won.  On Wednesday morning, in fact it seemed more likely that former Vice-President Joe Biden had accumulated enough votes in the Electoral College to claim victory.  Nevertheless, he demanded that counting continue until all votes were tallied. At noon on Wednesday in Oakland a crowd of several hundred people held homemade signs, and raucously cheered speeches denouncing Trump's move to, in effect, steal the election.  Chants of Count the Votes! repeatedly reverberated across Oscar Grant Plaza, in front of Oakland City Hall.  The front of the building itself was draped with three enormous orange banners with the same words, painted by David Solnit, an artist whose work is a constant presence at California social justice protests. Teachers were a visible presence, in blue tee-shirts emblazoned with the AFT logo, and "Count Every Vote" on one side and "Democracy Defender" on the other.  Members of the California Federation of Teachers were encouraged to come to the rally, and to others planned in coming days, by the union's Executive Council, which passed a resolution on Friday before the election outlining its commitment to defending democracy.   Prominent among the principles was "Every vote must be counted."  The union offers trainings - Mobilizing to Defend Democracy - to prepare members for actions like that in Oakland, to respond to the threat to invalidate the election and the vote of the people. For Margot Pepper, a member of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, 55-hour work weeks and 20 hours of report cards won't keep her from raising her voice.  "I cannot in good conscience," she explained, "stay home from protests defending the right of our votes to be counted, while teaching my students mandated curriculum about voting rights.  How can my students ever believe we have a democracy when the President himself behaves like a scofflaw?  Martin Luther King Jr. warned us, 'freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.'" The Oakland rally was addressed by Jovanka Beckles, a former member of the Richmond City Council who was just elected to the AC Transit Board of Directors.  A prominent member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance and a candidate endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, Beckles told the crowd that the only way to ensure that the results of the election will be respected is for people to make their voices heard in large numbers.  "We're the only ones who can truly make sure every vote counts," she said.   Saabir Lockett, Director of the Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy (FAME), prefaced a prayer by saying, "This is about going on the offensive with love, light, and righteous resistance.  Everyone?-?no matter what creed, race or gender?-?has a right to have their vote counted. Any declaration of victory without counting all votes is a slap in the face to democracy and to the everyday hardworking people who believe in the process." More actions like the Oakland rally will take place in San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and other cities as part of the Protect the Results network, a nationwide coalition.

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WORK AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: The David Bacon Archive exhibition at Stanford Libraries On exhibit through May 9, 2021 in the Cecil H. Green Library at Stanford. Access to campus libraries is currently limited to Stanford ID cardholders due to COVID-19; however, the online exhibition (https://exhibits.stanford.edu/bacon), which includes additional content not included in the physical show, is accessible to everyone, and is part of an accessible digital spotlight collection that includes significant images from this body of work. For a catalog: (https://web.stanford.edu/dept/spec_coll/NonVendorPubOrderform2017.pdf)   LABOR MARCH PROTESTS THE POLICE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD BERKELEY, CA - 13JUNE20 - Hundreds of union members and outraged people march through the streets of Berkeley to protest the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and other African American and people of color killed by police.  The march was organized by the labor councils of Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa and San Mateo Counties, and Service Employees International Union Local 1021. To see a full set of photos, click here:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/56646659@N05/albums/72157714734338062 STUDENTS MARCH TO PROTEST THE POLICE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD BERKELEY, CA - 09JUNE20 - Hundreds of students, teachers and outraged people march through the streets of Berkeley to protest the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and other African Americian and other people of color killed by police.  