December 21, 2011

Occupy Oakland maintains presence inside and outside of City Hall

The tent city is gone from outside of City Hall in this largely blue collar Bay Area city that has become the western front for the Occupy Wall Street movement. But both here at Frank Ogawa Plaza, which local activists have pretty successfully renamed Oscar Grant Plaza, and inside the council chambers itself, Occupy Oakland’s presence is still very much alive and well.

Last night, about 25 Occupiers continued their ongoing presence in the park with a 24-hour vigil as many more activists were inside City Hall arguing against a proposal that would utilize “whatever lawful tools” the city has to avoid another port shutdown.

The “Oakland Commune”

While the police won’t allow Occupiers to sleep in the park anymore – in tents or otherwise – instead activists are occupying the park in shifts with what they are call a continuous vigil.

“We wanted to continue to hold the space so we determined a vigil was the way to go,” said Phil Horne, a San Francisco lawyer who helped devise the strategy. Horne originally protested with Occupy San Francisco, but relocated to the Oakland encampment because, he said, it was more of a communal and spiritual atmosphere.

San Francisco, he said, “became much more of a party place. This was much more political and full of positive action. It’s very hard to put into words, but it was amazing.”

In fact, several Occupy Oakland activists refer to the former encampment in front of City Hall as the “Oakland Commune.” Horne likened it to the Paris Commune that ruled France for a brief period between Napoleon and the current neo-liberal government.

“It was a living example of the kind of world we are striving to live in,” said Naomi Reagan, a former Oakland camper who occupied a tree-sit in the Plaza between the encampment and the vigil.

Aside from the lack of tents, the Plaza still had the look and feel of an Occupy village. People played music, handed out free hot food (chicken, on the bone and sandwiches) and exchanged ideas on how to create a better society.

Port shutdown politics

Inside City Hall, at a council meeting, the atmosphere was less peaceful.

There were easily more activists inside the meeting Oakland City Council was considering a resolution that would said the city should use “whatever lawful tools we have” to keep Occupy Oakland from shutting down the port again. According to the Oakland Tribune, it would cost the city $1.5 million to protect the ports against a two-day protest. The port protest last week resulted in $4 million in economic loss.

Occupiers filled both balconies and the lower seating area of the council chambers. Many could be seen frantically tweeting on smart phones and some frequently chided council members, even on separate issues from the port shutdown. At one point a councilor asked that police remove a heckler.

When the port security resolution came up, close to 60 people signed up to address the council, including former Black Panthers, union leaders and even a nun, according to local journalist Suzie Cagle.

Few spoke more eloquently, impassioned or as quickly as Jessica Hollie, who said if the city can come up with the money to “control its encampment at least it can be resourceful enough to keep our schools open.”

The council, after a lengthy debate, rejected the proposal.

— Bob Plain