FILM REVIEW: Fruitvale Station

The other half and I saw Fruitvale Station at the Arclight Cinemas Pasadena when I was back in Los Angeles last week. Fruitvale Station is a movie based on the life of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old African American man who was fatally shot (in the back, while face down on the pavement!) by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle in the early hours of January 1, 2009 in front of a group of his friends while taking the train from partying in San Francisco. The shooting was caught live on multiple cell-phone videos that went viral on the Internet in the days and weeks following the killing. Mehserle was eventually charged with murder, the trial was moved from Alameda County to Los Angeles County but he was only found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years. He served 11 months in prison and was released. He was the first peace officer to be tried for murder for a line-of-duty fatal shooting in over 15 years. The Oscar Grant case was a cause celebre for several years and every New Years Day there are events to remember Oscar in Oakland and Northern California.

Fruitvale Station is the movie about the famous Oscar Grant case. It is filmmaker Ryan Coogler's very first film (although it was executive produced by Oscar winner Forest Whitaker) and stars Malcolm B. Jordan (Chronicle) and Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer (The Help).

Stylistically, Fruitvale Station is somewhere between a documentary and a drama. It is most definitely not a hagiography of Oscar Grant. We seem him make foolish choices as well as bad ones. But the film makes it clear he loved his daughter Tatiana and her mother very, very much. When he is on the floor of the BART Fruitvale Station after being shot he says to the officer who shot him "Why did you do that? I have a daughter." It is an absolutely devastating moment in the film, which is replete with them. Spencer plays Oscar's mom and the two have a very close relationship. She knows that he has a tendency to wander astray and you can see it in her eyes as she watches her son carefully. The other emotionally devastating scene in the film is the one in which we see Oscar's mom get the news about her son's death and then again when she views the body of her son.

A word must be said about the performance of Michael B. Jordan in the lead role. He is absolutely mesmerizing, despite being on screen for almost every scene one never gets bored or uninterested in what he is doing, even when one is annoyed with the choices his character is making. Hopefully this performance will not be forgotten when the end of the year comes around and film accolades for the year are announced.

That being said, even though it is an emotionally draining experience Fruitvale Station is most definitely worth your time and attention to see. It is exactly the kind of film the medium is made for, to impact the audience in a meaningful and lasting way another art form may not have been able to.

Title: Fruitvale Station.
Director: Ryan Coogler.
Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated R for some violence, language throughout and some drug use.
Release Date: July 26, 2013.
Viewing Date: July 30, 2013.

Writing: A-.
Acting: A.
Visuals: B+.
Impact: A+.

Overall Grade: A/A- (3.85/4.0).

LGBT Groups Issue Open Letter on Trayvon Martin Case

A coalition of three dozen LGBT groups issued an open letter on Monday calling for justice for Trayvon Marin in light of Saturday's jury verdict declaring his killer not guilty of murder or manslaughter.

An Open Letter: Trayvon Deserves Justice

We cannot begin to imagine the continued pain and suffering endured by Trayvon Martin's family and friends. We stand in solidarity with them as they continue to fight for justice, civil rights and closure. And we thank everyone who has pushed and will continue to push for justice.

Trayvon Martin deserves justice and his civil rights. We support the organizations and community leaders who are urging the federal government to explore every option to ensure that justice is served for Trayvon and that his civil rights are honored and respected. But our work does not end there: we will honor Trayvon Martin by strengthening our commitment to end bias, hatred, profiling and violence across our communities.

We represent organizations with diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender constituencies. Our community has been targets of bigotry, bias, profiling and violence. We have experienced the heart-breaking despair of young people targeted for who they are, who they are presumed to be, or who they love: Rashawn Brazell, Lawrence King, Ali Forney, Brandon Teena, Brandon White, Matthew Shepard, Marco McMillian, Angie Zapata, Sakia Gunn, Gwen Araujo and countless others.

Every person, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, must be able to walk the streets without fear for their safety.

Justice delayed is justice denied and in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "a right delayed is a right denied." We honor Trayvon by seeking justice for all people.

All Out
American Civil Liberties Union
Believe Out Loud
BiNet USA
Bisexual Resource Center
Center for Black Equity
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals
Equality Federation
Family Equality Council
Freedom to Work
Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network
Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSA Network)
GetEQUAL
GMHC
GLAD
GLAAD
Harvey Milk Foundation
Human Rights Campaign
Immigration Equality
Lambda Legal
Movement Advancement Project
National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Minority AIDS Council
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
PFLAG National
The Trevor Project
Trans Advocacy Network
Transgender Law Center
Trans People of Color Coalitionsp;in light of Saturday's jury verdict declaring his killer not guilty of murder or manslaughter.