To see a full set of photos, click here:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/56646659@N05/albums/72157714656895057 HUGE CAR CARAVAN PROTESTS THE POLICE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD OAKLAND, CA - 31MAY20 - Thousands of people participate in a caravan of over 2000 cars from the Port of Oakland, to protest the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and African American and people of color killed by police. To see a full set of photos, click here:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/56646659@N05/albums/72157714533842187   IN THE FIELDS OF THE NORTH Online Exhibit, May 29 to August 2, 2020 Los Altos History Museum https://www.losaltoshistory.org/exhibits/in-the-fields-of-the-north/   TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE EXHIBITION - IN THE FIELDS OF THE NORTH at the History Museum of Tijuana HAGA UN RECORRIDO VIRTUAL DE LA EXPOSICIÓN - EN LOS CAMPOS DEL NORTE en el Museo de Historia de Tijuana https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=659536991515786   TARTINE HARDSHIP FUND Newly organized Tartine Bakery workers in the Bay Area need your help and assistance!  This fund, supported by the International Longhsore and Warehouse Union, will help hose workers unable to collect unemployment insurance. https://www.gofundme.com/f/tartine-union-hardship-fund?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet   The exhibitions in the following list were scheduled before the current COVID-19 crisis.  Public gatherings are not now taking place and these exhibitions have now been postponed or rescheduled. Stay healthy! IN THE FIELDS OF THE NORTH / EN LOS CAMPOS DEL NORTE March 21, 2021 - May 23, 2021 Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock MORE THAN A WALL - THE SOCIAL MOVEMENTS OF THE BORDER Spring, 2021 San Francisco Public Library DEPORTATIONS Rescheduled for a date when the gallery reopens Uri-Eichen Gallery, Chicago   In the Fields of the North / En los Campos del Norte Photographs and text by David Bacon University of California Press / Colegio de la Frontera Norte 302 photographs, 450pp, 9”x9” paperback, $34.95 (in the U.S.) order the book on the UC Press website: ucpress.edu/9780520296077 use source code  16M4197  at checkout, receive a 30% discount En Mexico se puede pedir el libro en el sitio de COLEF: https://www.colef.mx Los Angeles Times reviews In the Fields of the North / En los Campos del Norte - click here    "The Criminalization of Migration: A Socialist Perspective" with David Bacon and Rafael Pizarro. http://ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/David-Bacon-The-Criminalization-of-migration.mp4  A video about the Social Justice Photography of David Bacon: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14TvAj5nS08ENzWhw3Oxra4LMNKJCLF4z/view   En los campos del Norte documenta la vida de trabajadores agrícolas en Estados Unidos - Entrevista con el Instituto Nacional de la Antropologia y Historia http://www.inah.gob.mx/es/boletines/6863-en-los-campos-del-norte-documenta-la-vida-de-trabajadores-agricolas-en-estados-unidos Entrevista en la television de UNAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdSaBKZ_k0o David Bacon comparte su mirada del trabajo agrícola de migrantes mexicanos en el Museo Archivo de la Fotografia http://www.cultura.cdmx.gob.mx/comunicacion/nota/0038-18 Trabajo agrícola, migración y resistencia cultural: el mosaico de los “Campos del Norte” Entrevista de David Bacon por Iván Gutiérrez / A los 4 Vientos http://www.4vientos.net/2017/10/04/trabajo-agricola-migracion-y-resistencia-cultural-el-mosaico-de-los-campos-del-norte/ "Los fotógrafos tomamos partido" Entrevista por Melina Balcázar Moreno - Milenio.com Laberinto http://www.milenio.com/cultura/laberinto/david_baconm-fotografia-melina_balcazar-laberinto-milenio_0_959904035.html Die Apfel-Pflücker aus dem Yakima-Tal http://www.nrhz.de/flyer/beitrag.php?id=23990 EN LOS CAMPOS DEL NORTE:  Farm worker photographs on the U.S./Mexico border wall http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=fc67a76dbb9c31aaee896aff7&id=0644c65ae5&e=dde0321ee7 Entrevista sobre la exhibicion con Alfonso Caraveo (Español) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJeE1NO4c_M&feature=youtu.be   THE REALITY CHECK - David Bacon blog http://davidbaconrealitycheck.blogspot.com Books by David Bacon The Right to Stay Home:  How US Policy Drives Mexican Migration  (Beacon Press, 2013) http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=2328 Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants  (Beacon Press, 2008) Recipient: C.L.R. James Award, best book of 2007-2008 http://www.beacon.org/Illegal-People-P780.aspx Communities Without Borders (Cornell University/ILR Press, 2006) http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100558350 The Children of NAFTA, Labor Wars on the U.S./Mexico Border (University of California, 2004) http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520244726 En Español:   EL DERECHO A QUEDARSE EN CASA  (Critica - Planeta de Libros) http://www.planetadelibros.com.mx/el-derecho-a-quedarse-en-casa-libro-205607.html HIJOS DE LIBRE COMERCIA (El Viejo Topo) http://www.tienda.elviejotopo.com/prestashop/capitalismo/1080-hijos-del-libre-comercio-deslocalizaciones-y-precariedad-9788496356368.html?search_query=david+bacon&results=1 For more articles and images, see  http://dbacon.igc.org and http://davidbaconrealitycheck.blogspot.com and https://www.flickr.com/photos/56646659@N05/albums

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