Oakland Protest Against Police Violence

Dyan Ruiz, Joseph Smooke | 08/18/2014

Transcript

15 August 2014 protest in Oakland, CA against police violence and killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Lil Key, Oakland resident: I feel that was wrong. That man’s life was taken away before he was a man and he had an opportunity to live. 

Kateisha Menifield, UCLA student: I’m here because black lives matter. I’m here because I’m tired of policemen targeting and murdering and killing innocent people of color. I’m tired of it. We need change. We need something to address why students are being– people of color– are being targeted by policemen. It’s not right. It’s not humane and it needs to be changed. It needs to be changed. Too many people are being killed. We have Trayvon Martin. We have Jordan Davis. We have a lot of people who have died innocently for no reason. And it needs to be changed. It’s a shame that in Ferguson, there’s 70 percent black people and there’s 90 percent white people in the police force. 

[Crowd chants] Justice for Michael Brown! Justice for Michael Brown!

Menifield: 50 white police officers and only three black police officers. You tell me how that’s equality. You tell me how that’s justice.

[Crowd chants] Hay hay! Ho ho! Police brutality has got to go! Hay hay! Ho ho! Police brutality has got to go!

Menifield: Black lives matter. I’m tired of people being oppressed. We matter. And this needs to change.