New flyer for gathering on day of Mehserle's verdict

A guilty verdict will not bring Oscar's life back -- nor will a guilty verdict in and of itself change the reality of police oppression and violence that confronts our youth each day. If former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle is found guilty as a result of the trial currently underway in Los Angeles, it will be an historic occasion. But it will also be the exception that proves the rule in this so-called post-racial society.

Regardless of the outcome of the trial, we will come together as a community on the day of the verdict to provide a positive space for people to speak out and express their feelings and to continue working for justice -- in honor of Oscar and all the brothers and sisters that were on the BART platform with Oscar that fateful night on January 1, 2009.

We are in a unique position to organize folks to resist police brutality, to take the lessons we have learned in the past eighteen months and join with others around the state and the country to move forward with our fight. No matter what happens as a result of the trial, we know that police brutality and racial profiling are facts of life, particularly in poor communities.

On the day of the verdict, we want to create a safe space where our youth won’t be left vulnerable or exposed to the risk of arrest because of the actions of others. We respect everyone’s right to protest or not; what we do matters.