Coming of Age through Grassroots Organizing
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Young people from Cambridge were extrmely distraught once they heard about the shooting of Oscar Grant in Oakland, these are there responses.
YPP Reflections – Oscar Grant, Violence, & Non-Violence
One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better.
- Daniel Berrigan
"Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak … Non-violence is hard work. It is the willingness to sacrifice. It is the patience to win."
- Cesar Chavez
"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."
- Mohandas K. Gandhi
[He] alone is truly nonviolent who remains nonviolent even though he has the ability to strike.
- Mohandas K. Gandhi
Danah’s response:
Honestly when I had first started watching the video like I didn’t really understand what the problem had been to even spark the violence in the first place, but then as the video went on and I saw how the situation began I realized I didn’t even know stuff like this still even happened. Like I hadn’t heard of police violence on black people occurring since times of Martin Luther King Jr., and even though his time wasn’t even that long ago I still had just figured it was over. Like I didn’t know that it was necessary any more like it wasn’t necessary in the first place. Well that’s my reaction I was just shocked that it was all going down like that. I just didn’t really expect it. But I’m glad that the people in the community spoke out. And they composed them selves well not being reckless but making sure what they had to say was heard and taken into consideration.
Marguerite’s response:
When I first watched this video it made me sad to see that stuff like this was still going on. I know that racial profiling and discrimination still exist, but at the same time I would hope to think things have improved. I am sad for the man that lost his life, but it’s wonderful to see that the people are taking so much initiative to speak out against this injustice. I am glad that I am informed about this, and I want to be a part of anything that advocates peace in cities and around the country.
Imane & Ebere response:
When we read the article about Oscar Grant and the shooting that took place in Oakland, CA a lot of things came to mind. For example, we thought about our brothers, cousins, and friends that could’ve been in Oscar’s place. What did happen to Oscar’s family, what really happened to the young girl he left behind? Who is going to care for them? We thought about all the times we’ve been loud or rowdy in train station, and how maybe we could’ve found ourselves in that situation. We also thought about all the assumptions and judgments that people make based on appearances.
After thinking about all of these things we began to think about how we could change it, and get our voices heard in the Cambridge community in a positive way. For instance, we thought about how positive it would be if Cambridge youth, and Cambridge police and city council could get together and discuss all of the issues that occur today. Overall, the Oscar Grant tragedy really made us think about issues that we sometimes forget.
Nadia's response:
I thought that the video was crazy. I’m tempted to watch it again because it was so much to take in, in 5 minutes. I live in Uphams corner in Dorchester and the violence in Boston is really bad. Even at my school, there are metal detectors and police officers. It shouldn’t have to get to that level because of violence. The thing that really got to me in the video was that the mayor wouldn’t talk to the people of Oakland, and that people had papers that read “unarmed don’t shoot” just because they didn’t want to be shot.
Yordano's response:
It was a day after New Years when I heard about the incident that occurred in Oakland, California. After I had watched the video I was STUNNED. The video had shown a young man being shot by a Bart cop. I was just so upset about what I had just seen. There were so many feeling running through my head and the worst one was just knowing that the cop had intentionally shot the man because of a racial issue. People say “racism is gone” but I strongly believe that till this day in 2009 it is still with some of us; actually a lot of us. I shouldn’t say that incidents like this occur everyday or I hear or see something happening like this. But there are things like this that happen too frequently. Incidents like this sometimes aren’t shocking only because we expect it and have learned to accept it. Like I feel as if in our city of Cambridge a police officer is more likely to pull over a colored person rather than a white person. The reasoning of this is because it has happened lots of times in the past before; being pulled over for no reason. But in my eyes it wasn’t being pulled over for no reason, it was because we were “black.” Sometimes I feel as if cops think something is wrong because a couple of colored teens are in a car together just roaming around for trouble. But it’s just not about that I personally feel as if cops abuse their privileges because compared to us they have more rights because they have badges and a blue suits that tell them that they are different from us. We sit here a pay out taxes for them to go around killing innocent people. But honestly I am fed up with it and I know everyone else is so I think its time we all stand up and do something about it.
Kiana's response
I heard about the Oscar Grant case watching the news. At first, I was unaware of the severity of this case because the media (channel 7 to be exact) portrayed it as just another misfortunate mishap that resulted in an ordinary black man getting shot.
However, the more details that were uncovered, I realized how major this story really was. To my knowledge, I thought it was a fight that ended up in someone getting shot in the back. But when I learned it was Oscar Grant, a 22 year old black man, who was also a family man, who cooperated with police when they were trying to detain him, and who later shot and killed him anyways, it just made me shake my head in disgust and disappointment at the lack of disinterest and injustice that continues to go on in the American legal system. I honestly feel that such unfortunate events, like Oscar’s case, gain nationwide media and awareness, but continue to go unresolved despite our citizen’s efforts to end the madness. Until our country can put aside our cultural differences, and focus on each other as individuals with the same rights as the next man, news stories like the Oscar Grant case will always continue. Police brutality, violence, and corrupt minds seem to overpower the voices of ordinary people, especially in the case of minorities. That’s why I’m glad there are such groups such as YPP to intervene, and take action against such unruly actions and behavior. In this world, all it takes is just one to make a difference. The rest will follow.
