The Riot Act: Oakland’s Oscar Grant
Despite the media's call for riots, the people of Oakland respond with solidarity, peaceful protest, a little mischief, and a whole lot of art.
— By Adri Wong | July 11, 2010
People's Choice Printing, Oakland CA
This month, transit police officer Johannes Mehserle stood trial for killing 22-year old Oscar Grant by shooting him in the back while he lay unarmed, restrained, and prone on the floor. Grant was black; Mehserle is white. Mehserle was charged with second degree murder, but it was widely predicted that he would be convicted only of involuntary manslaughter – as was ultimately the case.
In anticipation of this verdict, the Oakland Police packed the downtown area with squads, simulated a riot for training, and issued warnings to local merchants, advising them to lock up their property and close shop early. A national media flurry surrounded these preparations, “covering” the riots like they had already happened. When a Daily Kos blogger noted that bay area transit police had killed another young man in similar circumstances in 1997, a commenter accused him of inciting violence: “Is your goal riots? That is going to be the result if people go out of control . . . One incident does not need to be broadcast from coast to coast, causing anger and hate. . . “ In general, the fear of what Mamdani has referred to as a “native’s genocide” spread fast and wide, settling in everywhere a smidgen of white guilt could be found. Refusing this dehumanization, the people of Oakland responded characteristically: with solidarity, peaceful protest, a little mischief, and (the focus of this post) a whole lot of art.
In the midst of all the craziness, an iconography has developed. Grant’s photo is ubiquitous in Oakland. His face has been stenciled and wheat pasted and painted across the entirety of the cityscape.
Despite the Che-like visuals, it is not really the case that Grant has become a martyr. More a peer, a neighbor, a beloved friend — and in that sense, the popular response to the killing of Oscar Grant has been one of love. To reclaim Grant’s image is to reclaim the value of every life - to reject the idea that the worth of human existence may be selectively subordinated to a city budget, or the maintenance of authority, or the prevention of property crime.
The bay’s vibrant arts scene has also contributed to the cause with visual inventiveness, mobilized to drive home the shocking violence of the wrong that was done.
Emory Douglas, print
Frank Zio, silkscreen print
Even the hooliganism and vandalism that was blown out of proportion to stand in for the missing riot had its performative, creative-political aspects. The kids that broke into the Foot Locker were yelling “Jordans for Justice.” The stuff of satire, however unintentional.
Other potentially unintended ironies: this Linden Alley response to the killing of Oscar Grant depicts a police officer as an ape. But it’s the people of Oakland who have been talked about as though they were animals. As though they had no other outlet or expression for the pain, anger, and injustice of the trial except physical destruction. Proudly, I present the evidence that that thesis is wrong.
For he knows that he is not an animal; and it is precisely when he realizes his humanity that he begins to sharpen the weapons with which he will secure its victory.
- Frantz Fanon
The fear of rioting is pervasive amongst those who pull the strings because it serves as a reminder, to them, that they really are NOT in control. Street art also plays into undermining the notions of the role of property in society. Art may bring attention to an issue but ultimately those in power need to become afraid of the populace before ANY CHANGE can happen. This is why the propoganda of anti-rioting has been everywhere: it looks too much like revolution. And a little pillaging of the overt decadence of late capitalism is bound to be realized by those who have been told that the American Dream is within their grasp, but is really like the fruit before Tantalus perpetually receding.
“The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!” – Mikhail Bakunin
Great article. I would really like to know the names of the artists of these pieces. Do you have any leads? My favorite is the crimson fingerprint on the BART station ticket. The idea is captivating and definitely illustrates how personal this incident is to Oakland dwellers.
My oversight – the BART station ticket is by (I think) Frank Zio. Buzz Gallery did an anti-police brutality show, and I think it may have been up there.
Credits may start appearing for the various other pieces here: http://www.urbanhabitat.org/rpe/oscar
wow. well done, Hydra! As a local Oaklander, i’ve been following this case since it happened, yet have never seen this collection of images before or read an article focused on the art/iconography that has come of this. Thank you.