You aren’t black? Then you aren’t welcome here…
The Black Lives Matter organization based in Philadelphia created a public event on Facebook for a gathering they were hosting which they marketed as an “open meeting.” As many know, the supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement are very diverse. There are many different backgrounds represented as allies of the cause, which has grown significantly since its inception. This includes white people. A simple internet search will turn up many pictures of white people protesting right alongside black people.
However—for the Philly chapter of BLM—their meetings and events are strictly “black spaces” according to their Facebook event announcement. When pressed via Twitter, the official account of Black Lives Matter Philly explained that anyone is free to support the movement from a distance; however, their meetings are only for black people. They even cited Malcom X, the human’s rights activist who advocated for segregation.
The fact that any group would channel the roughest times for civil rights within the United States to illustrate modern-day times is completely ridiculous. For one thing, the current climate in the United States is nothing like it was in the 1960s. If anything, the hostility comes from so-called social justice warriors who are fighting for political correctness. Even more troubling is the fact that the group has absolutely no qualms about letting the Twitter world know that black people need their own gatherings that exclude any other race of people.
I can’t help but wonder if biracial individuals would be allowed to attend the meetings. How would they gauge the degree of anyone’s ethnicity? Scrolling through all of the discussions on Twitter will show that there are many people who agree with the organization that black people need their own spaces to gather free from anyone else. One Twitter user posted a photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during one of his famous rallies and pointed out to Black Lives Matter Philly that the civil rights icon congregated with white people. They responded to the photograph with, “He made that choice and we have made ours. White people can support us, but they cannot attend our meetings.” There were a few white people on Twitter who also supported the decision and referred to themselves as allies. This is a little confusing to me because I’m not quite sure what it means to be an “ally” in this sense. I would assume that allies to Black Lives Matter participate in their events and gatherings, as I have seen in many published photographs.
It’s a little sad that organizations which are brought together to raise awareness and spread tolerance would be short-sighted enough to exclude some of the very people who support their cause and have shown up to protests on their behalf. If anyone wanted my support for a cause that I believe in—telling me that I’m not welcome to attend open meetings because of the color of my skin would be one of the easiest ways to alienate me and lose my support.
Angelina Newsom is an OpsLens Contributor and U.S. Army Veteran. She has ten years experience in the military, including a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She studies Criminal Justice and is still active within the military community.
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