Feature Archives

Derrick Jones was shot and killed by the Oakland Police Dept on Monday November 8th 2010 on the 5800 block of Trask Street. On November 11th, protesters took to the streets to protest the murder of another unarmed man by the police. Family members of Jones and Oscar Grant joined a demonstration on Bancroft Way before marching to the Fruitvale BART station, the site of Grant's fatal shooting. BART shut down the station for several hours during the evening commute because of the protest.

Marc Sapir writes, "The core paid staff (representing perhaps 30-50 staff people at KPFA) essentially seized control of KPFA this morning [November 9th] to rally their listener base to resist efforts that could restore KPFA to financial solvency for the first time in 2 years, and bring it back from the brink of collapse (KPFA does not now have cash income to pay the staff regularly). What goes unstated is that the majority of staff at KPFA—over 150 programmers and producers--the people who keep the station on air 24/7 are volunteers are not represented in these antics."

On Friday, November 5th, former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle was sentenced for the shooting death of Oscar Grant, III. Mehserle received the minimum jail sentence possible from Judge Robert Perry, two years. Subtracting the 146 days Mehserle has already been behind bars in an LA County jail and another 146 days for "good behavior," he is expected to be released from state prison in less than one year from now. Concerned community members gathered together in Frank Ogawa Plaza by Oakland City Hall to respond to the sentencing and to honor Oscar. Police arrested 152 people in a march that followed.

UPDATE: Midnight Matt Arrested for Attempted Murder on January 28th

On the evening on October 31st, Halloween night, advocates for People's Park climbed into the trees to take a stand against the ongoing destruction of the park by UC Berkeley, with the encouragement of the Telegraph Business Association, and to protest the dwindling resources available to the city's homeless population. The tree sitters have renamed the park "Muwekma," the Ohlone word for "people."

This year was the 15th National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality. Throughout Northern California marches, rallies and vigils were held on October 22nd and 23rd to mark the days of action against police brutality. On October 23rd, the ILWU and other unions shut down Bay Area ports to join a Justice for Oscar Grant Rally in downtown Oakland. In Eureka, organizers announced two days of marches and rallies. Vigils and marches were held in Fresno and Modesto.

Larry Bensky has had a varied journalistic career, marked by his association with KPFA-FM in Berkeley. Best known as a talk show host, he is famous for anchoring the Iran Contra Hearings from Washington for the national Pacifica Network. Less well known is his early career in mainstream journalism, his activism against the Vietnam War, and his role in the struggle for People’s Park in 1969.

On October 7th, students, workers, & faculty gathered in solidarity to defend public education across the U.S. At UC Berkeley, supporters gathered in Sproul Plaza, marched, and later occupied the North Hall Reading Room at Doe Library. At San Francisco State, supporters rallied, with speakers including Oscar Grant's Uncle Bobby.