On January 1, 2009, Oscar Grant--an unarmed black man--was shot and killed by Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle on the platform of the Fruitvale BART station. Since then, a number of organizations and coalitions have mobilized to seek justice for the family of Oscar Grant and end police brutality. As a movement of love warriors committed to justice for all, we at Seminary of the Street felt called to this work. Our perspective in shaped by the analysis of Rev. Lynice Pinkard in her article, "The Master's Mehserle Cannot Dismantle the Master's House," which is available here.

On July 8, 2010, a group of concerned people from Seminary of the Street took part in the protest of the verdict of involuntary manslaughter for Johannes Mehserle, not because we want to see any person spend more time in the prison system that is swallowing and brutalizing so many black and brown men, but because we long for some acknowledgment of the loss of Oscar Grant's life and the lives of many other victims of police brutality. The original "Call to Lament and Action" can be found here.

On July 29, three weeks later, we cosponsored a service of lament and public forum at Pacific School of Religion. Here are the details about that event.