Oscar Grant was murdered at 2:11 am on New Year’s Day, 2009, by Johannes Mehserle.
Today is the 5th anniversary of that occurrence. From noon until 4 pm, people will be gathering at the Fruitvale BART Station – the location of Oscar’s murder. Later tonight, there will be a panel discussion as part of a “friendraiser” for “Oscar Grant: The Rest of The Story,” a feature-length documentary on the movement for Justice for Oscar Grant.
“Dwelling on a death doesn’t bring justice”
Those words were sent to me in an e-mail last week by a young man who said he didn’t believe that we – he and I – shared the same perspective on Oscar’s murder.
Hmmm.
The outrage over the murder of Oscar Grant was channeled, for the most part, into a movement that saw BART’s Chief of Police resign; the Alameda County District Attorney retired, but not before he was forced to issue a warrant for the arrest of Johannes Mehserle for the murder of Oscar Grant. This was the first time that a police officer in the State of California was charged with murder for an on-duty shooting, and it would also be the first time that a police officer would be convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter for an on-duty shooting; the Bay Area Rapid Transit Authority revamped its training and policy for its officers; the issue of police terrorism and murder in Black and Brown communities has continued to dominate critical discourse around the country, and 2013 saw a major motion picture on Oscar Grant that has been viewed – and applauded – around the globe. And then there was this little book I wrote called No Doubt: The Murder(s) of Oscar Grant about the trial of Oscar’s murderer, Johannes Mehserle, and his accomplices.
“Dwelling” on a death does not bring justice; that is true. Remembrance of an unjust death, a murder, using that as inspiration for movement, organized action, to receive accountability and enact change: that is what brings justice.
That is what we have done. That is what we are still doing. And that is what we will continue to do.
And we will never forget Oscar Grant.
Ever.
January 1, 2013