May 1st, 2017: A Day Without Immigrants (Oakland and San Francisco)
May 1st is known throughout the world as International Workers’ Day. The day was the result of the struggle for the 8-hour workday and it started here in the US. It is a day where the working class shows who has the power in society. In 2006, it was the immigrants, largely Latinos, who gave […]
March 11, 2017: The Attack on Immigrants (David Bacon)
The Attack on Immigrants: What Trump Can and Can’t Do A Speak Out Now forum with investigative reporter and photographer David Bacon Trump and those he represents are attacking the most vulnerable members of our society – recent immigrants, especially those without documentation. This is part of a strategy to divide us in the face […]
February 11: Organizing in Hard Times – Lessons From The Anti-Poll Tax Movement In The U.K.
On January 21, millions of people showed their defiance to the new Trump regime. Could we see a movement develop that could challenge the power held by the 1%? Is it possible? Yes. But how? We can learn from past movements like the one in the United Kingdom against the poll tax in the 1980s. […]
January 28: We Need To Gather Our Forces! It’s Time to Fight Their Whole System!
With Trump in office the challenges we face are clear for all to see. Open acts of hatred are already unfolding around us and we know further attacks are coming. We Can’t Wait! Join us to discuss what we can do next. Saturday, January 28th at 3:00pm Niebyl Proctor Library 6501 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland PDF […]
The Incomplete, True, Authentic, and Wonderful History of Mayday (December 3rd, 3pm, UC Berkeley)
A talk by Peter Linebaugh “May Day is about affirmation, the love of life, and the start of spring, so it has to be about the beginning of the end of the capitalist system of exploitation, oppression, war, and overall misery, toil, and moil.” – Peter Linebaugh – Historian and Author of The Incomplete, True, […]
We’ve Been Sleeping Too Long: Socialist Politics and The Working Class (December 4th – Howard Zinn Book Fair)
After 2016 election, what problems and possibilities are posed for socialist politics in the working class? Is the working class still the revolutionary class in society? Can we build an independent working class organization today? December 4th, 2:45pm-3:45pm Howard Zinn Bookfair Peggy Terry Room (213) City College of SF (Mission Campus) 1125 Valencia St, San […]
Trump’s Mudslide to Victory – What Happened and Now What? (Saturday, 11/19)
[download a copy of flyer .pdf 2-up] What can we learn from this election? Was this a protest vote by part of the working class? Is it a racist backlash? We need to untangle myth and reality in order to respond to this situation. Join us for a presentation and discussion on the election from […]
A Socialist Perspective on the Environment (Saturday, October 22)
Why are we losing our fight for the Earth? And what will it take to win? To answer these urgent questions, we must understand what’s blocking our way forward: an economic system based on exploitation of the earth and of its people. We must acknowledge that many of the strategies followed by environmental groups up […]
Revolutionary University October 1 & 2 (Oakland, CA)
download .pdf of flyer [8.5 x 11 color-35mb] [8.5 x 11 b/w 2-up_15mb] All events will be held at: Niebyl-Proctor Library 6501 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609 (Donation: $5 No one turned away for lack of funds) Tools for Changing Society Join us for two days of presentations and discussions on current world problems and […]
September 10, 7pm – Arlie Hochschild: What Drives People into the Arms of Trump?
download .pdf of flyer (b/w 8.5 x 11, single) (b/w 8.5 x 11, double)
Film Showing: The Hand That Feeds
The Hand That Feeds is a film about undocumented workers at a bakery in New York City. The workers are mistreated by managers who cut their pay, fire them at will, and enforce overall dangerous working conditions. The film tells the heroic story of this group of workers and their decision to fight back against […]
Speak Out Now Revolutionary University (March 12-13, 2016 Oakland, CA)
download a copy of the schedule of speakers; image of poster Saturday, March 12 1pm – 3pm Professor As’ad AbuKhalil: Syria and the Conflict in the Middle East Prof. As’ad AbuKhalil, Professor of Political Science at CSU Stanislaus and author of “Saudi Arabia and the U.S.” As’ad AbuKhalil: http://angryarab.blogspot.com/ Link to video of this talk 3:30pm […]
Report From Palestine – the Crisis of Occupation (Sunday, January 31, 2016 (Oakland, CA)
The Palestinian people are forced to live under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, suffering daily violence at the hands of the Israeli army. Join us for a presentation and a video interview via Skype with Palestinian and Israeli activists resisting the occupation.
Facing the Climate Crisis (Saturday, December 5th, 2015)
Saturday, December 5th, 2015 (Oakland, CA) The environmental crisis created by this system of production is so overwhelming that it can seem we only have the choice to deny or ignore what is happening or accept a fatalistic view that we are doomed. There are other options – first to organize our forces to put […]
Elections 2016: A New Opening or Business as Usual?
