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2nd Annual Humboldt Radical Social Forum

Arcata Presbyterian Church

Features Palestinian speakers from Gaza and West Bank, Labor Panel, and local organizers.

Theme: “If we think global, and act local, what can we do that makes a material difference?”

ARCATA, Calif. – April 11, 2026 – The Redwood Peace and Justice Coalition will host the 2nd Annual Humboldt Radical Social Forum on Saturday, April 11, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Arcata Presbyterian Church, located across from Wells Fargo Bank in Arcata. The event is free and open to the public, and now features a labor panel to discuss whether anti-war sentiment can produce victories for local unions.

The forum brings together international and local voices to explore how global solidarity can translate into tangible local action.

Speakers will join by videolink from Gaza City and the West Bank, alongside activists and labor organizers from across California.

Schedule of Events:

11 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Eng. Mohammed AlShakra (via videolink from Gaza City, Palestine)
AlShakra works for the International Coordination Unit for Gaza City Municipality, a partner in building Arcata-Gaza City Sister City relations. He will speak about life in Gaza City under ongoing Israeli bombardment despite a fragile “ceasefire”, and his work coordinating water distribution reaching 285,000 people, Ramadan food distributions, children’s activities, and an art workshop—all supported by local fundraising.

12 p.m. – 1 p.m. | Huwaida Arraf (via videolink before joining flotilla to Gaza)
Arraf is a Palestinian American civil/human rights attorney and activist. She co-founded the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Nobel Peace Prize-nominated non-violent resistance movement, and has led multiple sea voyages to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, including the 2010 Freedom Flotilla that was lethally attacked by Israeli forces. In 2025, she led the “Handala” and “Conscience” flotillas—both attacked by Israel, with the latter’s 92 civilians abducted and deported. She will join shortly before departing on the next flotilla to break the siege. Arraf practices civil rights law in Detroit and was a 2022 candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives.

1 p.m. – 2 p.m. | Issa Amro (via videolink from the West Bank, Palestine)
Amro is a Palestinian human rights activist who founded Youth Against Settlements (YAS), leading non-violent resistance against Israeli occupation in Hebron. He received the Right Livelihood Award in 2024, one of the world’s most prestigious peace awards. Despite being detained, tortured, evicted from his home, and attacked, he remains committed to peaceful resistance. His speech will focus on annexation of the West Bank.

2 p.m. – 3 p.m. | Roland Champagne
Champagne, RN, MPH, MBA, recently retired as a research nurse from Naval Medical Center San Diego. He is a volunteer host at the “House of Palestine” in Balboa Park and a patron of Friends of Hebron (founded by Issa Amro) and 7amleh, the Palestinian Digital Rights Group. He visited the West Bank from October 7–28, 2025, traveling to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, and Hebron. He will share photos and firsthand experiences of checkpoints, airport security, interactions with Israeli soldiers and Palestinians, and Hebron’s shuttered streets and protective fencing.

3 p.m. – 4 p.m. | Rainer Shea
Shea is the General Secretary of the Humboldt Socialist Union and a prolific blogger with tens of thousands of online followers. His presentation will focus on the “process of radical recapture”—specifically how the ruling class is attempting to neutralize organized labor and the pro-Palestine movement, and how to rebuild the American workers’ movement.

4 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Labor Panel

“What would be possible if ‘No Kings’ style protests turned toward winning local union victories?”

This panel applies the forum’s theme to ask: “If we think global, and act local, what can we do to win local victories for unions and the local working class?”

Jeff Otter – Labor Representative with the California Nurses Association (CNA). Otter has been actively involved with Central Labor Councils (CLCs) in Sacramento and Humboldt. He first joined a union as a classroom aide in college with the California School Employees Association (CSEA), later organized postdoctoral scholars with the United Auto Workers (UAW), and returned to CSEA as a staff representative before joining CNA.

Mario Fernandez – Eureka City Council Member and Humboldt County Democratic Party Chair. Fernandez brings over a decade of frontline labor organizing experience across Northern California. He is currently a Field Representative for the California Faculty Association (CFA) and previously represented over 900 RNs as a Labor Representative for the California Nurses Association, and organized cannabis workers as a Researcher and Organizer for United Food & Commercial Workers Local 5 (UFCW 5) in the Emerald Triangle.

DATES/TIMES

WHERE

• Arcata Presbyterian Church

PRICE

• Free