By Dylan Deprey
Nia Wilson
As customers walked into the Juice Kitchen looking to snag a freshly squeezed glass of juice, among the many healthy and tasty choices, they had the opportunity to send love and support to Nia Wilson and her family in Oakland, CA.
Wilson, 18, and her two siblings were viciously attacked while transferring trains at the MacArthur Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in Oakland on Monday, July 23. The suspect, John Lee Cowell, 27, repeatedly stabbed Wilson and her sister Lahtifa, 26.
Both women were stabbed in the neck, and Nia Wilson passed away at the scene, according to BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas in a news conference the day of the attack.
Rosa said that after 30 years of police experience, the tragic incident was probably one of the most vicious attacks he had ever seen.
Maanaan Sabir announces the The Juice Kitchen’s Nia Wilson special on social media. (Photo provided by The Juice Kitchen. )
BART officials also stated that their preliminary investigation showed Cowell’s action as not racially motivated, but the violent attack was another onslaught that the Black community has been desensitized to.
Support for the family poured in across the country following a day long search for the suspect, a local media mishap and large protests over BART’s handing of the case.
Though the drama was unfolding nearly 2,100 miles away, Maanaan Sabir, Juice Kitchen co-owner, wanted to extend Milwaukee’s hand to the Wilson Family.
“NIA WILSON we salute you,” Sabir posted on the Juice Kitchen’s Facebook page Wednesday July 25. “Tomorrow, The Juice Kitchen will donate half of our Black Grape Juice sells to the Family of Nia Wilson, the young lady martyred in Oakland, California.”
Milwaukee buys Black in honor of Nia Wilson
With only an hour left in the day, The Juice Kitchen still had a steady flow of customers. Some asked for the usual, others looked for something new, but everybody acknowledged the Nia Wilson special sign sitting on the counter.
Juice lined up for the morning rush. (Photo provided by The Juice Kitchen.)
“We’ll take two,” said a woman excited to bring her friend to the Juice Kitchen for the first time. “I heard about this on Facebook and wanted to support.”
Sabir said that that the special was something he had to do because he had experienced Wilson’s death in many different forms over the course of his lifetime.
“My grandfather’s best friend was lynched back in 1908,” Sabir said. “I had a brother, a man I call a brother, he was killed by Klu Klux Klansmen in 1985.”
He continued: “I want to bring light to and awareness that we can’t take this anymore, and we have to say ‘no more,’ to sitting idly by and allowing this to happen.”
Sabir said the Nia Wilson special was a Black Grape juice with lemon and ginseng, and cost $7.23. Both the type of juice and price were dedicated to Wilson.
“Black grapes only come around once a year and you can’t get them all the time,” Sabir said. “Black grapes are great for purging toxins.”
The price was used as a way to memorialize the day she passed away, it cost $7.23, for July 23, and half of the profits would go to the Wilson family.
Another patron waiting in line, Leland Pan, heard about the sale through a coworker and wanted to come out and show support.
He said he was among those that denied initialWilson, the young lady martyred in Oakland, California.”
Milwaukee buys Black in honor of Nia Wilson
With only an hour left in the day, The Juice Kitchen still had a steady flow of customers. Some asked for the usual, others looked for something new, but everybody acknowledged the Nia Wilson special sign sitting on the counter.
“We’ll take two,” said a woman excited to bring her friend to the Juice Kitchen for the first time. “I heard about this on Facebook and wanted to support.”
Sabir said that that the special was something he had to do because he had experienced Wilson’s death in many different forms over the course of his lifetime.
“My grandfather’s best friend was lynched back in 1908,” Sabir said. “I had a brother, a man I call a brother, he was killed by Klu Klux Klansmen in 1985.”
He continued: “I want to bring light to and awareness that we can’t take this anymore, and we have to say ‘no more,’ to sitting idly by and allowing this to happen.”
Sabir said the Nia Wilson special was a Black Grape juice with lemon and ginseng, and cost $7.23. Both the type of juice and price were dedicated to Wilson.
“Black grapes only come around once a year and you can’t get them all the time,” Sabir said. “Black grapes are great for purging toxins.”
The price was used as a way to memorialize the day she passed away, it cost $7.23, for July 23, and half of the profits would go to the Wilson family.
Another patron waiting in line, Leland Pan, heard about the sale through a coworker and wanted to come out and show support.
He said he was among those that denied initial reports that Wilson’s death was a “random attack,” rather than a hate crime.
“When a white person kills a black person, I don’t think there is anything random about that,” Pan said. “When this happens, we as the broader community need to come forward and show support.”
Sabir said that he hopes The Juice Kitchen’s gesture could instill hope.
“Our small little thing, selling grape juice is igniting her life and handing the torch back to the community to live on,” Sabir said.