(NY Times) Hundreds in Oakland Turn Out to BBQ While Black

[mr_lebowski]

6. This is friggin' awesome ... and please note that they are obeying not flaunting the Park rules

That sidewalk marks the edge of Merritt park area, i.e. the area where bbq with charcoal briquettes is disallowed ... notice how all the grills with the charcoal are beyond it? In fact, the city street is RIGHT there, wherein the curb is the cement on the left side of the photo. There's wall-to-wall cars (most likely) about 6 feet directly in front of the guy in the orange E&B shirt.

Since there's no such ban on charcoal grilling on regular city property, they were able to do this without fear of reprisal. Notice that within the actual Lake Merritt park, there are only umbrellas and people, not grilling. Very smart and respectful ...