You are now being logged in using your Facebook credentials
Supporting Leadership that Promotes Racial Justice  Written by
Deborah Meehan on 01 October 2010.  Leadership Learning
CommunityOakland made the headlines again this summer when a
jury delivered a verdict of involuntary manslaughter in the
trial of Johannes Mehserle.  Mehserle, a BART police officer,
was on trial for shooting Oscar Grant, a young, African American
in 2009.   Oscar Grant’s shooting and death were captured on a
cell phone video and posted on YouTube.   Oscar Grant was shot
in the back while he was defensively held face down by other
BART police officers with his hands handcuffed behind his back. 
Mehserle asserted that he accidentally pulled and fired his
pistol instead of a taser gun.  It is possible with this verdict
that Mesherle will be given probation and no jail time when he
is sentenced on November 3rd 2010.  Months in advance of the
verdict, a number of youth organizations in Oakland began
organizing to provide opportunities f