Feature Archives

On June 1st, family, friends, and community activists gathered in front of Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malleys office in Oakland to demand a vigorous prosecution of Johannes Mehserle for the murder of Oscar Grant. The next day jury questionnaires were handed out in Los Angeles Superior Court, and after numerous motions have been heard in pre-trial hearings and a jury which includes no African Americans was selected, the long-awaited trial began with opening statements on June 10th. On June 14th, the LA Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant made a call — "All Out to the Courthouse" — and hundreds rallied for justice. In Oakland, a mass community gathering has been called for 14th Street and Broadway at 6pm the day of the Mehserle verdict.

On Sunday, May 23rd, community members held a vigil from 11am to 1pm in Oakland's Frank Ogawa Plaza to mourn the death of Aiyana Jones and all victims of police violence. Seven-year-old Aiyana Jones was shot and killed by police on May 16th during a no-knock raid on her family's Detroit home. The incident was filmed by the crew of the reality TV cop show The First 48, which had been following the Detroit Police Department. A lawyer for the Jones family claims that the footage contradicts the police account of the incident.

San José residents report that during Cinco de Mayo celebrations this year police conducted daytime checkpoints, issuing numerous citations and arresting Latino drivers. They diverted cars from the downtown area, effectively evacuating the city center and shutting down street celebrations for two nights. Many residents are wondering how the city can afford thousands of hours of police overtime pay for extreme enforcement actions on Cinco de Mayo while the city faces a budget crisis.

On Monday, May 3rd, the Chican@/Latin@ community at Cal, which includes RAZA, Mecha, Xinaxtli, and others began a hunger strike in front of California Hall in response to the new Arizona SB1070 Law and to the charges imposed on student protesters this school year. The six demands issued include that President Yudof and other UC Chancellors publicly denounce Arizona’s SB1070 and that charges be dropped against student activists. Strikers issued a call to action against racism and oppression for Friday, May 7th. On May 10th before dawn, police moved in to clear strikers from the lawn they were occupying. Demonstrators then massed at the Chancellor's house. The strike continued through May 12th.

On Thursday, April 22nd, around a hundred community members rallied outside a courthouse in Oakland to oppose a controversial gang injunction proposed by City Attorney John Russo. The proposed injunction would criminalize everyday activities in a 100 square block area of North Oakland. Community members spoke out against the injunction, saying it would rely on racial profiling, strip people of their civil rights, and push poor and working class people of color out of North Oakland.

On April 8th, over 200 people demonstrated in San Francisco BART stations to push for justice and accountability in the murder of Oscar Grant. Protesters took various trains and chanted "No justice, no rush" — slowing their walk onto trains in order to disrupt BART's normal rush hour schedule. Police began to try to push or pull demonstrators out of train car doorways. BART trains were disrupted and delayed about 15 minutes in both directions by the action. One person was arrested on misdemeanor charges which have since been dropped.

After the recent uprisings in Portland in response to two police murders, a call has gone out for "West Coast Days of Action April 8th and 9th, From the Bay to the Sound: No More Police Killings!" The call to action reads in part: "Organize protests and autonomous actions in your own city!" Announced actions include non-violent civil disobedience at Embarcadero BART station in San Francisco on April 8th and an Anti-Police General Assembly in Portland and a march against police brutality in Seattle on April 9th.