Black Lives Matter has not been connected legitimately to any riotous behavior. It has been slandered by those who continue to insist that it is both anti-white and anti-police.
By Milton W. Hinton Jr.
Over the years there have been numerous American protest movements such as the tea parties, Occupy Wall Street, the women's movement, the gay rights movement, as well as American Indian protests.
A perception exists that protests by those in traditional majorities are respected more than those undertaken by certain minority groups. In fact, there is often greater fear of minority protesters who are peaceful than of so-called "majority" protestors who become violent.
Picture several thousand Penn State University students breaking windows, overturning cars and knocking down light poles - angry at the university's firing of football coach Joe Paterno. This action by students is ready for your view in the documentary "Happy Valley." It could be described as a full-blown riot, but one without the police in riot gear, the tear gas being lobbed, and the protesters being roughed up and arrested.
Compare that to reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement which, by its very name, incites such fear and anger that some have described it as a terrorist group. Black Lives Matter has held numerous demonstrations in large cities across the country. The movement has not been connected legitimately to any riotous behavior. It has been slandered by those who continue to insist that it is both anti-white and anti-police.
Such deliberate denial of the facts is not unexpected. Civil rights groups and leaders from Dr. Martin King Jr. to Julian Bond, to the NAACP, the Urban League and National Action Network, were accused of inciting violence and negatively impacting race relations.
Black Lives Matter, which campaigns against the use of deadly force by police against unarmed black citizens, was started by three black women - Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. The organization has no national headquarters, no officers, no formal network and no corporate sponsors. It is ethnically diverse and has not condoned violence against police officers or white people.
Black Live Matter is confrontational, along the lines of the Aids Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). I do not recall anyone referring to ACT UP as a terrorist group. Unfortunately, such figures as South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Republican presidential hopefuls Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee and Scott Walker have all used the phrase "Black Lives Matter" to describe anti-white sentiment or intentional targeting of police officers for harm.
Such comments appear to be a feeble attempt to gain political notoriety and clout. One should not view the validity of a loosely structured organization like Black Lives Matter through those not affiliated with the group, but determined to disrupt the its mission.
The fact is that there have been 95 line-of-duty deaths among law enforcement officers so far this year, about the same as in 2014, but what's more significant is that 27 of the deaths have come from intentional gunfire - a decrease of more than 25 percent from 2014.
Black Lives Matter is force-feeding people another statistically significant fact: Unarmed black men are seven times more likely to die by police gunfire than unarmed white men. In no way does this mean that the lives of white people and of law enforcement officers are unimportant. What Black Lives Matter signifies is that no longer will so many be silent when unarmed black men and women, young and old, are shot and killed by police.
A 7-year old girl should not be shot and killed in her home by officers conducting a raid; an innocent couple riding in their car should not be subjected to 137 shots fired by a platoon of officers; a 12-year-old boy playing in a park should not be shot down because he was holding a toy gun.
This next generation has no tolerance for the continued systemic discrimination and racism that underestimates, undervalues and marginalizes people of color. The knee-jerk response that black folks need to stop killing each other before they address this issue is a feeble attempt at deflection and is not pertinent. White people kill each other in far greater numbers than any other group, although the homicide rate by gunfire among black males is disproportionate to the population.
Regardless, the state or its representatives do not have the right to shoot and kill innocent people during the investigation of a crime.
Last week, Joseph Johnson-Shanks, a black man suspected of killing a Kentucky state trooper, was shot and killed by police while on the run. He was armed with a handgun and did not comply with several demands to drop the weapon - leaving officers no choice but to shoot. There was not one word of protest from Black Lives Matter because they, like all of us, want justice. But they want justice to be applied equally and fairly under the law.
Milton W. Hinton Jr. is director of equal opportunity for the Gloucester County government. He is past president of the Gloucester County Branch NAACP. His column states his personal views, not those of any organization or agency. Email: mwhjr678@gmail.com.