Looting, violence in Boston after George Floyd protests is ‘unacceptable and deplorable’
Black activists in Boston said the looting and violence after Sunday’s peaceful protest was “unacceptable and deplorable,” adding that it’s hurting their message of justice in the wake of the death of a black man by a white Minneapolis Police officer.
“People who are turning to looting and setting cars on fire and throwing items at police officers are missing the point,” Darnell Williams, former president and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, said on Monday. “The message is about George Floyd and his death at the hands of police, and the need to address racial injustice.
“With peaceful protests, we are honoring that message, but looting and rioting is off message and is unacceptable and deplorable,” he said. “Those individuals who choose to do that need to stay at home. You’re hurting the message. You’re not helping it.”
Floyd was killed last week when a white Minneapolis Police officer put his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Floyd said, “I can’t breathe,” as the officer had his knee on his neck.
An organizer for a planned Tuesday protest in Boston said they will be protesting peacefully for Floyd and for other black people who have been unjustly killed.
“We’re not tearing up where we’re from, plain and simple,” said Monica Cannon-Grant, the founder of Violence in Boston Inc., which is organizing Tuesday’s protest with Black Lives Matter Boston. The protest is planned for 5 p.m. at Franklin Park.
“We’re not destroying the black businesses in our community because we built those,” Cannon-Grant added at a press briefing with Attorney General Maura Healey on Monday. “What we want is equity and the funding and the support for black businesses in our community.”
Morning Star Baptist Church Bishop John Borders III, said he was overwhelmed while watching the looting and violence in Boston.
“We must not destroy our community,” he said, adding that many people who don’t live in Boston were committing the violence and “piggybacking” off of the racial crisis.
“We have to deal with systemic racism in every walk of life,” Borders later said. “These systemic problems must be addressed at this time.”
It’s critical that the message of racial justice does not get “diluted” by people with different agendas, said Rev. Willie Bodrick II, associate pastor of Twelfth Baptist Church.
“We don’t want to get distracted from the real issues that we’re talking about, that we have a system of white supremacy and systemic racism that has yet to be deeply addressed,” he said.
Michael Curry, past president of the Boston Branch of the NAACP, said it was disturbing to see the riots.
“I’m worried about those participating in the violence, and I hope they can channel that anger into voting and holding people accountable on a long-term basis,” Curry said. “We need to address their anger and concern, and turn that energy into changing policy and changing their circumstances.”
Curry, who’s on the executive committee of the National NAACP, said he hopes people listen to George Floyd’s brother, Terrence, who on Monday said that looting is not the solution. Instead, people should get out and vote at every level, Terrence Floyd said.
Curry, however, said people should not be surprised by violence after Floyd’s death.
“The same elements that existed for civil unrest in the 1960s exist today,” Curry said, noting deep racial inequality and criminal justice issues. “It’s why we’re back at this again.”
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2XXj5XQ
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