The last time that Wanda Johnson saw her son Oscar Grant alive, they were eating gumbo to celebrate her birthday on New Year’s Eve in 2008. They laughed as they ate the thick stew integral to Black American tradition in hopes of calling in a successful new year. A few hours later on 1 January, Grant was shot by the Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale station in Oakland as he was on his way back home from celebrating with friends. The 22-year-old father died later that morning.
Every year since his death, which inspired the film Fruitvale Station, Johnson has said a prayer to Grant on his birthday on 27 February. “Oscar, I wish we had that time when we had gumbo and was able to laugh and hug again,” Johnson told the Guardian. “You’re forever in my heart.”
Now the spirit of Johnson’s prayers will be realized in an exhibit honoring what would have been her son’s 40th birthday. At the Black Panther Party Museum in Oakland, California, the Happy Heavenly Birthday, Oscar exhibit commemorates Grant’s legacy with a display of photos from his life. Visitors can write messages for Grant on birthday cards, and a phone booth installation plays birthday voicemails from people around the world. Also on display is a screening of the film Happy Birthday Oscar Grant, Love Mom, about how family and friends have celebrated his birthday since his death. The exhibit serves as a reflection of the ripple effects of gun violence on a local community, and runs from 1 February to 11 April.
“This exhibit is for everyone to see, because it brings you into the reality of what has happened in our society with the loss of life unnecessarily,” Johnson said. “And it brings you to a place where you have that care and concern and a desire to want to do something about the senseless loss for those individuals.”
