Oakland Bike Ride Calls for “Peace from Police!”
OAKLAND, CA. West Oakland-based organization, Bikes 4 Life, announced today that in honor of Oscar Grant, III, and all victims of police abuse, the group’s 3rd annual peace ride will have a new theme in 2010: Peace from Police. The ride begins Sat. July 24th 7:30PM at Lakeside Park, tours Lake Merritt, and ends at the Bikes 4 Life bike shop, with a Movie Night to close out the evening.
This will be our 3rd Annual Peace Ride, but as lead organizer, Tony Coleman explains, “It’s easy to say, ‘stop the violence,’ but we have to call for an end to all kinds of violence, including the violence young people of color experience every day at the hands of police.” Coleman also takes issue with the media when it perpetuates stereotypes that justify police abuse, saying “Oakland already had a bad reputation. Then on the night of the Mehserle verdict, the media ignored the beautiful, multi-racial, multi-generational Speak Out we had against police brutality and focused instead on property damage later that night.” “To make matters worse, the police blamed ‘anarchists’ and ‘outsiders’ for causing trouble,” says Coleman, “yet the OPD released 15 pictures of mostly African Americans and expects the public to help identify them.”
The “Peace from Police” ride will once again unite a diverse cross-section of hundreds of Bay Area residents, just days after the Oakland and BART police fired over 50 bullets, killing a man near Fruitvale station on July 17th, and after former BART-officer Mehserle supporters rallied on July 20th in Walnut Creek.
Organizers point out that “There has been so much gun violence involving the police, even since Oscar’s murder on New Years Day, 2009, that the community feels very fearful for their lives and their loved ones if they shall ever come in contact with the police and this is just wrong,” says Rachel Jackson, “ The community will never have real peace as long as people are afraid of police, cannot trust those sworn to protect and serve, and have lost faith in the legal system since the Mehserle trial.”
Bikes 4 Life’s mission is to improve individual lives (prioritizing under-served, at-risk youth), while improving the community, the environment, and society. Bikes 4 Life runs a community bike shop, hosts regular historic bike rides through Oakland, leads several community empowerment projects, all while playing a leading role in the justice struggle for Oscar Grant and all victims of police abuse. The Peace from Police ride is a collaboration with Cycles of Change, Red Bike & Green, and P.O.K.E.R. ride. For more information, see www.bike4life.com or call 510-831-9781.
