Oakland's Street Hassle: Boots Riley

I never had any intention of writing about an occurrence like the senseless death of Oscar Grant, but the topic has been a pervasive force in the media for the last two weeks. And because of that, it’s been on my mind.

I was in Oakland on New Years’ Eve and what’s more, I was a stop away from where the shooting happened. And really, what transpired at the Fruitvale station could have occurred at any stop in Oakland. Each platform was busy, packed with folks who intended to have a memorable evening out and begin the New Year properly.

When talking about rap though, not murder, in Oakland a few names consistently come up. The whole Hiero Crew, Too $hort and of course Boots Riley from the Coup.

Boots is generally thought of as an intelligent man as well as a gifted emcee. And regardless of one’s feelings towards the Coup, Boots really is one of the higher profile faces on underground hip hop today. He was recently interviewed regarding Oscar Grant and was given ample time to express his point of view.

However, when asked what steps the community should take, Boots really didn’t have too much to say. Of course he mentioned that the officer in question should be tried – although Boots pronounced his conviction before finishing the sentence. He went on to mention legislation, but really it’s already illegal to kill folks, so his suggestions might not actually be too useful.

The inability of Boots to articulate any solutions, or at least a next step, points to the ridiculous nature of this incident.

I’ve never been a 22 year old black guy, but I would imagine getting hassled by cops, especially in Oakland, unfortunately becomes a common part of your life. There’s probably some reason as to why the officers in question were initially drawn to Grant and his friends – probably not a good one, but there has to be some fuzzy logic behind it all.

Nothing excuses murder whether or not you’re part of the government. It’s indefensible according to every major religion on earth. And obviously the officer in question wishes that he could undo the past. But he can’t.

Boots’ lack of substantive response points at the real problem – and it’s been a persistent one since centralized governments ruled over subjects. Who polices the police? There’s not an answer for that, but the Black Panthers gave it a shot. It really only got members harassed, incarcerated and killed. Good idea in theory, but people whose job it is to carry a gun around all day won’t look kindly on civilians watching them.

The subsequent rioting has its roots in issues far beyond what happened on New Year’s. Economic depression, suppression by the police and government won’t ever lead to positive reactions from the public. There simply needs to be grass roots organization of neighborhoods. That might result in protests or strikes – but either is a far superior choice to destroying other’s property and garnering an even more apparent police presence.