{"id":36560,"date":"2024-09-30T11:47:03","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T18:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=36560"},"modified":"2024-09-30T11:47:04","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T18:47:04","slug":"demonstration-outside-berkeley-courthouse-protests-encampment-sweeps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/30\/demonstration-outside-berkeley-courthouse-protests-encampment-sweeps\/","title":{"rendered":"Demonstration outside Berkeley courthouse protests encampment sweeps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/users\/profile\/Eleanor%20Jonas\">Eleanor Jonas | Senior Staff<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sep 28, 2024 (DailyCal.org)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/dailycal.org\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/b\/63\/b63b3fda-7e16-11ef-8324-0fd53c6244cf\/66f8cfc455b78.image.jpg?resize=400%2C258\" alt=\"tents1_Eleanor Jonas_staff.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Community members gather outside Berkeley Courthouse for an event organized by Where Do We Go protesting encampment sweeps.Eleanor Jonas | Staff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Community members and advocates gathered in front of Berkeley Courthouse to protest encampment sweeps Saturday afternoon, rallied by the nonprofit organization Where Do We Go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Advocacy for the unhoused coalesced with Pro-Palestinian sentiment at the protest, marked by a banner that read \u201cfrom the Bay to Palestine, free the land.\u201dTents facing the road spelled out \u201cwhere do we go?\u201d \u2014 the question asked by unhoused people that inspired the naming of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis protest brings together people who are homeless in Berkeley, advocates from all over the East Bay, all to oppose the wave of repression that has come down on people experiencing homelessness since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the decision in a case called City of Grants Pass v. Johnson,\u201d said Osha Neumann, Where Do We Go board member and a founding member of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neumann said that the demonstration was the beginning of a \u201cmass protest\u201d against the eviction of people with \u201cno place to go.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of the people gathered at the protest were housed, according to Ian Cordova Morales, outreach specialist for the Homeless Action Center and president of Where Do We Go. During the protest, he said that one of the demonstration\u2019s goals was to bridge the gap between the housed and unhoused communities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neumann noted that many speakers drew a connection between unhoused struggles and the war on Gaza, with people living in tents and struggling for survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are seeing this as in the context of, globally, an attack on the most vulnerable and the most despised people,\u201d Neumann said.<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\" alt=\"tents2_Eleanor Jonas_staff.jpg\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"990\" height=\"638\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-114.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-114.png 990w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-114-300x193.png 300w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-114-150x97.png 150w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-114-768x495.png 768w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-114-233x150.png 233w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 990px) 100vw, 990px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"4\" height=\"3\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-113.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36563\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The crowd, made up of the housed and unhoused, as well as various students and passersby, listens to speakers.Eleanor Jonas | Staff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Several advocates have been arrested during protests for the same cause, according to Neumann, including Andrea Henson, board chair of Where Do We Go and one of the primary speakers at the protest. She was arrested after chaining herself to a gate in protest of the eviction of a disabled person, Neumann said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPeople that are being evicted are very often the most vulnerable, the most disabled,\u201d Neumann said. \u201cWe are going to fight back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Henson and fellow Where Do We Go members invited attendees to speak in front of the crowd.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One person, who did not appear to be affiliated with Where Do We Go, spoke about their anger towards law enforcement. The protest was located near the Berkeley Police Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re a cop and you work for these motherf\u2013kers\u2026 and you\u2019re bashing homeless people\u2026 f\u2013k you. You don\u2019t deserve safety,\u201d they said, to several claps and whoops from the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several other people volunteered to speak, including KaiKai Bee Michaels, a drag queen who was invited to perform at the end of the demonstration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gregory Clark, an attendee of the protest, described his own experience living unhoused in Berkeley, particularly in relation to the university. He said the campus Student Union building, which had previously been open to the public, has since become closed off for non-students, preventing him from entering the space. Additionally, Clark said that once \u201ccollege kids\u201d recognize him as unhoused in public, since he carries his belongings with him, they physically shrink away from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI get looked down upon,\u201d Clark said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard on your emotional psyche every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Clark has previously experienced conflicts with business owners who do not want him to set up his tent near their business, he lamented the apparent lack of business owners at the protest. He noted that many students and community members had made an appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"990\" height=\"638\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-115.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36565\" srcset=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-115.png 990w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-115-300x193.png 300w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-115-150x97.png 150w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-115-768x495.png 768w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-115-233x150.png 233w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 990px) 100vw, 990px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"4\" height=\"3\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-112.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36562\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gregory Clark, an unhoused protest attendee, displays posters he acquired during an August march on the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.Eleanor Jonas | Staff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Henson repeatedly called for community members to continue to come together after the end of the demonstration, both through formal organizing and by connecting with others, regardless of their housing status. She said that the demonstration and others like it enabled voices to be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are in a dying world \u2014 and we are ready to birth a new one,\u201d Michaels said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"990\" height=\"638\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-116.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36566\" srcset=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-116.png 990w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-116-300x193.png 300w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-116-150x97.png 150w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-116-768x495.png 768w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-116-233x150.png 233w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 990px) 100vw, 990px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"4\" height=\"3\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-111.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36561\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Community members create artwork in front of Berkeley City Hall after the protest speakers conclude.Eleanor Jonas | Staff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A previous version of this article misspelled Andrea Henson&#8217;s name.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eleanor Jonas is the lead student government beat reporter. Contact her at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:ejonas@dailycal.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ejonas@dailycal.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/users\/profile\/Eleanor%20Jonas\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/41ef614a1012882b2dadea32ee712fc5?d=mm&amp;r=g\" alt=\"Eleanor Jonas\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/users\/profile\/Eleanor%20Jonas\">Eleanor Jonas<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Deputy News Editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Community members and advocates gathered in front of Berkeley Courthouse to protest encampment sweeps Saturday afternoon, rallied by the nonprofit organization Where Do We Go. Advocacy for the unhoused coalesced with Pro-Palestinian sentiment at the protest, marked by a banner that read \u201cfrom the Bay to Palestine, free the land.\u201dTents&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/30\/demonstration-outside-berkeley-courthouse-protests-encampment-sweeps\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36560"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36567,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36560\/revisions\/36567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}