FruitVale, Oakland, California.

For those who have not heard:

On New Years morning, as most of us were staggering among SF streets - drunk and passed out in stairwells - riders on BART at the Fruitvale station witnessed a murder. Oscar Grant - a 22 year old father and Hayward resident - was on his stomach and unarmed when the BART officer shot him in his back. In videos released from riders on the stalled BART train, Grant was thrown and pinned to the ground when he was shot by another officer. The "two year veteran" was never questioned of the event, sent on a mandatory and routine paid leave, and has since resigned from BART. Today, Wednesday January 7th, there was a protest...


Oakland was a live and kicking tonight. I was already in Oakland when I got word of a protest of the BART shooting. I jump on BART at MacArthur when I hear that the Fruitvale station is closed due to "civil protest". I take the train to Lake Merrit and then a shuttle to Fruitvale BART.

Upon exiting the bus I see several news vans in single file spaces, their transmitting towers erected and bobble head reporters alert and dispersed throughout the crowd. I pass by the memorial of candles and posters that read "RIP Oscar" and "Police are supposed to protect us". I see a lot of young people, of all races. I maneuver through the crowd, recognize a few faces. Someone pulls at my arm - a girl I went to City College with (Drug Wars of Latin America). I slither closer to the speakers. Click, Click - document a couple scenes with my disposable. I stand behind the tall slender girl and her friends. One young man is speaking on the microphone, the girls are hollerin in support and get caught up in the moment, they joke with smirks on their faces, and the young man yells "I don't understand why y'all have smiles, this -ish isn't funny." He didn't see these girls, but they felt his criticism, and quickly dispersed in embarrassment. I look around and see another familiar face, Emily, with whom I've taken another class with (Environemntal Justice). Later on, another familar face: Manuel. I met him through my friend Romina, he is on parole and is now an organizer for a group that helps parolee's.

There was a lot of anger felt in this crowd, and I could feel the discontent and desire for change. Some quotes that caught my attention:

"We need to Re-Think the way we dress, eat, and think"
"Don't just protest whats on TV"
"If nothing changes lets look at each other as brothers and sisters. If a brother says 'hello' don't look at him like he got shit on his face."
Recommendations like: "Block the BART train, block the doors, don't ride the BART train."
and the popular "Fuck the PO-LACE"

Again, the crowd. Young, old, black, white, Latino, and Asian. I saw people there that were community organizers, urban artists and entertainers - this was a different crowd from other protests that I've attended, this was a certain demographic - young, urban, ethnic youth. I stayed at this protest for two hours.

When I arrive home, I turn on the news, and the protest had turned into a riot. The group left the BART station and proceded to Broadway street, breaking windows along the way. Riot cops had flooded the scene and what looks like a plethora of arrests were made. Later, Mayor Dellums of Oakland encouraged the protesters to go to Oakland City Hall or go home. When the crowd moved to City Hall, Dellums tried to bargain with them to go home, saying that a thorough investigation will be made, and justice served. On TV, it seemed like a reenactment of MILK, but Dellums was less successful.

As a citizen I am disgusted, as an urban geographer I am disappointed. Watching the video of this event, I am astonished and sickened.