Outrage In Oakland Over BART Shooting

If you haven't heard yet, Oscar Grant, a 22-year old unarmed black man, was killed in what witnesses describe as an execution- style shooting on New Year's Day by a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police officer who along with a group of his colleagues, were responding to reports of a 2 a.m. brawl involving a group of men at a train station in Fruitvale. The officer, Johannes Mehserle, 27, abruptly resigned after video of the shooting hit the airwaves and the internet prompting national attention. Days later, a group of 200 protesters, described by The San Francisco Chronicle as an angry mob, marched the streets of downtown Oakland smashing some store fronts and setting cars ablaze, resulting in 105 arrests. The gathering was in direct response to a long history of police brutality and their outrage over what is viewed as a racially motivated killing. But in doing so, a splinter group of demonstrators targeted black-owned businesses. In addition to a great post on the overall moving and meaningful vibe of the protest by Angel over at Concrete Loop, here's an excerpt from the SF Chronicle article I mentioned above:

The mob smashed the windows at Creative African Braids on 14th Street, and a woman walked out of the shop holding a baby in her arms.

"This is our business," shouted Leemu Topka, the black owner of the salon she started four years ago. "This is our shop. This is what you call a protest?"

Wednesday night's vandalism victims had nothing to do with the shooting death by a BART police officer of Oscar Grant on New Year's Day - but that did little to sway the mob.

"I feel like the night is going great," said Nia Sykes, 24, of San Francisco, one of the demonstrators. "I feel like Oakland should make some noise. This is how we need to fight back. It's for the murder of a black male."

Sykes, who is black, had little sympathy for the owner of Creative African Braids.

"She should be glad she just lost her business and not her life," Sykes said. She added that she did have one worry for the night: "I just hope nobody gets shot or killed."

Oakland Mayor and political legend Ron Dellums urged for calm. After joining and leading the crowd to City Hall, he then gave a speech, reiterating the need for a peaceful and rational display of civil disobedience:

"I sense your frustration," he told the crowd. "I understand that you've lost confidence in a process because you've seen what you believe is a homicide ... But listen to me, we are a community of people. We are civilized people. We are a nation of laws."
Dellums told protesters that he had asked the Oakland Police Department to investigate the shooting. "I have asked Oakland police to engage in a fair, parallel investigation, the way you'd investigate any homicide in Oakland," he said. "If that leads to an arrest, that's what it would lead to."

"I'm asking people to disperse," the mayor said to the couple hundred people in the crowd. "Let's leave in a spirit of peace."

Now I'm all for protesting against police brutality, especially in the East Bay (across the bay from San Francisco, where I've lived for 20 years), with its particularly troubling history of poverty and drug violence in some areas, including parts of Oakland and particularly Richmond, which went hand-in-hand with a police force with a history of brutality towards minorities. San Francisco, itself, has also had its share of problems as far as interaction betwen its police force and minority communities. But the problem I'm having with all of this is, while I agree with the protests, I also feel some disappointment in the protesters' misdirecting their anger as in this excerpt from the same article:

But soon after, a man shouted "that's the modern day lynching" and the mob quickly continued its rampage, smashing at least seven storefronts on 17th street between Franklin and Webster streets. They also smashed eight cars, including four belonging to the City of Oakland.

Near 14th and Alice streets, Myron Bell was taking dance lessons in "step," a form of dance popular among African Americans, when he looked out the window and saw people jumping on his Lexus sedan. Bell, 42, came out to find that almost all of the car's windows, including the front and back had been smashed and it appeared that someone had tried to set the car on fire."I'm for the cause," said Bell, who is black. "But I'm against the violence and destruction."

Nearby, Godhuli Bose stood near her smashed Toyota Corolla as a man walked by, repeatedly called her a misogynist slur and then added, "F- your car."
Bose, a high school teacher, said: "I can't afford this."

Which leads me to paraphrase Chris Rock's infamous rant about Black folks hating it when so-called n*ggers fuck shit up. Let's try and keep the focus here, people. Of course, there is always going be people who simply cannot control their righteous anger, and although it is in many cases justified, you must remember that the mainstream media is always going to focus on the violent aspects of our reactions. Especially what is deemed to be irrational violence.

The family of Mr. Grant has issued a statement through noted black attorney John Burris, who is reprensenting them in a $25 million claim against BART over his death. "This is a very Christian family that doesn't believe in fighting violence with violence," Burris said. "Oscar would not want that to happen in his name. Oscar was not that kind of person."

Yes, the shooting itself might appear to be an intentional act based on irrational fear, ignorance, or perhaps hate, and I'll try and hold off on passing any definitive judgement until I gather more facts, but in the meantime, let's listen to our leaders and get a grip. And no, I'm not saying we should suppress our outrage and not shout out our frustration against racial injustice from the rooftops. But to get it twisted and destroy the hard-earned rewards and efforts our own in the process is the height of stupidity, however small the percentage it is of those who do so.

You do know how the media do, right?

Here's the video of the shooting



Peace.