200 Cyclists Participate in 5th Annual Peace Ride

Mayor Jean Quan watches a boy plant a tree in honor of Hiram Lawrence in West Oakland

Hiram Lawrence was one-year-old when he was shot in Oakland on November 28, 2011. On Saturday, July 21, 2012 approximately 200 cyclists turned out for the 5th Annual Peace Ride in his honor. The event, sponsored by Bikes 4 Life bike shop, ended in West Oakland with a tree planting and dedication ceremony in Hiram's honor, attended by Oakland Mayor Jean Quan.
This cycling event started on the north side of Lake Merritt at 5pm. A diverse group of Oakland residents turned out on road bikes, mountain bikes, tandems, and scraper bikes riding as a pack through some of Oakland's "100 Blocks" neighborhoods. The riders cycled from Lake Merritt through the Fruitvale District near the Fruitvale BART station. They then continued on Embarcadero to Jack London Square, Downtown Oakland, and then cycled on 7th Street to West West Oakland. Riders ended the route in West Oakland in front of the Bikes 4 Life shop.
Compared with other bike rides in the Bay Area like Critical Mass or the East Bay Bike Party, this ride had a unique focus on stopping the violence in Oakland's flatlands. The ride strategically passed through the San Antonio, Fruitvale, and West Oakland neighborhoods as riders chanted, "Stop the Violence" and "What do we want? Peace!" Riders on scraper bikes and carrying boom boxes played hip hop along the ride.

The block party after the ride was on 7th Street, just two blocks from the West Oakland BART station. Shop owner Tony Coleman led the ceremonies by introducing Alex Miller-Cole, an organizer with the West Oakland Green Initiative. Miller-Cole, an Oakland City Council's District 3 candidate, planted a tree with children ages 3-12 in honor of Hiram Lawrence.

Hiram's mother was present, as were family, who fought back tears as the crowd gave a moment of silence. Mayor Jean Quan was at the event accompanied by no security guard or press crews. Mayor Quan spoke about the need for peace in the neighborhoods and for youth to find positive alternatives to gang violence.

The event continued into the night, with street bike races and a wheelie contest with the Original Scraper Bike Team.

For more photos of the Peace Ride, see the photo album on Google+.

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Article by Joe Sciarrillo and Matt Werner, author of Oakland in Popular Memory. This post is cross-posted to Oakland Local.


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