Awaiting the Mehserle Verdict, How Should Bay Area Youth Respond?

The trial of former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle for the fatal shooting of 22-year-old black male Oscar Grant has created a combustible situation in Oakland and other Bay Area cities. As Oakland braces for potential riots by setting up a law enforcement response strategy called "Operation Verdict," Mayor Ron Dellums made a plea for calm on Friday. Flanked by political and community leaders at Oakland’s Youth Uprising community center, Dellums expressed how the city should respond to an unfavorable verdict. “We need to respond with strength, dignity and respect," he said. The tone he struck, which was echoed by other community leaders in attendance, was a familiar one.

Whenever race or class tensions reach a boiling point, political leaders and some activists urge citizens to refrain from violence. And no one would blame them for taking this tact; the enduring lesson from the 1992 LA riots was that it’s foolish to destroy your own neighborhood under the guise of making a political statement. The question, which was left somewhat unanswered, is: what are the disenfranchised and disgruntled youth in the Bay Area supposed to do? One can only assume Mayor Dellums call for a dignified and respectful response would take the form of a traditional street protest.

While marches and rallies can be an effective tools of a grass roots movement, these protests in and of themselves have proven to be ineffective in creating the type of change young people in Oakland are looking for. The young black males who feel they could be the next Oscar Grant may see a peaceful civilized march as being a weak response to such an egregious miscarriage of justice. So the question remains, what should the angry youth of Oakland do?

The responsibility for answering this question rests in large part with the same leaders who are making a plea for calm. It’s up to Oakland’s political and community leaders to be creative and devise long-term strategies which will produce tangible results for affected communities. Dr. Martin Luther King once said “ a riot is the language of the unheard” so while it’s important to quell potential violence, it is equally important to give people a constructive and effective means for expressing their concerns and creating the change they seek.