The Alan blueford center for justice

The Alan Blueford Center for Justice (ABC4J/The ABC/The Center) is a community hub and event space that uses hip-hop culture for its original purpose: to heal and empower communities traumatized by state-sponsored terrorism. 

At 12:05 AM on May 6, 2012, former OPD officer Miguel Masso racially profiled and chased eighteen year old, unarmed Alan Dwayne Blueford four blocks with his sidearm drawn before shooting himself in the foot and shooting Alan three times, killing him. 

Alan’s body was left in the street for hours while Masso received ambulance transport and medical attention for his self-inflicted injury. Alan’s family was not informed by the police; they learned the next day from Alan's friends that their son had been chased down and murdered. Masso got paid administrative leave.

It’s an all-too-familiar story. The pain and frustration that follow remind us that, at any moment, any one of us or our loved ones might be next. Terrorism is, by definition, to purposely instill a sense of hopelessness in a people. When our next generations never see adulthood and the law consistently fails to protect us, it's hard even imagine or look forward to tomorrow.

That’s where we step in.

Initially started as headquarters for the Justice for Alan Blueford Coalition (JAB), The Center has evolved into a bastion of culture in Oakland. There is one rule at The Center: love comes first. 

For 10+ years we've used hip-hop's foundational principles of peace, love, unity, and having fun to foster creative expression and mindfulness in our community. Through collective joy and awareness in the face of suffering we make ourselves whole. 

Our current programs include $MOAK Collective's Friday Night Jam Sessions and RichOak's Writing Workshop and Poetry Event every 1st and 3rd Saturday. ABC has future designs on an arts and business afterschool program and is soon to launch Mindset Sunday - a weekly opening of our space to the community for cultivating an empowered mentality. Each of these programs is aimed at uplifting those we encounter through regular reinforcement of strong principles and self-determination.

We believe that the ability to lift oneself up despite what this country constantly takes is the purest form of justice one can attain. Our every effort is to honor those we've lost and empower the people that are still here. 

This is Alan's legacy.