This publicity photo released by The Weinstein Company shows, from left, Michael James, Michael B. Jordan, Trestin George, Thomas Wright, Kevin Durand and Alejandra Nolasco in a scene from the film, "Fruitvale Station." (AP Photo/The Weinstein Company, Ron Koeberer) Oscar Grant did not deserve to die. This is the central message of "Fruitvale Station," a film dramatizing the real-life case of the young unarmed Black man shot in the back by a White police officer in 2009. It's a common message, often heard in film and life in general. But the way writer/director Ryan Coogler delivers this message is extraordinary.
New Year’s Day 2009 there was a lot of buzz about the wrongful death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant. After a night of New Year’s partying with friends, he was shot by a White Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer on the Fruitvale Station platform in Oakland, California. Produced by Forest Whitaker, Fruitvale Station, starring Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer, is a poster child story of life and redemption.
