Thousands March to Reclaim MLK's Radical Legacy in Oakland, 1/16/17 (audio & photos)

Photo: Sound truck/stage on 14th Street in Oakland, City Hall in background. Banner reads, "If they come for any, they have to deal with the many," in anticipation of the Trump presidency.


Once the march reached the pergola (columns) area at Lake Merritt, several barbecues were fired up to offer free food to the masses and a drum circle performed in the distance. Barbecues and drumming have been banned from the lake area, as the city government sought to entice businesses to Oakland and please gentrifiying newcomers. On a normal day, without thousands of protesters present, OPD would have been issuing citations for cooking or drumming at the lake. In preparation for the large numbers present, organizers also had a dozen or more porta-potties in place for the comfort of attendees.

Speakers at Lake Merritt discussed the issues of resistance against white supremacy locally, nationally, and globally. Full audio is included below.

Speakers at the Lake Merritt rally included: Cat Brooks, APTP/Onyx; Young Gifted and Black; Black Organizing Project; Adam Jordan Wills, APTP/Onyx; Nina Farnia, National Lawyers Guild SF Bay Area Chapter; Tiny, Poor Magazine; Omir, youth scholar from People's School; Amber, Causa Justa/Just Cause; Jeremy, Idriss Stelley Foundation/Education Not Incarceration; Cephus Johnson, uncle of Oscar Grant; Janetta Johnson, TGI Justice Project; Sammy Oblasa Wells, Asians for Black Lives; Bayan East Bay/Third World Resistance; Umaya, Palestinian Youth Movement; Sabiha, Alliance of South Asians Taking Action; Ras Ceylon; Alia Sharrief; Silent Noise; Kev Choice and Jennifer Johns


For more on Reclaim MLK week: