Wednesday 23
Justice for Alan Blueford, Alameda County District Attorney’s office, 1225 Fallon, Oak; Facebook: Demand Justice for Alan Blueford. 3pm; free. Alan Blueford, 18, was shot and killed by an Oakland Police officer on May 6. OPD has changed its story several times, first reporting that the young man fired at an officer, then reporting that the officer who shot Blueford also shot himself in the foot, and a gun found on the scene had not been fired. His family has called for a speak-out and rally to demand that the OPD release the killer’s name, fire him, and charge him with murder.
Latin American LQBTQ and Feminist Movements, Women’s Building, Audre Lourde room, 3543 18th Street, SF www.womensbuilding.org. 8:30am-6pm; free, registration encouraged. The Latin American Studies Association international conference is in town, and this part of it is free and open to the public. The event will feature speakers on “Feminist and LGBTQ Movements and the State, transnational Genders/Feminisms/Sexualities, and Encuentros y Desencuentros among LGBTQ and Feminist Movements.” The organizers recommend registering in advance, this is gonna be big.
Thursday 24
Reclaiming Jewish activism Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, 290 Dolores, SF: Facebook: Reclaiming Jewish Activism: Rediscovering Voices of our Ancestors. 7pm; free. See the Guardian’s story this week, “State of Debate,” for insight into everything this event could and might have been. As for what it probably will be: a panel discussion with three Jewish activists and authors reflecting on their ancestors and other influential figures of the past. Julie Gilgoff will discuss the subject of her book, her grandfather, who died of a heart attack while being interrogated during the Red Scare. Elaine Elinson will talk about labor, immigrant, and civil rights organizing of the past, the subject of her books. Rae Abileah will discuss her great uncle Joseph Abileah, Israeli war resister in the ’40s and subject of the book Israeli Pacifist.
Saturday 26
Gay shame vegan antisocial, Modern Times bookstore, 2919 24th Street, SF: www.gayshamesf.org. 5:30pm; free. Come and to meet the good people of Gay Shame for organizing, talking, friends and fun! But what is Gay Shame? “Gay shame is a Virus in the System. We are committed to a queer extravaganza that brings direct action to astounding levels of theatricality. We will not be satisfied with a commercialized gay identity that denies the intrinsic link between queer struggle and challenging power. We seek nothing less than a new queer activism that foregrounds race, class, gender and sexuality, to counter the self-serving ‘values’ of gay consumerism and the increasingly hypocritical left. We are dedicated to fighting the rabid assimilationist monster with a devastating mobilization of queer brilliance. Gay shame is a celebration of resistance: all are welcome.”
Homestead skillshare festival, Hayes Valley Farm, 450 Laguna, SF: www.sfbace.org. 10am-6pm; free. Want to learn about bike-powered machines? Rainwater catchment? Chicken wrangling for all ages? Show up to this free festival and be greeted by people who know things and are eager to teach you, no strings attached. Just because they love sharing. It’s a fundraiser for the Bay Area Community Exchange Time Bank (see “Bank your time,” 5/2/12), and sharing is what it’s all about. There will be four live bands, 40 skill-sharing sessions, and translation into Spanish and Cantonese.
Sunday 27
Masturbate-a-thon, Center for Sex and Culture, 1349 Mission, SF: www.sexandculture.org. 10am-midnight; free. Have you been masturbating? Have you been making money for the awesome nonprofit the Center for Sex and Culture every time a minute passes or every time you orgasm? On Sunday, don’t let your self-pleasuring go to waste! Join others at the CSC for a day that’s like a walk-a-thon, if walk-a-thons were full of sexy people getting themselves off and the otter pops were replaced by dildos. Or re-purposed otter pops. Either way, get some pledge money and “come for a cause” at this 12-year tradition.
Tuesday 29
Justice on trial, Public library main branch, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin, SF: www.sfpublicdefender.org. 9am-3pm; free with mandatory registration. Sen. Mark Leno has proposed legislation that would change simple drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor. This conference will feature a panel on that legislation, as well as professors, former gang members, and other people with something to say about how the government should treat people involved in drug crimes. This conference will explore scientific advances in the understanding of psychology and mental illness, and Public Defender Jeff Adachi will be there.
A farm bill for the 99 percent, Mission Pie, 2901 Mission, SF: Facebook: a farm bill for the 99 percent! 6-8pm, free. Congress is rewriting the 2008 Farm Bill, notorious for many things, among them corn subsidies. The bill will be finished in September, so there’s no time like the present to imagine how the bill could be changed to promote real food justice- not to mention how San Francisco can work toward this locally. Sups Eric Mar and David Campos will join Food and Water Watch activists Susan Kuehn and Adam Scow and journalist Christopher Cook for this discussion.