On April 18, an unnamed organization celebrated the National Day to Stop Mass Incarceration by featuring Oscar Grant’s uncle in the quad to share the issue of profiling and police brutality.

Oscar Grant’s uncle, Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson, was there to share his experience with Oscar’s situation. Johnson hopes to change the criminal justice system with these rallies. He believes that the system takes away from men who are released after going to prison. He stated that afterwards they won’t be able to vote or obtain a job.

“The hope is that people, especially people of color, recognize that we’re dealing with a system, a criminal justice system, that is completely racist,” Johnson said. “It’s institutionalized racism and it must be dismantled and rebuilt.”

The issue of racial injustice in law enforcement was also commented upon by Skyline Psychology instructor Tony Jackson, who alluded to the shooting of Treyvon Martin as an example of the state of racial relations in American society.

“This is a pro-youth rally,” Jackson said. “(Just because) you may be of a different color . . . and you wear a hoodie, it doesn’t make you a criminal. People don’t have the right to take lives based on their sick perception of other people. The system we live in needs to not support murder.”

A woman by the name of Denika Chatman was at the event as well. Her son, Kenneth Harding Jr., was killed by police in San Francisco earlier this year. Chatman goes out into the communities to build awareness about what is going on and so that, as she put it, “No one else ends up being Kenneth Harding Jr.” Denika Chatman created a foundation in her son’s honor called the Kenneth Harding Jr. foundation.

“I go into the communities,” said Chatman. “My struggle, my fight, is in San Francisco; that’s where I do the majority of my outreach.”

Students gathered to listen to the speakers talk about experiences with police brutality. Afterwards, the microphone was open to those who wanted to speak. A few students took advantage of the opportunity and shared their stories and opinions on the topic.

One student, Jerry Reynolds, talked about how he feels like “one of those guys who have been profiled every day.” He expressed how he feels that job opportunities are taken away from him because of his looks. Reynolds aspires to be a part of this group and spread the word about the injustice.

“I was just telling my friends that I would like to be a speaker of that kind; it’s really motivating hearing and seeing things like this, and I agree with it,” Reynolds said.