Rally for Oscar Grant on his 23rd birthday

as a multi race person ,i too have no rights.looks like another multi race person is deprived of parentage.this society doesent want races to talk tomeach other.now a father of a multirace person is gone,just like others who dont have parentage or rights.

Just got of the phine after talking to Rita Akayama, Bay Area October 22 Coalition organizer, who recounted her experience at Oscar's B-day event onm Friday in Hayward

Hell of Police in full riot gear ?
No respect for Oscar's Grieving Ffamily,
and for a PEACEFUL event celebrating Oscar Grant III,
robbed of his young life, mother, daughter, and friends ?

HAYWARD is indeed, as OAKLAND,
the epitome of the Siege on the Poor, Black and Brown
on the Bay Area PLANTATION

Truly Nauseating...
My heart goes to Oscar;s Mom and family
in a way that could not be expressed in words...

in UNity & Respect
mesha Monge-Irizarry,
SF MOOC City Commissioner

director of ISARC,
and CO_director of the SF_Chapter of Education Not Incarceration

The police presence and the helicopter noise which drowned out many of the speakers was disgraceful. Can't these thugs let the family and friends have a peaceful memorial rally without brandishing their batons and showing how strong they supposedly are. With our schools out of money and other social services suffering cuts they have the money for all of this silly police presence. Also, they were videotaping a peaceful rally/protest. Who gives cops the rights to do that? These helicopters need to be stopped as they impose upon the freedom of speech.

It reminded me of what the roman legions were like. Imperialists, invaders, these cops are not part of our community, not fellow citizens. And they certainly are not serving the people.

I was truly saddened by the way Hayward PD and city officials handled Oscar Grant’s birthday celebration last Friday. Here is a family and a community who is truly devastated by the loss of their son, our own Hayward son, at the hands of the police. This was a moment to bring if not closure, then possibly an opportunity to offer some healing and understanding between police and the community.

Mayor Sweeney should have been at City Hall offering Grant’s mother the key to the city, proclaiming February 27 as "Oscar Grant Day". After all, February is black history month. Police Chief Ace could have issued a statement acknowledging sorrow for the death of her son, reassuring the public that Oscar did not die in vain, and that Hayward police are training, and meeting with people in the community in an attempt to learn from tragic events like this, and get it right.

Instead, they shrunk away from this great opportunity to reach out. Resorting to the same myopic thinking and police tactics that attributed to Grants death. Taking preemptive measures, intimidating these marchers by closing the streets and turning the downtown into a military style police state, blocking the streets with club wielding police clad in armor.

Instead of using intelligence and compassion, they used force. Instead of offering a hand, they raised their clubs. It’s as if the Gettysburg address didn’t happen. I watched sorrowfully as Grants mother, Wanda Johnson was denied access to a downtown public sidewalk by one of these clubs wielding amour clad Hayward police officers.

Did that officer know her son was shot in the back by a police officer just like him, while another officer pinned him down to the ground with a knee to his head? It was too obvious that he didn’t care, because the Hayward Police Department and the city didn’t care. I shake my head at this arrogance. I thought we were so much farther along.

Peace and blessings to all family & friends & supporters of the Oscar Grant. I have been following Oscar's case from here in LA since a few days after it happened, and have been doing my best to organize with our community down here in solidarity with yall.

I'd like whoever sees this to take a listen to a song I recorded a few weeks ago in honor of Oscar Grant and others we've seen go thru the same brutality at the hands of these fu#$en crooked police. Anyway, take a listen if you can:

http://www.myspace.com/AestheticsCrew

Peace,
Aidge
Aesthetics Crew
October 22nd Coalition, LA Chapter

Since I had been beaten and tortured by members of the Hayward porkchop department after leaving a rally and march for bro Oscar Grant on the 14th, (see Indybay article) I would like to have information on the people who organized the birthday event for him. On the day of the March I was feeling ill (as I suffer from Meniere's Syndrome) could not attend. It is my intention to file suits, but also to continue to organize, do poetry, and anything else I can for the families of Oscar Grant and other families who have been victims of these foul depraved traducers , as Huey called them.

Mostly, as a long time organizer against police brutality, I would like to organize a local California wide tour for the family of Oscar, where we could have other local families who have also been attacked to tell their stories. I could certainly organize one in San Jose and with help from previous activist and organizers I've worked with, another in Santa Cruz. We could have KPFA THERE, along with KKUP and various Santa Cruz radio stations, recording and doing some live feed. Please contactr me by e-mail at: dragonlibre [at] california.com From Curly Estremera