Grill Against Gentrification at BBQ'n While Black

One afternoon last April, a white woman harassed two black men for grilling at Lake Merritt, and proceeded to call the Oakland Police Department. Cell-phone footage of the incident immortalized the woman online as “#BBQBecky,” and prompted a discussion about race and access to public space amid gentrification in Oakland. It also prompted black Oaklanders to double down on the perceived offense by continuing to grill, week in and week out, at Lake Merritt. This year there’s a fundraiser to support more of the same, on an even grander scale.