Supporters of Black Lives Matter swear up and down that the movement isn’t racist. Many maintain it’s nothing more than the inevitable reaction to decades of police brutality, systemic poverty, and many other issues that plague the black community. There’s nothing racist about that, right?
Well, banning people from a BLM meeting because of their DNA sure sounds racist:
Black Lives Matter Philly banned white people from an upcoming event, claiming it is a “black only space.”
The April 15 meeting plans to discuss projects and initiatives for the upcoming year and act as a place for people to “meet, strategize and organize.” While children are invited to attend, white people are explicitly banned from the meeting, according to the Facebook event page.
When people began questioning the ban on whites over Twitter, Black Lives Matter Philly stayed by their ban, explaining that their meetings are “black centered.”
Anyone who identifies as “African disapora” is allowed to attend, the group explained over Twitter.
Wow.
Undoubtedly, someone will claim that this doesn’t count as racism since black people don’t have institutional power and thus are incapable of being racist. Yes, that is an actual argument people make. No, I do not agree with it. Yes, I classify it as absolutely moronic.
Anyway, that definition — even if I were to agree with it — wouldn’t apply here because black people actually do have the institutional power in this organization. To claim that there is any systemic racism toward blacks within Black Lives Matter would require one to be unwilling to employ rational thought.
Within that organization, we can clearly see racism directed towards white people being embraced. Nothing less.
Don’t get me wrong: Anyone should be able to associate with whomever they want. Freedom of association is a fundamental right, after all.
However, freedom of speech is a fundamental right as well, and I’ll use mine to call out their hypocrisy and racism every chance I get.
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