'It's not fair': Marvin Boomer's family, friends grieve at open-casket service
‘It’s not fair’: Marvin Boomer’s family, friends grieve at open-casket service
Dozens of people attended a press conference and open-casket service at Acts Full Gospel Church in East Oakland on Friday to remember Marvin Boomer , who was killed by a man fleeing the CHP in Oakland last week.
The cloudless, sunny day belied the tragic reason for the gathering .
Michelle Bernard, an attorney and spokesperson for the Boomer family, said that the family is grieving, but also feeling righteous indignation.
“Let me be clear: had this happened in Mill Valley, or Tiburon, or Stanford, or Woodside — if this had happened on streets paved with privilege and protection —Marvin Boomer would be alive,” she said at the start of the press conference, held outside the church. “But in East Oakland, where Black and brown lives are too often deemed expendable, the rules were different. The pursuit policies were different. And the consequences, as always, were deadly.”
Boomer’s parents and sisters teared up behind Bernard as she spoke.
Tynesha Boomer drew long breaths and spoke slowly. “My brother is like glue in our family,” she said, adding that he was also a community builder at Castlemont High School , where he taught. “He loved those students, and he would want them to know that they have everything inside them to be great.”
“What happened to my brother was senseless,” she said.
“That was one of my babies,” said Dorothenia Boomer, Boomer’s mom. “My only son, just like Jesus Christ himself, he gave himself.”
Related: Marvin Boomer’s loved ones share their grief — and slam CHP for deadly Oakland chase
When the car careened onto the sidewalk and flung a fire hydrant toward Boomer and his partner Nina Woodruff last Wednesday, Boomer’s final act was to push Woodruff away from the danger. Woodruff, who is the deputy CEO of Oakland’s Black Cultural Zone residential collaborative, suffered fractures to her arm, a concussion, and other injuries in the crash.
“It’s not fair, what was taken from us,” Woodruff said. “It’s not right. I’m angry. I’m hurt, my physical pain is nothing to where my heart is. It’s broken.”
The group slowly followed Boomer’s family into Acts Full Gospel Church, some breaking into sobs as they approached Boomer’s casket.
Boomer lay in the casket wearing the Ph.D. gown and hat he wore to his graduation in 2023.
When his youngest sister got to his casket she sobbed loudly. “Oh my god,” she said, slumping. She was caught by her older sister Tynesha.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, who spoke at the service, lamented that “a simple walk turned into a tragedy that no family should ever, ever face.”
“Marvin’s life, he leaves us with a clear assignment,” Lee said. “It’s to keep teaching. It’s to keep learning. It’s to keep loving. And I should say, just on a personal moment, today would’ve been my mother’s 100th birthday. I feel her here with me….They want us to make our streets safe enough so every family can stroll without fear. If we want to honor Marvin and his brilliance and his legacy, find a young person and show they matter, then back it up with your time and your resources and with your voice. Marvin, he gave us a blueprint. All we have to do now is to keep building and let his legacy live.”
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