Remi's response
The violence in my community… I really didn’t like all the shooting that happening everywhere. Young black males are getting gunned down for no reason. Like my friend Lucian was shot last year two of his friends where playing with a gun and it went off killing him. The violence has got to stop because one more death is one more too many.
Sasha's response:
Today was the first day that I found out about the Oscar murder. A police officer shot him because he was mistook for someone else that happens so often where I’m from. The police officer won’t confess the fact that it was an honest mistake, but he/she knows. Personally I view this general issue as racial profiling everyone expects that when a store was robbed, that it was a black guy. It is almost as if everyone expects the worse from black people, because we have this called SKIN COLOR that constantly makes us stick-out like a sore thumb. I have lost people due to misconceptions, racial profiling, robbery and “beef.” Growing up in a tough neighborhood has molded me but has exposed me to such horrific things. I grew up in Protester, Massachusetts, considered a very “black” or “ghetto” area. Dorchester is an area where you have to work yourself out of; some people make it out into a better place and these are these people lag back and are still waiting for the hood to change. But over the last 2 years, I have realized on my own that change does not just come, you have to fight for it. You have to not only want it you have to make it occur. If you want to stop the sudden deaths from occurring, you have to say something don’t call it snitching you’re standing up for a cause. I’m tired of hearing about so many people being harmed or taken away from us due to the gun. Tough neighborhood such as south Boston, need to help people rather than eliminating people. If we keep killing people from urban communities, we will not have anyone left from my generation to tell our times story, the real story because when the recession comes it affects us. When murder such as Oscar Grant’s, Lucien Christalin’s or Benjamin Santil's it affects us because they belong to my urban generation.
Julian's response:
My reaction to the video was of disbelief. Yet it rang with a certain familiarity that made it all the more believable. In my own life, the police have not been the greatest help. I have had my home robbed within walking distance of the police station in my area. After we called the police, it still took an officer three to four hours to reach our home, despite us living so close to the station. When the officer did reach our home, he stayed only a few moments to ask a few questions, and when finished, assessed that there was no way to determine how the thief got into the house despite markings on the door. I have been robbed at knifepoint a literal 15 seconds away from a police car. My feelings about police aren’t the greatest.
In my community, violence is never seen. But it is often spoken about. It occurs a great deal, though it used to be a great deal worse and was often never reported. A friend of a friend’s was brutally murdered and his body burned last year in my neighborhood. Such things speak volumes about the level of education that still has to be communicated to the communities we live in. We need to send a message to the country as a whole using any medium we can. Whether it is events, media, or simple word of mouth, we need to use any and all means to advocate a cause we all hold true. The issue we face is a lack of participation on the part of those within our own race. Because we are no longer slaves, we close our eyes to the injustices that occur in the lives of those around us. It was said once by a great speaker “an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere.” We have to get those around us to understand that it is only by our participation that anything will ever change. We all must understand as well; despite us revealing truth to the world, we must understand that it is still up to the world to use that knowledge. Knowledge is power when the effort is made to use it. Knowledge on its own is and never will be enough. When we can inspire the masses to take arms, only then will change be made. When we can empower these masses with the knowledge of the injustice that occurs around them, then will they understand that life can be better than what it is. In my belief, the hope of a better life will be what catapults us as a people to where we should be as a group. The question that YPP is trying to answer is; how do we inspire hope?
Shaina's reponse:
What i see..::
I call it a cycle of ignorance. One misunderstanding can change a life, even end one. It is starting to be redundant when we restate what is current in our lives. The reality is there is peer pressure, there is a recession going on, people are in fact dying. Death is an everyday occurrence. Many are nonchalant to death and homicide in this century. What we fear most, is change. We fail to better our generation. Violence in Boston is very frightening. The phase of waiting for the world to change is DONE, OVER! Boston, Cali, AMERICA point blank needs to make a change, and we will be the change for all it's worth.
Hope's response:
I was appalled. A 22-year-olds life was taken away for no apparent reason. Although I don’t have a relationship with him, it was painful to watch. This was possibly one of worst ways to enter 2009. The government has been talking about change within our community and yet instead of enforcing this change, they have followed this trend of violence. I just don’t get it. It enraged me that these people whom the government hire for our safety and protection are doing the exact opposite. I couldn’t imagine police forces to harm anyone of my older male cousins or friends. I just don’t get it. Change has been the motto of the country for a while. I think we need to start changing our government first. Obviously, this “brilliant” system haven’t been working out …
“One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better. “ – Daniel Berrigan.
This is one of my favorite quotes that can relate to this situation. Without non-violence the change we talk about will never come around. I know my generation, my peers, and MYSELF can be part of creating this change.
