Solidarity rally for Renisha McBride

Oakland, Calif. — About 100 people rallied at Rainbow Park in East Oakland on Dec. 14 to show solidarity with the family of Renisha McBride. Nineteen-year-old McBride, who was African-American, was shot and killed Nov. 2 in Dearborn Heights, Mich., a predominantly white suburb of Detroit, when she asked for help in the middle of the night after having been in a car accident.

Speakers at the Oakland rally included families of victims of police killings, such as Dionne Smith, mother of James Rivera, Jr., who was killed by Stockton, Calif., police; Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson, uncle of Oscar Grant III, who was killed by Bay Area Rapid Transit police; and Jeralynn Blueford, mother of Alan Blueford, who was killed by Oakland police. Other Black mothers spoke too, about the fear of their own children simply asking for help and falling victim to racist murder.

After the rally, the group marched through the East Oakland neighborhood, passing out leaflets about Renisha McBride. They then returned to the park for a potluck meal, which was free to members of the community.