Pots Over Temescal or Pot, is a "super fun community anti-mugging campaign."
This group walks around Temescal with kids and sometimes adult beverages, banging pots and spoons (provided!) The idea is to get to know your neighbors, make a lot of noise, have a lot of fun and hand out chocolate.
The group encourages you to bring pots or spoons to Kasper's on Telegraph, which, while not affiliated with POT, is a spot everyone knows and seems to be collecting the pots and pans for the memorial hanging of the pots.
POT recognizes systemic violence as the root cause of most crime.
EXTERNAL LINK: pots over Temescal
What it is in their words:
"Pots Over Temescal (POT) is a loving, direct-action response to armed muggings in Temescal, Oakland. Instead of following ‘suspicious persons’ through the streets or hiring private security to do that for us, we invite everyone to the party. We meet our neighbors. We bring our kids. We have fun. And we get hella noisy."
How it works in their words:
We draw attention to muggings by hanging golden pots in locations where [armed muggings] have occurred.
We hold SUPER FUN COMMUNITY ANTI-MUGGING PARADEs. Our first will be this Friday, October 4th, at 7pm. We start at Bites Off Broadway (the food trucks in front of Studio One Arts Center) and make our way to the Alleys (at 49th and Telegraph), where we will hang a pot in remembrance of an armed mugging that took place there August 22nd 2013 at 8:45pm. Pots and spoons will be provided. Come!
We partner with local artists and activists. Movement artist Jessica Damon has designed a cleansing ritual for places where muggings have occurred. As part of this ritual, our children give small gifts to passersby, transforming the location from one of coercion to one of generosity. If you have ideas for us, email [email protected] or call 510-375-7082.
We recognize that systemic poverty and intergenerational violence are the root causes of mugging and assault. We raise money for Youth Alive, an organization run by urban youth working to reduce gun violence.
And every night, at 7 o’clock, we stand on our stoops and bang on our pots.
