August 5, 1912: Oakland Mayor and Commissioners Survive Wobbly Recall
August 5 1912, Oakland Mayor Frank Mott and commissioners William Baccus & Frederick Turner survived a recall election. The Socialist Party had filed the recall petition in response to police violence against socialists and members of the IWW. In early 1912, the IWW had been engaged in “free speech fights” …
August 4, 1977: Eviction of the International Hotel
August 4 1977, after a nine year battle, San Francisco police forcibly evicted the remaining tenants of the International Hotel, an SRO that mainly housed elderly, working-class Asian-Americans. Thousands of people attempted to physically block the evictions.
August 2, 1991: People's Park Volleyball Riots
August 2 1991, rioting erupted on Telegraph Ave in Berkeley over a city plan to redevelop People’s Park, replacing the free stage with volleyball courts. While volleyball facilities were eventually installed, anonymous activists soon destroyed them with a chainsaw.
August 1, 1967: 55th St & Market St Stoplight
August 1, 1967 installation began on a stoplight at 55th St & Market St in Oakland, the result of a campaign led by the early Black Panther Party. North Oakland residents had demanded a stoplight at the intersection after multiple children had been struck by cars, but the city failed …
August 1, 1979: The Beginning of Black August
August 1 1979, militant prisoners in San Quentin State Prison inaugurated the first Black August, a monthlong commemoration of George Jackson and other Black political prisoners, by donning black armbands, fasting, refusing to watch TV, and studying Jackson’s writings.