Reporters weigh in on the Mehserle verdict

by Thandisizwe Chimurenga

Asked “What were your thoughts when you first saw the video (of the murder of Oscar Grant)?” Didon Kamathi, host of Freedom Now at KPFK, sighed and said, “Here we go again!” – Video frame: Thandisizwe Chimurenga

A sampling of reactions from small and independent news reporters during the July 8 protest rally called by the Los Angeles Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant is recorded in these videos. The rally was called in response to the involuntary manslaughter verdict handed down by a Los Angeles jury just hours before. The location: Leimert Park, South Los Angeles.

Thandisizwe Chimurenga is a community journalist and a founder and host of Some of Us Are Brave, a Black women’s public affairs show on KPFK-Pacifica Los Angeles. She has worked with the L.A. Watts Times newspaper, the KPFK Evening News and Free Speech Radio News. She covered the trial of Johannes Mehserle, the killer of Oscar Grant, for the Bay View and several other Bay Area news organizations. She can be reached at tchimurenga@gmail.com. Follow @OscarGrantTrial.