Over 100 people stood, gathered on the corner of 14th and Broadway in Oakland last night. Some were taking pictures on their phones, others passionately talking amongst themselves, with a few people shouting chants on bullhorns. Still more people were just standing, quietly waiting for 6 p.m., when the grand jury would announce their verdict on whether to indict officer Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO.
This was the scene just minutes before 6 p.m. While many other accounts have focused on the rioting, it’s important to keep in mind that for hours (days, if you’re counting all the way back from when this all began) beforehand, the rally and protest began in peace. As the ruling hour rolled by, a woman moved to the center of the circle, where just moments before, chants of, “No justice, no peace,” were shouted into the night. Someone held a bullhorn to her mouth as she read aloud from her phone. “The grand jury has decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the August 9 shooting of unarmed Ferguson teenager Michael Brown.”
The tears that were only just welling up in some people's eyes began to flow freely. “Oh, God,” was all one protestor could say. Protestors began to spill into the intersection of 14th and Broadway to lie down, eyes vacant, staring into the night sky. People began to outline their bodies with chalk. The organizers of the rally were staging a “die-in,” where people would lie down, pretending to be dead. For 4.5 minutes, they all remained silent, as police and news choppers flew overhead. The crowd swelled to over 150-200 people, and not long after, the march began in earnest.
The chants that were once constrained to one corner of Oakland soon echoed through all of Downtown Oakland proper. Disruption, not destruction, was the focus of the protest. Awareness, not violence, was always the goal. As the hours rolled on to midnight, when the police began to clash with protestors, the tension rose higher and higher. Posters of Mike Brown, held up in peace, lay torn on the street, snatched out of hands by police officers who were ordering the crowd to disperse. The overwhelming peace and calm that symbolized the protest and march was quickly overshadowed by the tear gas.
One set of media images of this protest and march will stand in the public eye. Judging by the morning after, it’s clear which one is being touted by the press. These are the alternative to the rioting images.
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