Fruitvale Bart Station Protest: The Rally

Thursday, January 8, 2009

tags: bart, bart police, bay area, oakland, police, protest, Racism

This will be my first post in a short series on the shooting, protest, and riots, over the execution of Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale Bart Station in Oakland, CA. Here is a short brief on how KTVU news described the incident:

[Grant] appearing to cooperate with officers…Moments later two officers can be seen moving Grant from a seated position against the wall and then onto the floor. Officers position Grant face first on the floor with one officer near his head, a second near his back, and a third officer standing near by. There appeared to be a brief struggle, then a two year veteran Bart officer stands, draws his weapon, and fires.

These were the last moments of 22-year-old Oscar Grant III, a peacemaker, a son, a father. Yet to the police he was none of these things, to them, he was just another Black male. And because he was just another Black male his four-year-old daughter will grow up without a father and more than likely will have very little memory of him to hold onto as she matures in her years: no happy father’s days, no piggy back rides, and no father-daughter dance at her wedding.

The rally was attended by (my estimates) over 500 people and possibly up to 600. The interesting thing about this rally was it was not dominated by “activist” and “organizer veterans.” There were quite a few people I talked to for whom this was their first major political rally, there were also quite a few families and children, the crowd was majority people of color, had a lot of high school and college youth, and even had some acquaintances of mine I thought I’d never see at a rally.

As I arrived at the rally at 3:30 pm there was about 200 to 300 people there at the time with many media vans and reporters as well as cop cars lined up all over the Bart station. The speaking area was pretty crowded and I couldn’t see the speaker (from the ANSWER Coalition) but I was able to jot down what he was saying:

This cop was doing his job, let me tell you. Because the police are trained to do one thing. To keep poor people in check!

This was greated with large applause. Next up the Deputy Chief of Staff to mayor Ron Dellums Leslie Littleton was introduced to a loud resounding chorus of boos, hisses, and jeers; many folks were upset that the mayor took nearly a full week to actually craft a statement. Emotionally chocked up Littleton read off a press statement from the mayor:

Our entire community grieves at teh lose of Oscar Grant the third-

Booooo! The crowd shot back. Their anger was to a boiling point. “Where’s the mayor!” Shouted a person. “Bullshit!” Shouted another. Littleton tried to speak over the noise but to no avail. As she tried to explain why the mayor couldn’t make it to the protest she was meet with an even more hostile response and a louder chorus of boos. “Fuck the mayor!” “Fire the [Bart Police] chief!” “Cover up!”

When she got off the mic a man came up and said:

We reject your apology!

Applause resounded from the crowd of now up to 500 or so people.

Oscar Grant was executed! He was executed! Oscar Grant the third is dead!

After him a woman came up and thanked Littleton for her statement and went on to say:

We are disappointed [the mayor] took so long to form a statement…but he is an agent of change. We need justice for our people everywhere. It is not enough for us to come out here and yell! We need to organize and continue to act a month from now.

After a few more speakers in a format that seemed to be letting anyone speak if they felt the needed to a man said:

We will not stop until this man [the Bart police officer] is put on trial for second degree murder!

The crowed shouted and cheered.

After him minister Keith Muhammad of the Nation of Islam spoke:

It gives me a great honor to you…A salam a lakim.

“Walakim a salam.” Many in the crowd answered back. The minister continued:

How many of you have been those halls? For stealing a pack of ciggaerets we could get 8 to 25 years to life because of the the three strikes laws. When our young brothers were dragged off a Bart train and put and laid down on the ground. What crime did they commit? The officer of the low quite his job after he should have been fired. There is nothing in the law to protect innocent civilians from law enforcement…We will no longer sit down and take this while officials and law officers make back room deals [pertaining to one’s court case]. Cause that’s what it’s about. The prison industrial complex.”

He went on to talk about how the government builds more and more prisons yet doesn’t put enough money in the school system and the health care system. He ended with this:

I want you to repeat this with me. I am! Oscar Grant! I am! Oscar Grant!

Later on young woman spoke:

What they did is what they’ve been doing to Black people for hundreds of years since we’ve been coming to this country…There is more Black men in jail than there are in college and we need to change that right now! The police need to stop coming into our community and brutalizing us!

After a few more speakers another man stated:

This city, 40 years ago, was known for something. The Black Panther Party of Self-Defense! We were known for liberation and this was taken away from us over the years recently. We need to build a people’s movement in this city and in this country…We can not settle for resigination or for the disarming of Bart police…We need to restructure the system…Oakland 40 years ago was known for something and it will be known for something today!

As I look around at this crowd here, I am confident! I am confident! I am confident we will win this one and it will be the first victory of many!”

