Since its creation, the #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) movement has spearheaded the campaign for racial equality for the black community. Considering its success and national spotlight, whether fair or not, it represents the black community as a whole.
With that said, I believe the movement has a responsibility to set the right example for civil rights progression, and lately, it has not done so.
BLM hosted a Memorial Day party in New York over the summer, in which non-black people were banned. According to Julie Shaw for The Inquirer Daily News, the group has created “black only” spaces in Philadelphia by banning non-blacks from all meetings in the Philadelphia chapter of BLM.
This is not the first time the movement has forcibly segregated itself from supporters of other races. In fact, this exclusion seems to be a growing trend within the BLM sphere.
To make matters worse, representatives from the group confronted about these decisions have repeatedly made the issue about race.
In a Fox News interview, an anchor asked Lisa Durden, a representative of BLM, whether she defended the aforementioned Memorial Day decision.
“Boo-hoo. You white people are angry because you couldn’t use your ‘white privilege’ card to get invited,” Durden said.
Coming from a liberal college student who takes a keen interest in supporting civil rights, these recent actions and statements from BLM advocates are absolutely unacceptable. This is the most visible civil rights group in the U.S. right now, and as a result, its actions influence a large number of people throughout the country.
These harmful and segregated decisions have already leaked into the college demographic, as black Harvard graduates staged a black-only graduation this year. This racial separation will only continue to become more ingrained in our culture the more national attention these events receive.
I understand the reasoning behind the segregation: BLM wants to ensure no belligerent people ruin their meetings and gatherings. This logic might make sense, but the message it sends to people of other races is extremely detrimental to the very cause they claim to be fighting for.
Creating a divide between races is the exact opposite of what a group should do if it intends to spark true racial equality.
As with almost all racial issues, it is best to reflect on the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. He led the most successful and notable civil rights movement in the history of our nation, and it was one of harmony and inclusion. He understood it would not help the cause of civil rights to set races against each other.
King realized fighting for civil rights was not just a matter concerning his own race. These sensitive issues demand people come together and erase racial barriers, not enforce them.
I am a white male. This fact almost makes me afraid to voice my opinion on this issue, because when I do, it will inevitably result in some branding me as racist.
The mentality cultivated by these “black empowerment” exercises has the indirect effect of making any opposition to it from non-blacks a racial attack.
Not only is this group overtly practicing racism, it is demonizing any attempt to question this decision.
Do not misinterpret what I have said. I do not in any way claim everyone, or even most people, associated with BLM are racist. I believe the core goal of the group is noble and one worth fighting for.
The BLM website states, “To love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a necessary prerequisite for wanting the same for others.”
Maybe this mission statement makes sense on paper, but when it comes to racial issues in America, we simply cannot separate races when attempting to ultimately bring them together. In the end, it only tears them apart.
How exactly is this conducive to equality?