Oaklanders for Peace >  Peace Keepers Reconvening
 

Barack Obama Promotes a Culture of Empathy This will not be easy. Because the change we seek will not just come from overcoming the ingrained and destructive habits of Washington, it will require overcoming our own fears and our own doubts. It will require each of us to do our part in closing the moral deficit - the empathy deficit - that exists in this nation. It will take standing in one another's shoes and remembering that we are our brother's keeper; we are our sister's keeper...

This page has links and resources related to the Oscar Grant/Johannes Mehserle shooting, trial, demonstrations, meetings and the Oakland peace building efforts. I am working on a documentary on the importance of empathy in our lives and in society and am taping video interviews of people on this theme in Oakland and elsewhere. What is the role of empathy in the Oscar Grant/Johannes Mehserle shooting? How can we build a culture of empathy in Oakland and beyond?

Oakland Mayor Elect Jean Quan on How to Build a Culture of Empathy

"Being a politician, especially if your working with a lot of people, it hones your empathy skills....
when you work with a wide variety of people, it gives you an opportunity to stand in their shoes,
to get a sense of different people feelings and different peoples worlds."

	Learning to stand in somebody else's shoes to see through their eyes, that's how peace begins. And it's up to you to make that happen... Barack Obama

References

• PeaceKeeper Empathy Interviews

• Peacekeepers Yahoo discussion Group

• Indybay.org - Coverage of the Justice for Oscar Grant Movement

Events

July 08, 2010 - Oscar Grant-Johannes Mehserle Verdict Protest, Oakland - (empathy videos)
                            -  Empathy Team at Verdict Protest, Oakland

July 19, 2010 - Johannes Mehserle Rally, Walnut Creek - (empathy videos)

September 02, 2010 - Peace Keepers Reconvening - 1st Meeting (photos and video)

September 08, 2010 - Peace Keepers Reconvening - 2nd Meeting  (photos and video)

 

September 14, 2010 - Justice for Oscar Grant Organizing Meetings,

6501 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland - Join us for the Justice for Oscar Grant committee, every other Tuesday evening beginning at 7:00pm, as we plan a Mass Boycott and Rally on October 23, 2010 starting at 12:00pm at Oakland City Hall, 14th and Broadway Streets. This rally precedes the November 5th sentencing of former BART officer Mehserle.  Join us for the Justice for Oscar Grant committee, every other Tuesday evening beginning at 7:00pm. Contact justice4oscar@gmail.com for more information.

   

September 20, 2010 - BART of Compassion: Peace Meditation at Fruitvale Station
     The second BART of Compassion gathering at Fruitvale Station
      

September 25, Saturday, 11 am-4 pm Mothers Taking a Stand
     Oscar Grant foundation - Uncle Bobby 510 599-6357
     Oakland City Hall – Amphitheater, #1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza


October 23, 2010 -  Justice for Oscar Grant - International Longshore Warehouse Union
Oakland Peacekeepers tent at  City Hall, ILWU Local 10 and Community Rally:  

Calling All Activist, Peace Keepers And Concerned Community Members! You Are Invited To Come Out This Saturday October 23rd At City Hall For  The Justice For Oscar Grant Boycott And Rally, From 10am To 4pm.  The main host for this event is the ilwu, the International Longshore Warehouseman Union. There are a host of other organizations sponsoring this historical event. This is our chance to shine. We expect a large turn out and want our strength, beauty, and spirit to be seen, heard, and known. We will begin gathering for pre-event set-up, organizing, and solidarity @ about 10am, please join us.  (facebook.com/event1)  (facebook.com/event)
 

Community Dialogue/Peace Keeper Training
(Events flyer in Word.doc) RSVP: http://communitydialogueandpeacekeepertraining.eventbrite.com
Planned dialogs and trainings in each council district. Receive a Certificate of Participation for attending a Dialogue/Training Attend three trainings and receive a Peace Keeper Certificate of Completion All Trainings are FREE and open to the public,
Refreshments Served

September 16, 2010, 6:00pm – 9:00pm - Thursday  (video)
Bay Area Community Ministries, 5526-B MLK Jr. Way

September 23, 2010, 5:30pm – 8:30pm - Thursday (video)
Eastside Arts Alliance, 2277 International Boulevard  (Event Flyer in Word.doc format)
Video: Cephus Johnson, Oscar Grant's 'Uncle Bobby' says, "Empathy is really significant about this whole thing"

September 30, 2010 – Chinese Interpreter, 6:00pm – 9:00pm 
Lincoln Square Recreation Center, 250 Tenth Street

October 1, 2010, 12:30pm – 8:30pm - Friday
Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street. (Event Flyer Oct.1.halfflyer.pdf) Empathic Listening Post, Diversity/Cultural Dialogues,  Empowered Communication (NVC) Training,  Empathic Mediation Training, Art Corner, Restorative Justice Training, Poetry/Spoken Word, Your offering.

 

October 5, 2010, 6:00pm – 9:00pm - Tuesday
 Verdese Carter Community Center, 96th Avenue and Bancroft

October 12, 2010, 4:00pm – 7:00pm - Tuesday - Students Only
Fremont High School, 4610 Foothill Boulevard
Community Dialogue / Peace Keeper Training

October 19, 2010 – Spanish Interpreter, 6:30pm – 9:30pm - Tuesday
Carmen Flores Recreation Center, 1637 Fruitvale

 

October 20, 2010 – 6:00pm – 9:00pm - Thursday
Lincoln Square Recreation Center, 250 Tenth Street

October 29, 2010, 6:00pm – 9:00pm - Friday
FACES of the East Bay - East Bay Church of Religious Science, 4130 Telegraph Avenue
Article about meeting: With Mehserle sentencing approaching, peacekeepers train to avert violence

          
Day of Johannes Mehserle Sentencing

November 05, 2010 - Johannes Mehserle Sentencing Demonstration

        

Post Sentencing Events

December 11, 2010 - Empathy, Compassion and Restorative Justice: Building Cross-Cultural Communities

Empathy-FlyerRev1.pdf
Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

(lunch provided) FREE and Open to the Public
East Bay Church of Religious Science
4130 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609