Cephus Johnson
Cephus Johnson was once known as “Uncle Bobby” by those only close to him, like Oscar Grant III, his nephew who was shot and killed on New Year’s Day in 2009 by a BART transit officer at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, Calif.
The killing of his nephew sparked his new passion in activism to change policing in Oakland. Now, he’s known to the community and to the media as Uncle Bobby, and he’s built a foundation and a campaign to support families affected by police deaths.
“This pain, we have tried to turn into some form of purpose," Uncle Bobby said. "Just me coming here to visit re-empowers or re-initializes what I’m doing this work for.”
