They stood side by side, the signs held high: Stop Line 3 – No DAPL. They rolled and brushed paint and sang native songs on Saturday in downtown Oakland.
Hundreds of members of 12 local militant groups painted 12 separate murals on the Clay Street sidewalk between 12th and 14th Street on Saturday, urging the Biden administration to halt US oil and gas projects.
“It’s so powerful to take control of the streets and share our message about what a world that has no pain and no fossil fuels looks like,” said Isabella Zizi, event host and member of the Nations of the United Nations. North Cheyenne, Arikara and Muskogee Creek.
“Line 3” is an oil pipeline under construction that would link Canada’s tar sands to Wisconsin. “DAPL” is the Dakota Access Pipeline, a functioning oil pipeline. Activists from Zizi’s organization, Idle No More SF Bay, and other local and national activist groups oppose both plans.
The in-person event featured poetry, song, and mural, and was conducted concurrently with a virtual event via Zoom that included live updates from Oakland.
“We are part of a national movement to stop Line 3 and the DAPL. We have to move away from fossil fuels, ”said David Solnit, an artist with the Climate Justice Street Mural Project, who uses murals to illustrate the issue of climate change. (Yes, he’s Rebecca Solnit’s brother, and no, he wasn’t speaking.)
Participants who showed up to the downtown Oakland event wore masks and observed social distancing protocols as they lifted signs and banners and worked on the murals.
Bright orange poppies glistened against a black background in a mural, depicting the beauty of the natural world, under the inscription “Just Transition Now”.
Fourteen-year-old Ramauri Cash from Oakland helped design and paint a mural. As he danced to the blaring music from the event speaker, Cash said, “Every time I go to a rally or a walk I feel so happy because I know it will benefit the people. others and not just myself. “
Groups participating in the mural included the team from Earth Guardians Bay Area, Jobs With Justice SF Bay, Poor People’s Campaign Bay Area and 1,000 Grandmothers.
As the final touches were brushed on the murals and the event wrapped up, activists lined up on Clay Street, holding their signs high.
To close the event, “I’m going to conduct a Woman Warrior song,” Zizi announced. “I would love to be with my other native sisters.” Women dressed in bright red clothes came forward and joined in the song.
“It was really nice to finally get together in person and work on a creative project, despite COVID-19,” said Julie Wineger of Berkeley, a member of the Campaign of the Poor.
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