Morning Demonstrations and Afternoon Press Conference at Mehserle Hearing, 5/18/09: video

Supporters of justice for Oscar Grant are gathering every morning this week at 8am outside the Alameda County court house by Lake Merritt in Oakland while the preliminary hearing inside deals with Johannes Mehserle's defense attorney Michael Rains attempting to reduce charges from murder, to move the venue to a less diverse county, or to otherwise stifle Mehserle being held to account for his actions on January 1st. About 1:30pm every day, family members and others are holding press conferences on the steps of the court house to announce what has happened in the court room each day. As the hearing continues, Oscar Grant's family is asking anyone who can spare ten minutes or an hour to come down and show support at the morning demos and the afternoon press conferences.

Speaking in the video here on the first day of the preliminary hearing are community members, activists, and family. Oscar Grant's uncle, Cephus Johnson, speaks to the crowd at the conclusion of the day's hearing on the steps of the court house. Also speaking throughout the day are members of the New Year's Movement for Justice, By Any Means Necessary, No Justice No BART, Copwatch, the Revolution Club, the Nation of Islam, OneFam, and more.