Sunday, October 11, 2015 (Oakland, CA) Two opposing voices have emerged based on the disgust that most people feel about politics today. Donald Trump, the billionaire Republican plays on people’s fears and blames the victims of the crisis for the problems people are facing. Bernie Sanders, the independent turned Democrat addresses hopes for a better […]
Report From Palestine – An Eyewitness Account
Sunday, September 13th, 2015 (Oakland, CA) It has been one year since Israel’s latest brutal assault on the people of the occupied territories of Palestine. Over 2,000 people, including 500 children, were killed in that assault. It was only the latest in a series of invasions and assaults in 2012, 2009, 2006 and countless others. […]
Film Screening: Wisconsin Rising a film by Sam Mayfield (60 min)
July 8, 2015 (Oakland, CA) A LaborFest Event Sponsored by Speak Out Now and PM Press Wisconsin Rising documents the largest sustained workers’ resistance movement in American history. Wisconsin was a testing ground for the nation in 2011 as big money attempted to undo basic workers’ rights when newly-elected Republican Governor Scott Walker suddenly stripped collective […]
Forced Migration and The Exploitation of Immigrants
Sunday, March 15, 2015 (Oakland, CA) Join us for a discussion with David Bacon, investigative journalist, activist, author of The Right to Stay Home: How U.S. Policy Drives Mexican Migration. Bacon exposes the way globalization and U.S. policy fuel the forces that drive Mexican migrants across the border. He will be discussing the conditions that […]
Speak Out Now Revolutionary University (February 14-16, 2015 Oakland, CA)
We all know that we face huge problems in our personal lives, on the job and in the world around us. These problems are bigger than any one of us. But together we can and must find solutions. Join us for three days of presentations and discussion of some of the challenges we face […]
Wealthcare vs. Healthcare
Saturday, November 15, 2014 (Oakland, CA) Our health is one of the biggest markets for the big healthcare companies, pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies. The system profits off our illnesses, turning healthcare into wealthcare for big business. Join us for a discussion of healthcare under capitalism.
The U.S.A. – Cops Of The World
Sunday October 26, 2014 (Oakland, CA) From Iraq to Syria to Sudan, from Haiti to Venezuela to Columbia – U.S. troops, weapons, and money are used to enforce their system of domination and exploitation. And at home in the U.S., the cops are armed with the same weapons used against working people all over, from Ferguson […]
Capitalism and The Myth of Personal Life
Saturday, March 22, 2014 (Oakland, CA) It seems that life is divided between the economic sphere of work, where we meet our material needs, and the personal sphere of family, friends, and intimate relationships, where we meet our emotional needs. In this presentation, Dr. Susan Rosenthal, long-time family therapist and revolutionary socialist, explains that there […]
Speak Out Now Revolutionary University 2014 (February 15 to 16, 2014 – Oakland, CA)
Tools for Changing Society Schedule: Saturday February 15, 2014 10:30am–1:00pm Changing the World! Can We Do It? Sasha Lilley & Eddie Yuen, authors of the recent book “Catastrophism: The Apocalyptic Politics of Collapse and Rebirth”, discuss that in order to transform society, we need to look at the situation we confront – whether it is […]
Capitalism and Health: A Talk by Dr. Susan Rosenthal (Saturday, September 28, 2013 – Oakland, CA)
Saturday, September 28, 2013 (Oakland, CA) The purpose of health care should be to provide for the well-being of every person – not for companies to make profit. Health care workers face this conflict on the job every day. Every day, they are immersed in human suffering yet denied the means to alleviate that suffering. The […]
Revolution: From Above or Below? A Report Back from Venezuela (Wednesday, June 19, 2013 – Oakland, CA)
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 (Oakland, CA) In the popular struggles around the world, whether in Latin America or the Arab Spring, we have seen millions of people in motion fighting for a better life. But who are the leaders today of these struggles? What are the results of the changes in government that have resulted […]
The Attacks on Public Transportation (Thursday, June 13, 2013 – Oakland, CA)
Thursday, June 13, 2013 (Oakland, CA) All across the country, and right here in the Bay Area, our public transportation systems are under attack. In many cities, public transit systems are being privatized. Year after year, funding cuts are imposed on transit, both at the state and federal level. Everywhere transit workers are facing cuts […]
Speak Out Now – Revolutionary University (January 19-21, 2013, Oakland, CA)
Saturday, January 19 Why the Future is Socialism Capitalism only promises a future of increasing exploitation for ourselves and the planet, but what do we replace it with? This morning we will look at the problems of capitalism, and how socialism – a society run by the workers – is not only a goal worth […]
Richard Wolff and Harriet Fraad: How Capitalism Shatters Our Lives (Friday, September 7, 2012 – Berkeley, CA)
Friday, September 7, 2012 (Berkeley, CA) Richard Wolff, economist and author of Capitalism Hits the Fan,most recently Occupy the Economy, and other works, will discuss how the basic functioning of capitalism brings about unemployment, wars and the other crises that unsettle our lives. Harriet Fraad, a well-known feminist and psychotherapist, exposes how that instability destroys and […]
Dr. Gabor Maté – Addiction and Society: How Capitalism Makes Us Crazy and Drives Us to Addiction (November 19, 2011 – Berkeley, CA)
November 19, 2011 (Berkeley, CA) Dr. Maté is a well-known author and physician whose work focuses on the connection between society and addiction and mental illness. His work includes In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, a New York Times Best Seller, and Scattered Minds: A New Look at the Origins and […]