Perspective of the Netroots Nation Black Lives Matter Protest From a Person of Color - Guest Post

[bravenak]

“Progressives should know that each one of our gains came because someone stood up and demanded it.”

The day before I left for Netroots Nation, I had a conversation with a white friend who is married to a Black man. She told me, that during a conversation with her husband, he mentioned that when he goes for a run at night, he always uses the Map My Run app so that, in case he is stopped by police, he has proof of what he was doing, and where he had been. She couldn’t believe it and was extremely hurt that her husband felt so unsafe in their suburban neighborhood. Her husband is a good, kind man, with a good job and that fear felt so foreign to her. But, unfortunately, I could relate.

A few weeks before that, my 4th grade son came home and told me one of our neighbors, another 4th grader, called him a “black ass n*gger.” Not only was I shocked that my 10-year old had to deal with that, I was shocked that it happened in my diverse community and in my diverse neighborhood.




http://www.eclectablog.com/2015/07/guest-post-a-perspective-of-the-netroots-nation-blacklivesmatter-protest-from-a-person-of-color.html

[Raine1967]

1. Thank you for posting this.

[bravenak]

2. I hope they read it and see what it looks like to someone who was there.

[sheshe2]

3. Sorry sweetie.

Then, all of a sudden I heard the sweet sound of women singing, “What Side Are You On, My People?” As they marched to the front of the convention center, I saw a diverse group of Latino, Asian, Queer, and Middle-Eastern people being led by Black women. At that moment, I had a choice to make: Did I stay seated (not really an option), did I stand where I was, or did I make my way to the middle of the room to stand with the protestors?



Haven't been on DU as much. Kicked your beautiful threads, yet to tired to leave a comment.

I am with you, you know I love you.

Kicking for you and yours.

[bravenak]

4. Thank you.

DU has me just about exhausted. I post from strange places and get all pissed off. Thanks for all you do. Great post. I would have posted more, but I like posting from my ipad and it hates pasting.

[sheshe2]

7. I have been wandering away from DU.

Back and forth with another site. It is hard to keep up with all the news and work too.

I get angry and I get sad when I am here. Ha! Waiting for some hides to fall off...2 days one more goes away. Ten days another.

Ya, love that pic and them standing and singing. One Voice.

[bravenak]

8. I know how you feel. Almost not worth it to be here, but I try.

If this is how the entire season is gonna be, I'll just wait it out elsewhere.

At least it's summer and the park has wifi!

[betterdemsonly]

5. Why no demand from Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch, and Barack Obama

They have more control over whether these cops get prosecuted than Bernie. Why no demand from Hillary. Her husband admits he made the problem of black incarceration worse, and she's the favorite? O'Malley was a more approprate target too, since he was the governor of a state where this became an issue. I think Obama's centrists brigages have coopted blm for their campaign to elect Hillary, despite the fact that she has the most questionable record on the issue of black incarceration.

[bravenak]

6. Why did you just solely name black people? Do you know how that looks?

Do you think they walk the beat on your local police force?

This is my answer: Where the HELL are the white so called progressives? Why are so many missing? Where are they? Why are they not in the marches and fighting for black lives instead of harassing black people about how it's really these other black people's sole responsibility to fix racism and racist policing, things mostly controlled and positions in the system occupied mostly by white folks?

Why have things gotten so bad for us while so many of our progressive allies look away? Why do they let us die?

Why are so many white progressives willing to let their allies be murdered by police and die in prison?

[sheshe2]

9. Interesting.

"Why did you just solely name black people? Do you know how that looks?

Yet, not surprising. I guess only black people are suppose to end the injustice. White people, and I am one are not held accountable?

[bravenak]

10. I keep getting that question!!!

I just answered two people in different places withing a few minutes of each other. Like, is somebody giving out talking points?

[sheshe2]

14. Count on it. nt

[betterdemsonly]

11. I also mentioned Clinton, her husband, and O'Malley

Not my fault Obama only appointed blacks to be attorney general, or that the attorney general are the only people who can prosecute civil rights violations. Presumably blm are demanding prosecutions. Obama, Holder, and Lynch are the only people with this power. Hillary's husband had this power, and O'Malley had this power to push prosecutions at the State level in Maryland.

[bravenak]

12. Wow. Please do not do that face to face with a black person.

It is your responsibility just as much as mine and it is more white folks responsibility than any black person in the WORLD. I am not interested in having nonsense or things that smack of racism thrown at me. It's abusive.

[betterdemsonly]

16. Hillary is white. So is her husband Bill, so is O'Malley all had the power to prosecute these things

as people in executive authority, and so did Obama, Lynch and Holder.

