March 26, 2009: 15 years ago, March 25 2009, the Uhuru Movement led a march against police [...]
15 years ago, March 25 2009, the Uhuru Movement led a march against police brutality in remembrance of Lovelle Mixon. Mixon, a Black Oaklander, died in a shootout after killing four Oakland cops on March 21st
The Mixon shootout took place in the context of an ongoing anti-police terror movement in Oakland, which began in January 2009 with the murder of Oscar Grant by BART police. To some, Mixon became a movement symbol: “If he’s a criminal, everybody’s a criminal,” said one marcher
Mixon has remained a potent, if highly controversial, icon. In the early days of the Black Lives Matter movement, Oakland rapper Mistah F.A.B. released a tribute to him, calling for riots and more militant actions than protest marches:
