Oscar Grant III Mural at BART Station

On New Years Day in 2009 at the Fruitvale BART station, BART police officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed Oscar Grant III, a local 22-year-old Black man. The killing caused massive social unrest in the Bay Area and around the country, including a high-profile trial and a $25 million wrongful death claim against BART; they settled with Grant's daughter and mother for a total of $2.8 million in 2011. In addition, there is now a mural with Oscar Grant’s portrait on a wall near a Fruitvale BART bus stop and one of Fruitvale’s streets is now "Oscar Grant III Way."

Each year, Fruitvale community members and local supporters gather in front of Fruitvale BART to honor Oscar's memory and protest against the murders that communities of color often face at the hands of police.