Dozens March in Protest Organized by Uhuru Movement to Honor Lovelle Mixon who Shot and Killed Four Police Officers in Oakland

It is unconscionable to me that people could march and rally to honor cop killer Lovelle Mixon, who was shot by Oakland police after he fatally shot four officers last Saturday. What is the message that the organizer, the Uhuru Movement, is sending? That they are condoning the horrific actions of a career criminal. Sorry, but had that been a white man who shot and killed four black cops, they would be throwing the kitchen sink and everything else that they could find. Heck, they might have even ended up in Washington D.C. at the Capitol in protest. How do you honor someone who has deliberately killed four police officers or anyone, for that matter? This sets a terrible precedent in Oakland and around the country. The shootings were by far the deadliest incident for U.S. law enforcement since Sept. 11, 2001, and the deadliest in California in nearly four decades, according to media reports.

"OPD you can't hide - we charge you with genocide," chanted the demonstrators as they marched along MacArthur Boulevard, near the intersection with 74th Avenue where Mixon, 26, a fugitive parolee, gunned down two motorcycle officers who had pulled him over in a traffic stop. He killed two more officers who tried to capture him where he was hiding in his sister's apartment nearby.

The protest was organized by the Oakland branch of the Uhuru Movement, whose flyers for the march declared, "Stop Police Terror." Many marchers wore T-shirts featuring Mixon's photo, including a woman identified by march organizers as Mixon's mother. The woman declined to comment and gave her name only as Athena. Lolo Darnell, one of Mixon's cousins at the demonstration, said, "He needs sympathy too. If he's a criminal, everybody's a criminal." Asked about police allegations that Mixon was suspected in several rapes, including that of a 12-year-old girl, marcher Mandingo Hayes said, "He wasn't a rapist. I don't believe that."

Bystanders had mixed reactions. Nicole Brown said that she can't condone murder but that police don't respect residents of the area. Daria Belt said she had no sympathy for the protesters but sympathized for Mixon's family. Source: San Francisco Chronicle

The organizers have managed to confuse two issues -- police brutality and criminal behavior on the part of Mr. Mixon. Genocide is a very strong word to use, especially when they chant Lovelle Mixon's name in the same sentence. He is a cold-blooded murderer and there is absolutely no justification for what he did. His family deserves some sympathy for being thrust in the spotlight, but it seems that by dint of their actions in the aftermath of these horrific murders, they may have been enablers of this man. Also equally devastating is the fact that Mixon's DNA has been linked to the rape of a 12-year old girl. He was a suspect in several other rapes.

Sorry Uhuru Movement, you are clearly acting contrary to the meaning of your name. You see "uhuru" means freedom, independence, not stupid and racist in your actions. The organization has sent a terrible message that they coddle and embrace criminal behavior for the sake of race. This is the same group that came to national attention during the presidential campaign when several members interrupted President Obama's town hall meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida, shouting slogans at him and held up a banner which read, "What about the black community, Obama?"

Simply shameful and let me end by saying, Lovelle Mixon is a disgrace to the African American community. Yes, there may have been issues with the Oakland Police Department, but Lovelle Mixon killed four officers trying to do their jobs. Nobody told him to pull the trigger and kill these men. Founder Omali Yeshitela (born Joseph Waller) and Uhuru Movement do you honestly think anyone in their right mind will take your organization serious?

Hat tip to contributor Cheri Thomas for informing me about the rally.