Last November, when the Oakland Police finally succeeded in evicting the encampment on Ogawa Plaza — known by Occupiers as Oscar Grant Plaza — quite a few voices were heard in the local media to the effect of “Thank goodness that’s over.”

Well, as most Oaklanders now know, it wasn’t even close to over. It’s as if when the city stomped on the Occupation, little drops of it splashed in all directions and began to grow and diversify on their own. Instead of one central encampment, OO now has multiple committees and groups, working on initiatives that range from nonviolent direct actions challenging law in the name of justice to community projects and alternative institutions.

Here’s a quick guide. It’s not exhaustive because everything OO does is volunteer, including the website at occupyoakland.org, and there are so many things going on that they don’t always appear on the site right away — or ever. These are the current biggies:

Despite cold winter nights and some recent rain, the General Assembly still happens twice a week, at 6 p.m. Wednesdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at Ogawa Plaza. Because of the eviction and the weather, turnout for the GA now rarely tops a hundred or so, but it’s still important to go if you want to make yourself heard in the debates and resolutions that come up. You’ll also want to familiarize yourself with the GA process — the facilitators, the queue, the stack, hand signals and so on.

The main action OO is focusing on right now is “Move-In Day,” TODAY, Saturday, Jan. 28, with a Rise Up Festival following at the site on Sunday. OO plans to take over (move into) a vacant building, location TBA, that it can use as an operating center for the movement — indoor meeting space for the GA and other committees, offices — as well as a free alternative school, a community kitchen and more. The final planning assembly took place on Wednesday afternoon, but the kitchen is still looking for volunteers to donate food and/or cook onsite for both Move-in Day and the Festival. Contact them at kitchen@occupyoakland.org. More information about the weekend’s activities is at website here.

Busy this weekend? Besides Move-In Day and the Festival, there are plenty of other committees and projects to get involved in. Here are a few:

The People of Color – Queer People of Color Meeting (6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays). The PoC-QPoC Caucus says: “This is a meeting for people who self-identify as people of color/queer people of color. We meet with the goal of strengthening our participation in the Occupy movement here in Oakland and beyond.” Location is ad hoc from week to week, so contact the caucus at peopleofcolor@occupyoakland.org for up-to-date information.

The Supply Committee (5 to 6 p.m., North Plaza (the empty lot and sculpture garden near 16th and San Pablo, Monday/Wednesday/Friday). Like other Occupy gatherings around the country, OO always needs supplies of all sorts: food, clothing, first-aid materials and more. Once the new building is established, Supply will be going into overdrive, gathering office equipment, furniture, kitchen equipment, plumbing and construction materials. To find out more or to donate, contact the Committee at supply@occupyoakland.org.

The Media Committee (4 to 5 p.m. Saturdays, Ogawa Plaza). If you have media skills — video, photography, journalism, copywriting, PR, web — the Media Committee wants to hear from you. The often real-time documentation of the Occupy movement in action has been crucial to its impact from the beginning. But also important, now, is keeping track of the numerous and various projects undertaken by OO’s many-branched oak and getting information on them up on the website.

Occupy Oakland Children’s Village and the Parents and Allies Committee. The Village was originally part of the encampment, providing a safe, supervised space for children in the encampment. Today, it and its offshoot, the Parents and Allies, exist to facilitate the safe participation of parents and children in OO actions. To learn more, contact Dr. Samsarah Morgan at oaktownchildrensvillage@gmail.com. You also can learn about the Pregnancy and Birth Committee from Morgan.
 
The Worker Co-op Group. This month-old group is exploring possibilities for new workers’ co-operatives in Oakland. The Bay Area already has the highest concentration of such co-ops in the nation: 36 democratically-run, worker-owned businesses employing more than 1,000 people, from bakeries to a high school. But there’s plenty of room for more — and the United Nations has declared 2012 the Year of the Co-operative. To learn more, visit the OO Workers Co-operatives Group page on Facebook and ask to join. 

Nothing here strikes your fancy? Check the website for other initiatives. Have an idea for a group or a project that supports the goals of Occupy? That’s one of the beauties of this movement — it’s all DIY. Bring your idea to the GA with some supporters, get it to the Facilitation Committee and get in the queue. Then get started.