Zimmerman Found NOT GUILTY of Murder or Manslaughter

George Zimmerman has been found not guilty by a 6-person, all-female Florida jury of 2nd degree murder and not guilty of manslaughter, despite the uncontested fact that he shot and killed unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin with his concealed firearm in February 2012.

A recap of the whole sad affair:

Zimmerman was not charged for 44 tumultuous days in which the case generated large protests in several cities, turned a hooded sweatshirt like the one Martin wore into a symbol of solidarity, and drew the attention of President Obama, who said, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”

As debate over race, guns and Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law swirled, a special prosecutor appointed by the governor announced April 11, 2012, that Zimmerman was being charged with second-degree murder – a move that his supporters said was meant to quell the public outcry.

Zimmerman pleaded not guilty throughout the case to the charges against him.

When the trial unfolded a year later, prosecutors argued the volunteer neighborhood watchman was a wannabe cop who “profiled” Martin as the teen walked back from buying Skittles at a 7-Eleven, and then followed him against the advice of the police dispatcher he called to report a suspicious person.

[...]

The defense told jurors that Zimmerman was just doing his civic duty when he was ambushed by Martin, punched in the face and slammed repeatedly into concrete before he fired a single shot that pierced the teen’s heart.

“That’s cement. That is a sidewalk. And that is not an unarmed teenager with nothing but Skittles trying to get home,” O’Mara said.

Here's a poignant reaction to the verdict from MSNBC contributors Melissa Harris-Perry and Joy Reid:

They do an excellent job of providing an answer to the question "why do people think this case is about race?" by discussing the reaction of parents of black children compared to parents of non-Black children to the verdict.

George Zimmerman Trial Begins TODAY

George Zimmerman admits to shooting and killing Trayvon Martin,
an unarmed Black teenager

Finally! More than a year after the news about the fatal shooting of another unarmed Black male became a huge sensation, the trial of Trayvon Martin's killer is beginning in a Florida courtroom today. George Zimmerman, 29, claims he shot and killed the 17-year-old in self-defense. The story became an international story when police authorities in Sanford, FL questioned but released Zimmerman after hearing his story, raising questions about how police in a Southern state consider and (de)value the life of Black person. After weeks of marches and protests in multiple American cities, Zimmerman was finally arrested an charged with a crime (second-degree murder).

According to CNN:

Monday marks the start of jury selection in Seminole County, Florida, where Martin was fatally shot on February 26, 2012. The shooting put a national spotlight on Zimmerman's hometown of Sanford and sparked fresh debates about race relations and gun laws in America.  

Zimmerman is Hispanic; Martin was African-American. 

An initial decision not to pursue charges against Zimmerman led to the dismissal of the town's police chief and the appointment of a special prosecutor, who accused the neighborhood watch volunteer of unjustly profiling and killing Martin. 

Zimmerman now faces a second-degree murder charge in Martin's death. He has pleaded not guilty and is currently free on $1 million bond.

The Zimmerman-Martin case became another Rorshach test on race in America. We (at MadProfessah.com) shall be watching to see if the criminal justice system (in Florida, no less) can pass the test of "equal treatment under the law."

Romney-Zimmerman 2012?

Comedian Bill Maher is attempting to help presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney select a Vice Presidential running mate. One of his suggestions is that Romney choose George Zimmerman, the Latino gun enthusiast who is claiming that Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law empowered him to shoot and kill an unarmed 17-year-old Black kid named Trayvon Martin who was walking around "looking suspicious" in his neighborhood.

After all:

"It's unorthodox, but who better than George Zimmerman to personify your campaign theme of, I think the black guy's up to no good?"

Indeed.

How To Talk About The Zimmerman-Martin Case

hat/tip to Daily Kos.

JUSTICE! Zimmerman Charged With 2nd Degree Murder

INMATE INFORMATION 
Booking #: 201200004452 
Name: GEORGE ZIMMERMAN 
Date of Birth: 10/05/1983 
Location: I 
Arrested by: Seminole County Sheriff`s Office 
Arrest Date: 04/11/2012 08:30:00 PM 


1st Appearance: 04/12/12 13:30 - 2012001083CFA
Inmate may not be bailed.

THE CHARGES ARE 
MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE

ACCOUNT BALANCE 
$121.00
Seminole County - John E. Polk Correctional Facility