JUSTICE FOR CAMMERIN BOYD, 2004-2007

Posted on May 3, 2018October 3, 2025 by Mary

$bullets, biotech and basketball — on wednesday, may 5, 2004, san francisco police officers gunned down cammerin boyd, an unarmed, disabled 29-yar-old black man, in front of a public housing development in the western addition. this police violence occurred immediately after a paramilitary-style chp/sfpd invasion of hunters point, in which police stopped over 600 motorists. police arrested 34 people and ticketed 262 others, most for minor infractions. this colonial incursion gave new meaning to the phrase “driving while black.” as the third street light rail nears completion, developers are desperate to make the bay view safe for biotech industry expansion, white yuppie consumption, and endless corporate profit. the upsurge in police activity serves to conquer new territory in the ravenous tradition of san francisco gentrification, exemplified by the dot com invasion of the 1990s, the imperial city building of the mid-1800s, and the slaughter of the ohlone people by catholic missionaries in the 1700s. protesters gather in san francisco from across the country june 2-9 to “reclaim the commons” and challenge the biotech-pharmaceutical industry at a moscone center conference. environmental destruction and corporate exploitation are not just global and national issues——locally, they also run rampant. it is time to reclaim OUR commons. locally, the hunter point naval shipyard leeches radioactive poison into the groundwater, and the bay view power plant ensures generations of birth defects, cancer, and asthma. together, the waste from this symbol of US military might and the pollution from this corporate relic continue a legacy of domination over the low-income people of color who live in the neighborhood. ucsf furthers this conquest with a massive biotech office park and research center which will ready the bay view for future loft-dwelling pioneers. meanwhile, mayor gavin newsom “teaches” black kids in the bay view how to play ball. this ruling class shenanigans shows who’s really in charge. newsom’s minstrelsy serves as a diversion front the boys in blue as they shoot… baskets… and developers make a fast break for the breathtaking views, easy freeway access, and balmy weather in the new, reborn bay view. that’s teamwork!$

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