Statement from The Gathering for Justice

Regarding the Racially-Motivated Attack in Simi Valley, CA

August 5, 2025

We are devastated and outraged by the brutal and racially motivated attack on an 18-year-old Black teenager outside a movie theater in Simi Valley. According to news reports, the young man was hunted down, assaulted, and called racial slurs by a group of white teens. He thought he would die. We believe him, and we are in solidarity with him.

This is not an isolated incident.Simi Valley is a city that has long been stained by racism and anti-Blackness. It is the same Simi Valley where, in 1992, a nearly all-white jury acquitted the LAPD officers who viciously beat Rodney King, a moment that ignited a national uprising after the world witnessed the beating with their own eyes.

How is it that in 2025, young Black people still fear for their lives just for existing in public spaces?

Because racism doesn’t begin with viral videos or news headlines.

It begins at home.

It begins when children grow up hearing slurs at the dinner table, when hate is normalized and passed down like a family heirloom. When young white people believe they can attack a Black teen and walk away with impunity, it reveals how deeply racism has been allowed to take root in the culture of certain communities, including in Simi Valley, just down the road, a few cities away, from where The Gathering for Justice does its work.

We cannot build a just society until we confront this truth:

Anti-Blackness is still alive, still spreading, and still lethal

We call on the District Attorney, law enforcement, school boards, local leaders,parents, and faith communities to examine what is happening under their own roofs. We demand:

  • The District Attorney investigate case as a hate crime 

  • The District Attorney and city leaders investigate the police department for their connection to one of the perpetrators

  • We demand that the District Attorney investigate this case as a hate crime, recognizing the racial motivation behind the attack.

  • We call on the District Attorney and city leadership to launch a full investigation into the Simi Valley Police Department’s connection to one of the perpetrators, ensuring transparency and impartiality.

  • We demand the District Attorney’s Office release a public timeline of actions taken by both the Police Department and DA’s Office, along with opportunities for community questions and oversight.

  • Given the direct connection between a perpetrator and a Simi Valley Police Department officer, we demand an independent, external investigation to eliminate any conflicts of interest and ensure the integrity of the case.

  • We demand that the City of Simi Valley and its Police Department publicly denounce racism, take decisive action against racial violence, and be held accountable for delivering justice and systemic reform.

The Gathering for Justice exists to disrupt systemic violence and dismantle racism at its roots. That work begins in our homes, our schools, and our cities, including Simi Valley.  Racial justice isn’t just about statements and hashtags, it’s about unlearning hate and raising children to value Black life.

We send strength to the young man who survived this attack.

We demand justice.

And we recommit to the fight, because silence is complicity, and action is love. 

–The Gathering for Justice