Printer-friendly versionEditor’s Note: This post is a follow-up on Jill E. Thomas's Nov. 11 blog post "The L.A. Riots Echo Loudly in My Classroom." In that post, she discussed helping her students relate recent news about police violence in Oakland to the 1992 L.A. Riots.
Closing out our unit on the L.A. Riots, I asked my students to reflect on whether they thought a similar incident could happen in Oakland. Student opinion revealed an even split.
Here’s what a few of the optimists had to say:
“I don’t think the size of the 1992 L.A. Riots could happen here in Oakland because here in Oakland we are less racist and we get all along.”
“Oakland is significantly smaller than L.A., the police are now prepared to handle riots, there aren’t a whole lot of businesses to loot, and there isn’t as much poverty in Oakland.”
“I think a riot the size of the L.A. Riots could happen but won’t because people are more educated now and know that violence resolves nothing.”
The pessimists seemed to think it’s only a matter of time.
“I do think a riot the size of the 1992 L.A. Riots could happen here in Oakland because there are many things happening that are unfair… like if you see a crime happen you call the police they don’t come right away. They take like three hours to come…if something else happens, like the killing of Oscar Grant, there’s going to be trouble.”
“In my opinion I think that this can happen in Oakland if the OPD keeps killing people without any reason, and I think that the citizen[s] will come to a point where they can’t take it anymore. They’ll do anything to get their justice and maybe start a riot.”
Through the entire discussion, what I found most encouraging was the overwhelming support of pursuing justice through non-violent means. One young woman made it clear that Oaklanders shouldn’t “use violence because then we look bad. Words speak louder than actions and sometimes we look stupid. We look like uncivilized People [when we riot].”
There are other ways to be heard, my students pointed out. They offered suggestions from protests to letter writing campaigns and community meetings.
“To be heard, you can ask the police station for a march and not a riot, like the march of undocumented workers to let people know about their message…people can see how they take their time to send their message in a march and it can change the opinion of someone about the crime.”
“I think an alternative way to be heard instead of rioting would be like what the protesters did earlier. They sang songs and made speeches and took their anger out by talking.”
“We all have to listen to each other and see other people’s point of view.”
One student, Mateo, was hopeful about non-violent means but also a realist. He said, “Protesting and TV might get the attention, but by sending the letter, a trash can is mightier than the pen.”
While Mateo may believe that any letter he writes will be thrown away and have no impact at all, I hope to change his opinion in the coming weeks. We will use Anna Deveare-Smith’s work as a model for our own community investigation project called Our Oakland. Each student will go out and interview residents, find out what is on their minds, and report back both in writings and in presentations to city council members. If the project is as successful as it’s been in the past, Mateo will realize the pen is mighty indeed.
Thomas is an English teacher at Life Academy of Health and Bioscience in Oakland, Calif.
Comments
I actually was in the LA
I actually was in the LA riots in 1992, as a National guardsman. And that was a true riot. At least for a solid three days. I have been in local law enforcement and responded to U.C. Berkeley and Oakland for various protest and marches. What we had recently in Oakland were protest with some people getting out of hand. Riots, not since the 1960s. My only question would be, why is it when one man gets killed by the police, on accident there is outrage and protest. But where are the protest when young men get killed in Oakland by another young man, non police officer?? Young men here get killed all the time, but no media attention or very little and no huge rallies or protest. You get one cop who accidently kills an unarmed man (not that it should matter, but he did have a criminal record, but that’s besides the point).
You are right. Young men get
You are right. Young men get killed here all the time. There are rallies and protests when it happens. We lost a young man this year to gunfire. He died in his father's arms at the edge of his yard. He was just trying to make it home after studying at the nearby school. We did rally. We had vigils. We erected altars. I think the difference is a known gunman -- an officer in uniform -- versus an unknown (a teenager who fled from the scene). An officer represents power. When young men kill each other, it is just tragedy.