My thoughts on a direct action social justice school

Let me start by giving my personal experience organizing
direct actions that have lasted more than one day.
 

DASW - Logistics committee 3 day shutdown of the SF federal building
2000

NLG - Legal Team week long action against FTAA Miami 2004

NLG - Legal Team SOA Action 2005

I will answer each question individually with my views but let me
summarize that in my experience to attempt this with what we have
right now for any date in June is not feasible.

Hope this is what you were thinking of.

Peace V

*How many people, and which people, need to be involved to:*

- get considerable media coverage in the first day? Ten total 3 - 5
full time media team with tasks and responsibilities delegating to the
other members of the team. (FTAA all teams reported back progress
weekly, media team worked for two months and like the legal it was
full time)

- make it politically unwise to evict us immediately? All of the
answers for this question are theory;

forcing them to do two things first arrest numbers to great to
reasonably hold (such as the political debacle using the ports as
jails in the early 2k rallies), second having to arrest families and
the teachers live on media.

Another scenario that might fit would be having enough numbers that
the only option for the city would result in serious injury to a
family or teacher live on the media.

- *How much time and how many people will it take to get the
following
in place before the re-opening?*

- the* NLG *on board as legal observers and attorneys

Fifteen person legal team 5 directors working tasks and delegating
tasks to the other ten.

Requests for observers can be done in two weeks. Attorneys anywhere
from four to six weeks. (that is a team working on finding the lawyers
from NLG data base or other avenues)

- a *training *team which can do know your rights and direct
action 101 trainings, and any other trainings that participants need
5 - 7 teams of two facilitating all trainings. you can get
facilitation training from Berkeley CopWatch on a two week schedule.

- a *safety* team to facilitate safety at the school, be trained
in
de-escalation, have a solid plan for evacuation of those who
need it when a raid happens, have a plan for how to relate to OPD,
etc.

This is huge and should have a 10 - 15 (I feel 15 - 25) member team
organizers recruiting and training people on site with evac plans and
safety requirements.

- a *media* team which can run spokesperson trainings, put
together talking points, produce press releases, etc.

Ten total 3 - 5 full time media team with tasks and responsibilities
delegating to the other members of the team. (FTAA all teams reported
back progress weekly, media team worked for two months and like the
legal it was full time)

- a *tactical* team that has a set of multiple contingency
plans, and a deep level of trust from all participants so they can
make on the spot calls when necessary

Refer to safety team.

- an *art *team that can create banners and other visual images
for media and inspiration
5 - 7 members 3 facilitators to organize the group.

- a *logistics* team that can organize food, sleeping spaces,
cleaning, bathrooms, etc.
5 - 7 facilitators organizing 10 - 15 staff

- a *children's/freedom school *team that can put together a
curriculum, recruit teachers, create a positive and safe space for
kids, think about an overall program, etc.

1 director for each subject with 2 members for each director.

- a *program *team that can organize all other events,
workshops, speakers, activities, open-mikes, etc.

5 - 7 member team.

- an *outreach* team that can build a base of people committed to
participating in the re-opening, continue to build relationships
with these folks throughout the occupation, and do additional outreach
once it starts to get more people involved

3 - 5 member team

- *In order to accomplish the goal of stopping the closure of
Lakeview:*
- How long would the occupation need to go on? until the first
day of the OUSD school year
- How many people would need to be involved? 90
- Who would need to be involved? one spokes person from each
team/committee
- What kind/level of media would we need to get? ALL mostly our
own. (indybay/ustream/mother jones ect.)
- Who are the decision makers we need to win over to stop the
closure? cannot win them we would have to force them or have
more of us run for office. ( I suggest Perry and beck off the top of
my head)
- How do we target them? invite them to the school once its
running, board meetings, letters, email ect.
- What other tactics we need to be employed to pressure the
school board and other targets? I do not feel any current elected
member of the board will work for the masses of Oakland just the few.
- *If we are not able to get the numbers, media or sustain the
occupation long enough to stop the closure:*
- how is this tactic part of a longer term strategy to stop the
school closures? how will it build our campaign against future
school closures? As with the encampments that were at Oscar Grant
Plaza it will show how the peoples work can be done without the
resources of the city forcing us to ask what it would be like with
those resources given for the uplifting of all Oakland.
- what other goals can we accomplish? Take over the elections!