Rev. Wanda Johnson: Pitch in $5 to send flowers to the grieving mothers headed to DC!

April 23, 2015

Dear Activist,

Mother's Day is always a difficult day for me. So is my birthday, because it was on my birthday in 2009 that my 23-year-old son Oscar Grant III was murdered. 

In the early hours of New Year’s day in 2009, after a long night of fun, on their way home my son and his friends were stopped and searched by police officers in the Oakland subway station by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). The police were clearly harassing the boys, and in a moment of unbridled aggression, my unarmed son was fatally shot by a police officer. My heart was absolutely shattered. 

Every day I think of Oscar, and I’ve pledged my life to making sure that no other mother has to feel the pain that I’ve gone through from losing a child to police violence.This Mother’s Day, dozens of grieving mothers just like me will be heading to Washington DC for a march to the Justice Department to demand an end to racist and fatal police practices that are literally killing ourchildren. 

If you can’t join the moms in DC, please show support for the grieving mothers by chipping in $5 to buy them flowers. CODEPINK will use these flowers to set up an altar outside the Justice Department, and weave the flowers into the fence that surrounds the building. The action will be a tribute to our children and to mom’s around the country who mourn--instead of celebrate--on Mother's Day.

We have had enough of police militarization and violence, which only perpetuates fear in our communities. We deserve to live in peace and we deserve justice for the crimes committed against our children. On a day when mothers are supposed to be honored and appreciated, let’s show some love for the moms who are hurting the most.

Please consider donating $5 to buy flowers for our altar at the Justice Department. It would mean so much to us.

With prayers for all the victims of police violence,

Reverend Wanda Johnson