Thandisizwe Chimurenga holds her book, “No Doubt: The Murder(s) of Oscar Grant” in her hand; on the cover a protester is raising a sign that reads: “If you want to get away with murder, become a cop.”
Chimurenga will be hosting an open discussion regarding her book in the Academic Services Anatol Center at Cal State Long Beach from noon to 8 p.m. Monday.
“No Doubt: The Murder(s) of Oscar Grant,” reflects on the nationwide violence against young black males through the lens of Oscar Grant’s murder. It argues that law enforcement uses a “playbook” of how to shield its members from accountability in the murders of young black and brown men.
In the nonfiction novel, Chimurenga follows the trial of Johannes Mehserle, former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer, who killed Oscar Grant on Jan. 1, 2009.
Grant was killed in the early morning of Jan. 1, 2009, when he was riding in the lead car of a BART train bound for Fruitvale after his New Year’s Eve festivities. Following a report of a physical altercation involving up to 20 people, officers removed Grant and several other men suspected of fighting from the train and detained them on the platform.
First responder, Officer Tony Pirone handcuffed Grant and his friend. This succeeded in angering other riders, causing passengers on the idling train to document the following events with camera phones. During the preliminary hearing of Mehserle’s trial several witnesses testified that they began recording because they believed BART officers were acting too aggressively.
Officer Mehserle and another officer were restraining Grant, who was lying face down and handcuffed. Mehserle then drew his pistol and shot Grant, who was unarmed, once in the back. Mehserle was pronounced dead the next morning at Highland Hospital in Oakland.
Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and was sentenced to two years in state prison in the Los Angeles County Jail.
Mehserle only ended up serving one year of his sentence, which Chimurenga mentions was less time than Michael Vick for his dogfighting charges, and less time than Plaxico Burress’ conviction for shooting himself in the leg.
Thandisizwe Chimurenga, whose name translates to “love of the people” (Thandisizwe) and “national liberation” (Chimurenga), is a freelance journalist and author of multiple books. She has committed her practice to will black people into freedom and report stories with an arm of reporting known as “Emancipatory Journalism.”
Usually her words are only made available to the public through writing, but today she will speak in a free event that is open to the public at CSULB.
So join the conversation with Chimurenga and be a voice for those who’ve had their voice silenced.