[bravenak]

17. Wonderful.

[JustAnotherGen]

22. Lynch is on it - the Bland murder which sparked the NRN protest

news/nation/2015/07/17/texas-jailed-woman-suicide-sandra-bland/30284367/

Sandra Bland, 28, was arrested July 10, and after spending the weekend in the Waller County jail, she was found hanged in her cell Monday. Harris County's medical examiner said the death was a suicide, but Bland's family disputes the finding.

The FBI has joined the Texas Rangers in investigating the circumstances surrounding her death. The state Public Safety Department and Waller County district attorney have requested that the FBI conduct a forensic analysis on video footage from the incident.

That is coming from the DOJ. See how quickly it happened? No protests, no grand jury, no citizens facing down armored trucks . . .

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/7/18/black-lives-matter-disrupts-martin-omalley-bernie-sanders-event.html

Ashley Yates, a St. Louis, Missouri activist affiliated with Black Lives Matter, told Al Jazeera the protest was partially intended to draw attention to cases like that of Sandra Bland, a young black woman who was found dead in police custody earlier this week in Texas.

“We’re doing what we’ve been doing for the past 10 months, especially standing up for black life, but today with a real focus on black women — Sandra Bland, and saying her name,” said Yates. “And we’re bringing it to the presidential candidates. They claim to represent all of America, but then we get up there and you see that when they’re pressured on issues that are specifically black, they fumble." 

Can we stop talking about co opting and START blaming the Police Man in Texas who started this by being a massive ass wipe? Want to be angry or upset or disappointed?

Get pissed at him. If he had been doing the right thing Ms. Bland would still be alive and we wouldn't be having this discussion at DU.

The evil people are te police officers and private citizens (Zimpig) who have been getting away with murder.

You would think that Police Department would have had enough common sense to have shut down their culture of inflicting sick pain on black people in light of what's been exploding the past few years.

They are worthless. Absolutely worthless - because if you are engaging in this behavior at this time you don't get to play wide eyed and innocent - it's assumed among the black community you are in the wrong and did the wrong thing and we will "shut it down" every single time until these "thugs" learn they "will not always get away with it".

[shaayecanaan]

20. Its hard for a Black president to reform white people

Ultimately, at the end of the day, only a white president can do this:-



It does cut both ways though, the people who insist that MLK was singlehandedly responsible for the passage of civil rights legislation and that LBJ had nothing to do with it are talking out of their arse.

[brer cat]

19. Eric Holder

is a private citizen. Loretta Lynch, PBO, and Hillary weren't there. Are the activists not allowed to present their views unless everyone on your laundry list is present? That was a town hall meeting with two candidates who wish to become President. Do they not have a right and a responsibility to have that conversation during this primary season where the candidates are campaigning before the public for the highest job in this country? Do you not consider their issues worthy of consideration by the two candidates?

Did you actually read that very powerful and moving post and come away with nothing more than Bernie is being picked on? waaaah

[JustAnotherGen]

21. Lynch and President Obama make sense

As does Sanders.

Of the three - two are current elected officials and one is a Presidential Appointee.

O'Malley, Holder, Clintons are no longer in office or appointed. Neither Bill nor Hillary are in office or appointed at this time and SOS Clinton wasn't in attendance at the event.

Understand - we don't have time to wait for a "Savior". We don't have time.

Sometimes you have to work with the government you've got.

[Sissyk]

13. Thank you for this, bravenak!

I have been silent through this here at DU.

I'm one of those that wait for evidence, facts, and FIRST Hand accounts such as this one.

I now think the candidates learned, Progressives learned, Liberals learned, and even BLM did learn a few things.

We, the good people of DU, can not let this (and the handful of trolls both short timers and long timers) divide us. We need to stand along side, behind, and in-between whomever our Democratic Candidate is after the primary. We need to stand along side, behind, and in-between you and all our good brothers and sisters of Color!

DU is a very small spot on the web, right? We also need to get out of the house and off our phones more!! lol!

[brer cat]

15. Beautiful and very powerful.

You must be exhausted, bravenak, yet you soldier on. The message must get through some how, some way.

[Solly Mack]

18. K&R

Thank you.

I get so tired of people with rights or certain privileges and protections telling other people, who live without those rights, privileges and protections, to wait or bide your time or pick your battles.

When you're fighting for you life, there is no time to waste.

When you've waited for centuries, you've been patient enough.

When you're the victim of systemic racism, the war is raging all around and the battle ground is anywhere and everywhere.

Now, right this minute, at this very moment, is always the time to do what's right.

First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time; and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

Letter from Birmingham Jail
by Martin Luther King, Jr.