On Black Friday 2014, following the grand jury announcement it would not recommend indicting police officer Darren Wilson for the murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, 14 Black activists chained themselves together on a BART transit platform “to prevent trains from moving at the West Oakland station, in response to the seemingly unending war against Black communities.” The 14, a majority of them women, faced criminal charges. Originally, BART was demanding $70,000 in restitution as well.

Now, after a year-long campaign by the Black Friday 14 and a broad coalition of allies, District Attorney Nancy O’Malley has dropped all the charges.

“Our criminal case is over, but the war on Black lives remains,” said a statement issued by Black Lives Matter Bay Area. “There can be no business as usual while young Black men and women … are murdered with impunity by police officers, security guards and vigilantes. The police remain an occupying force in our communities. Black bodies are not only over-policed and over-incarcerated, we are also underpaid, overworked and priced out of communities we’ve lived in our entire lives.”

Victory for the Black Friday 14 | Charges Against Black Friday 14 Dropped. Collected Community Statements | Black Friday 14 statement on dropping of charges

Previous Related Indybay Features: Labor and BLM Demand: “Drop the Charges Against the Black Friday 14!” | Bay Area Shuts It Down for Mike Brown After No Indictment for Darren Wilson