Footage and interviews of participants in the General Strike in Oakland last Wednesday, November 2, sent by a chum, Lisa Denenmark, who helped shoot it. I couldn’t go, but I am proud to say my mother-in-law was there, and took my nephew, who racked up hella stories to tell his chums in middle school about how thrilling it is to stand up and be counted for what you believe in.
(Not like it’s anything new to him: he was among the youngest people phone banking at the Berkeley campaign headquarters for Obama several years ago, and has been to several rallies for immigration reform and the Dream Act in the past several months. He’s a regular with us at Pride; here he is a couple Prides ago, navigating the treacherous combo of MUNI vents and streetcar tracks on rollerblades, no less, with our rainbow flag as superhero cape. Yeah, I’m not worried about the next generation.)
If you are curious what participants had to say for themselves about why they were there, take a listen.
[Added note! It was totally viewable last night, and is marked private now, and I can’t even get to see it via the link in the email my chum sent. So. My apologies; I’ll reinstate it if I can later. You’ll have to take my word for it that it was great. Yay! It’s back! Except that the soundtrack is drowning out the voices. Check back in again, ’cause I’m sure this is getting tweaked, too.]
Made by LeftBay99 Media Team (a loose coalition of Bay Area social justice and community-based organizations) & Making Change Media.
Meanwhile, while I wait to reinstate the 6 minute mini-documentary above, here’s the other one Lisa said was coming down the pike: the “I Will Survive (Capitalism)” flash dance. Here’s what people having a lot of team spirit during a General Strike looks like: