Land Action Fundraisers Featuring Hannah Dobbz, Author of "Nine-Tenths of the Law"

Recently I received a call from my long time friend, Hannah Dobbz, who has just released her book Nine-Tenths of the Law; Property and Resistance in the United States. She told me that she was coming out to the west coast to visit. The conversation that initially began as her looking for a place to crash soon turned into us collaborating on a mini west coast book tour to promote her new book and build support for Land Action.

There are three upcoming events. On April 16, 2013 we are having an event in Los Angeles, CA (https://www.facebook.com/events/229462673858994/) and on April 19 and 20 we are having events in Oakland, CA (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/349165, https://www.facebook.com/events/590211584323356/)

These events are fundraisers for Land Action. Hannah Dobbz will be speaking about her new book (http://propertyandresistance.wordpress.com/), and I will be giving a presentation about Land Action (http://land-action.org)

To give some background Land Action is a California non-profit that assists environmental and social justice organizers establish, maintain, and defend land occupations to be used for housing and projects.

Land Action has had a number of successes since it was formed on June 22, 2011. Recently there was a victory obtaining a dismissal of an eviction of a community space known as the Hot Mess/RCA Compound. This community space includes housing, an urban farm project, and a social center. (see the press release in my previous blog post)

Land Action has been assisting with the defense, development, and expansion of numerous housing and land projects throughout Oakland. Land Action has also helped develop and transition strategies with Occupy Oakland. Because of these efforts there are now at least eight active occupations in the city of Oakland housing organizers and providing space for projects.

For these efforts Land Action was featured in the article entitled “Housing a Movement” which was published in California Northern and republished by Utne Reader, and I was named one of 12 visionaries of 2012 by the Utne Reader.

We have been approached by the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) to assist with the housing subcommittee's efforts to work with organizers establishing and defending occupations. To assist the NLG it is necessary for Land Action to build up our administrative capacity to be an effective partner while continuing the work that we are already engaged in.

These upcoming events are part of an effort to reach out to supporters so that Land Action can build our administrative capacity and sustain and expand our efforts. It is our goal to establish a stable administrative structure with 3 to 5 paid staff.

By providing resources directly to organizers through land occupations and sharing knowledge, skills, and strategies with those same organizers Land Action can be a catalyst for expanding environmental and social justice organizing throughout the United States.

With help and support Land Action can build this organizing model from the ground up. I am asking everyone to come to the event and ask your friends to not only attend the event but also spread the word to others who may be interested.