Recently the family of Oscar Grant made a plea to the BART board of directors to have the Fruitvale station named after him as the 10-year anniversary of his passing quickly approaches.
According to ABC7, Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson said, “It would be an atonement, it would be part of BART saying yes this happened here, we vow that it won’t happen again and we vow to work with the communities and ensure that all people are treated equally.”
However, BART officials are saying that a name change won’t be possible. BART spokesperson, Alicia Trost said, “Our policy is, stations cannot be named after individuals, it has to be tied to a location. So it is location based. What we are doing, and we are working closely with the family, is BART has commissioned a mural and it’s going to go up at the Fruitvale station. It’s going to honor Oscar Grant.”
The mural is currently in the planning stages, however, Grant’s family called out a board member who posted an article about the mural to Facebook, asking the public for their thoughts. The family says the now deleted Facebook post invited criticism about the mural.
Grant’s family is also asking if a side street at the station can be named after him. BART officials are referring that request to the city of Oakland.
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Michael B. Jordan portrayed Oscar Grant in the 2013 film “Fruitvale Station,” which showcased the last day of Oscar Grant’s life leading up until he was fatally shot by BART police early New Year’s Day in 2009.
Source: https://abc7news.com/oscar-grants-family-requests-to-have-bart-station-named-after-him/4847580/