The rapted crowd erupted in applause and began to cheer.

After him more people spoke, hitting upon the same themese of organizing in one’s community and fighting back against this system instead of merely reforming it. Soon after some folks began to disperse while others began to march toward the Lake Merrit Bart station to the west as the sun set down.

5 Comments

Ahma Daeus permalink

Friday, January 9, 2009 5:13 am

A “SINGLE VOICE PROJECT” is the official name of the petition sponsored by: The National Public Service Council To Abolish Private Prisons (NPSCTAPP)

THIS PETITION SEEKS TO ABOLISH ALL PRIVATE PRISONS IN THE UNITED STATES, (or any place subject to its jurisdiction)

The National Public Service Council To Abolish Private Prisons (NPSCTAPP) is a grass roots organization driven by a single objective. We want the United States government to reclaim sole authority for state and federal prisons on US soil.
We want the United States Congress to immediately rescind all state and federal contracts that permit private prisons “for profit” to exist in the United States, or any place subject to its jurisdiction. We understand that the problems that currently plague our government, its criminal justice system and in particular, the state & federal bureau of prisons (and most correctional and rehabilitation facilities) are massive. However, it is our solemn belief that the solutions for prison reform will remain unattainable and virtually impossible as long as private prisons for profit are permitted to operate in America.

Prior to the past month, and the fiasco of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Lehman Brothers, and now the “Big Three” American Automobile manufacturers, the NPSCTAPP has always felt compelled to highlight the “moral Bottom line” when it comes to corrections and privatization. Although, we remain confounded by the reality that our government has allowed our justice system to be operated by private interests. The NPSCTAPP philosophy has always been “justice” should not be for sale at any price. It is our belief that the inherent and most fundamental responsibility of the criminal justice system should not be shirked, or “jobbed-out.” This is not the same as privatizing the post office or some trash pick up service in the community. There has to be a loss of meaning and purpose when an inmate looks at a guard’s uniform and instead of seeing an emblem that reads State Department of Corrections or Federal Bureau of Prisons, he sees one that says: “Atlas Prison Corporation.”

Let’s assume that the real danger of privatization is not some innate inhumanity on the part of its practitioners but rather the added financial incentives that reward inhumanity. The same logic that motivates companies to operate prisons more efficiently also encourages them to cut corners at the expense of workers, prisoners and the public. Every penny they do not spend on food, medical care or training for guards is a dime they can pocket. What happens when the pennies pocketed are not enough for the shareholders? Who will bailout the private prison industry when they hold the government and the American people hostage with the threat of financial failure…“bankruptcy?” What was unimaginable a month ago merits serious consideration today. State and Federal prison programs originate from government design, and therefore, need to be maintained by the government. It’s time to restore the principles and the vacated promise of our judicial system.

John F. Kennedy said, “The time to repair the roof is while the sun is shinning”. Well the sun may not be shinning but, it’s not a bad time to begin repair on a dangerous roof that is certain to fall…. because, “Incarcerating people for profit is, in a word WRONG”

There is an urgent need for the good people of this country to emerge from the shadows of cynicism, indifference, apathy and those other dark places that we migrate to when we are overwhelmed by frustration and the loss of hope.
It is our hope that you will support the NPSCTAPP with a show of solidarity by signing our petition. We intend to assemble a collection of one million signatures, which will subsequently be attached to a proposition for consideration. This proposition will be presented to both, the Speaker Of The House Of Representatives (Nancy Pelosi) and the United States Congress.

Please Help Us. We Need Your Support. Help Us Spread The Word About This Monumental And Courageous Challenge To Create Positive Change. Place The Link To The Petition On Your Website! Pass It On!

The SINGLE VOICE PETITION and the effort to abolish private “for profit” prisons is the sole intent of NPSCTAPP. Our project does not contain any additional agendas. We have no solutions or suggestions regarding prison reform. However, we are unyielding in our belief that the answers to the many problems which currently plague this nation’s criminal justice system and its penal system in particular, cannot and will not be found within or assisted by the private “for profit” prison business. The private “for profit” prison business has a stranglehold on our criminal justice system. Its vice-like grip continues to choke the possibility of justice, fairness, and responsibility from both state and federal systems.
These new slave plantations are not the answer!

For more information please visit: http://www.npsctapp.blogsppot.com or email: williamthomas@exconciliation.com
To sign the petition please visit: http://www.petitiononline.com/gufree2/petition.html

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

William Thomas
National Community Outreach Facilitator
The National Public Service Council To Abolish Private Prisons
P.O. Box 156423
San Francisco, California 94115