As we wind down another year, it’s only natural to pause and reflect. This was yet another wildly unprecedented year that brought immense challenges for us all. So, how are we feeling about what we need to stay energized in 2026? Here at the Law Center, we spend a lot of time and resources maintaining our internal resilience. Internal resilience is a measure of our organizational capacity to take care of ourselves and our needs as workers, while building a just economy that will hopefully one day render our current capitalist system obsolete. When the resilience is high, it’s a strong, steady heart beat propelling our work forward.

It has frequently been observed that terror can rule absolutely only over men who are isolated against each other… isolated men are powerless by definition.”  — philosopher Hannah Arendt

Thanks to our community we reached our fundraising goal! If you missed any of last month's events, you're in luck! A short recap of the events and gatherings, recordings of our Continuing Legal Education workshops, and our fundraising recap can be found in this blog post.

Rhythm and Resistance Party

Tonight at ESM Studios (981 35th St Oakland CA 94608), we’re gathering for a joyful night of dancing, food, and togetherness. We’re cranking up the music, serving up tasty tacos, and raising our glasses to the power of community! Come ready to eat, drink, laugh, and play — and yes, bring the kids! We’ll have crafts and activities for all ages. Whether you're here to move, connect, or just soak in the summer energy — this is a space for all ages, all communities, all hearts. Let’s come together and celebrate resilience, rhythm, and joy. RSVP here!

How do we structure our movements to get us to liberation? Can we protect our leaders by decentralizing leadership? What can we learn from the Black Panthers about cooperation, mutual aid, and mental health? These are some questions discussed in a recent panel: Serve the People - Cooperative Economies and Lessons from the Black Panthers. 

From Farmer to Land Relations Lawyer
and Other Updates

Resisting and Healing from Violence in Our Housing System

The Law Center supports healing from legacies of violence that pervade our housing systems. We do this by partnering with visionary organizations led by poor, houseless, Indigenous, Black and other POC communities usually excluded from power. Informed by those relationships, we envision policy changes and develop legal tools that allow diverse communities (including non-traditional families) to stay rooted in place.

Wood Street Commons Community (https://woodstreetcommons.org/; check out their Instagram too)

Wood Street Commons provides vital sanctuaries of housing and healing for Oakland’s houseless population. It empowers houseless residents to lead, organize, and create dignified solutions for the housing crisis. 

As 2024 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on how to stay centered in this time of great uncertainty and pain. One way we center ourselves is by intentionally re-committing to the movement for resilient communities everywhere. Our commitment is rooted in our indispensable community of co-dreamers, supporters, partners, clients, comrades, and family. That includes you! 

Here’s our 2024 Annual Report which includes reflections from the year. Some highlights include:

• our work with Poor Magazine to denounce the criminalization of homelessness;
• our series of events on The Future of Work: Nourishing Life Giving Labor; and
• our policy campaigns to ban land grabs, abolish “family zoning,” and create a legal model for worker cooperatives owned and controlled by people in prison. 

There’s also a bunch of pictures of us and our comrades being awesome, badass, joyful, and/or silly together. We hope you take a look!

As we prepare for 2025, we are finding hope and motivation in our work of building economies of care and cooperation.  

If you’re able to support us, please contribute here. Every dollar helps to sustain our work in 2025 and beyond!

Last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-1-24, which directs California state agencies and departments to begin clearing unhoused people living on state property. The order comes at a time when similar policies are rising across the country, despite evidence that these approaches do not work to end people’s homelessness. Bay Area mayors, including Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, have enthusiastically embraced the governor's order as a “step forward in the right direction.”

Is recycling work? Is panhandling work? Is mothering work?

Yes, all of these types of labor should be considered work. But why do these activities become criminalized when the worker is a person living in poverty?

These are exactly the questions POOR Magazine asked of us in their theater presentation during a community appreciation party we held for clients, partners, and collaborators back in May. [Watch the full presentation here.] “As folks at Poor say, ‘you can’t perform poverty’ - so all of the actors had personal experience - or poverty scholarship - with what they were re-enacting,” shares Law Center Staff Attorney Tobias Damm-Luhr in this blog post where he describes how the presentation impacted his worldview.