Robinson: Black Lives Matter – Real or Fake Pro Black Revolution?

by Theresa Robinson

“Black Lives Matter.”

A noble concept.  Judging by the alleged police brutality cases involving black citizens disseminated throughout major news networks, there is no doubt that there is a major problem that needs to be addressed.  It’s been called an epidemic by some in the mainstream media.

But is that really true?  Is police brutality against black people really epidemic? Do all of these cases involve blacks who just happened to be minding their own business and are accosted by white police officers lurking behind bushes, hell-bent on destroying black people? Are these cops white or black? And does mainstream media have an agenda for promoting black victim brutality cases more than others? If only certain cases are sensationalized by the media, do these cases warrant a Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement or is the movement fake? Is the movement knowingly or unknowingly collaborating with mainstream media networks to promote BLM and stir up racial tensions?

Unfortunately, the statistics are just not clear about the number of unjustifiable and justifiable police killings. According to the Wall Street Journal, Federal data differs from local statistics on justifiable homicides. The National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project in a Cop Block article provides some recent numbers of misconduct cases but they don’t indicate the number of blacks victimized by police officers compared to other groups. What is interesting is that according to a 2013 Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) report, blacks are often victims of crimes by other blacks. Other statistics can be found via other FBI data tables, but it’s important to bear in mind that whites make up approximately 69% of the US population and blacks about 16%.

BOTTOM LINE, assuming there is a police brutality problem, there is still no hard data that shows that there is an epidemic of blacks being killed by police officers or by white civilians. What we do know is that the major mainstream news networks sensationalize certain cases involving blacks being killed by whites to the point that the stories become provocative.  The stories then fuel perpetual race riots, anti-law enforcement propaganda, distrust among the citizenry, and unnecessary stress in a country already plagued with economic challenges.

BLM can still do a lot of good, if it changes it’s tactics.  Let’s look a little closer at the organization itself.

The movement was co-founded by three black community organizers: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. It was inspired by the African-American Civil Rights movement, Black Power, the 1980s black feminist movement, Pan-Africanism, Anti-Apartheid, Hip-Hop, LGBT and Occupy Wall Street movements. There is no question about the need for all citizens to organize their communities, if only to prepare for a natural disaster or foreign attack. No one can negate the importance of community organizing in inner cities, barrios or trailer parks. Citizens, regardless of race or religion, would be irresponsible not to unite, collaborate and try to solve problems that impact their communities. Yet, showing up at the organized events of other groups to disrupt and terrorize does nothing to help black communities. In fact, the conduct of BLM members may cause people to lose respect for those communities needing the most help. Few people, if any, will give a dime or spend time helping black communities that they fear. In fact, it will only turn people away. Free speech is a tradition in America and there is always a place and time for civil disobedience, but the emphasis should be on the word “civil.” Showing up at Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump political events to disturb the peace only results in BLM members looking foolish. They end up on television for their current or potential employers to see. They get no responses to their questions and sometimes they may even get arrested, creating a police record and more stress in their lives. It’s not smart. They should protest on property that is free to the public and not someone else’s personal property. They should obtain a permit, if required. But most importantly, they must understand that protesting is only a very small part of what an activist should do to effect change. No one will take BLM causes seriously so long as they continue using their current tactics to gain attention.

If BLM really wants to make a difference, I think they should consider some of the following approaches.

Real Activism

First, they should consider a genuine cause and participate in activism that really addresses black issues and not those issues cherry picked by the mainstream media. Approximately 16,000,000 black babies were killed at the hands of black mothers since 1973. With those numbers, who will ever take BLM seriously when they rise up over a random, if still barbaric, police killing? Far more unborn are killed at the hands of blacks than any police officer, yet where is Black Lives Matter when this happens? The organization’s title doesn’t match reality. If BLM cares about black lives, activists should work to educate young black women about the dangers of aborting their unborn children – that unless there is a rare high risk of death to the mother, the cold, countless, convenient and casual killing of unborn babies is a form of genocide. Spend more activism time educating young women on how to build their mental, physical and spiritual lives so they can be better and stronger, no matter how many hardships they experience. Learn more about the history of abortion in the black community. See also the documentary, Maafa 21. Educate black mothers as to why the lives of unborn babies matter.

In addition to the aborted unborn, speak out against those blacks who would kill other blacks that oppose the views of BLM. Anthony Harvey was murdered by a car full of black men for flying the Confederate flag. He was a student of history and participated in Civil War reenactments, but this one act so offended these black men that they drove him off of the road, killing him and injuring a black female passenger.  Where was BLM then?  No Al Sharpton, no mainstream media, no outrage, no riots or protests and no BLM.

BLM also ignores the crisis of black-on-black crimes.  Unfortunately, there will always be crime and we all know the US is not utopia. We should be educating young black youth and adults to take pride in themselves, to stop selling drugs to each other and abusing one another. Teach young blacks or older blacks who have lost their way that their lives matter and that people are about them.

Teach them that is not enough to say that the government allows drugs to be shipped in the inner cities and thus we shouldn’t hold blacks responsible for selling drugs to our own people. To do this, BLM members do not have to march in the streets or disrupt other groups’ political functions. It just takes talking to each other.  So much good can be done without ever being seen and attracting controversy. Listen to what Johnathon Gentry has to say about it.

How Libertarians and Tea Party Effected Change

Research and study what the Liberty and Tea Party movements did in the past years to effect change. These two movements formed about seven years ago. The groups that were successful were the ones that stayed involved in the political process in their communities. Some activists chose to use their influence to elect more people to the Senate that favored constitutional and libertarian views. Great minds were elected to the legislative branch such as Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and many others that would fill up this page. This was just the beginning of the Tea Party and Liberty movements’ work and there is much left to be accomplished. Those that spent the majority of their time protesting and disrupting events got less accomplished. For instance, some groups spent time informing people about geopolitics and social issues through protest and social media. These movements proved and are still proving that while America is still a nation of laws and free (at least freer than most countries), there are still legitimate ways to resolve issues without losing dignity and self-respect. It just requires sincerely and wisely thinking through the process.

Commonalities between BLM and Patriot Groups

BLM should study commonalities between their members and the Liberty and Tea Party movements. There are quite a few. These two movements are a hodgepodge of blacks, whites, Latinos, poor, middle class, Christians, Jews, and many other groups. Some of the younger people are a part of the Hip Hop community and very informed on foreign policy, domestic issues and financial matters. It may be a surprise to BLM that many Liberty and Tea Party movement members were once Democrats. Some were also once loyal to the Republican Party.  Many are still are grappling with breaking the chains of decades of two-party system conditioning. There is not one member that has not experienced civil liberty abuses in some form or fashion, regardless of race. Some address issues dealing with police brutality, illegal body searches, excessive taxation, joblessness, manipulated currency, discrimination, freedom of speech abuses and countless other issues. They so much believe that all lives matter that they twitch at the slightest chance that a government policy might be implemented that would deny all citizens (blacks included) the right to bear arms to protect their families from overstepping authorities, among other rights. Libertarians are the group that watches government’s treatment of civil liberties like a hawk, always making sure that freedom of speech, right to bear arms and other rights are protected. Some blacks have said that the Constitution and Bill of Rights mean nothing to them, given that blacks were once slaves. It is true that the Constitution used to protect slavery, but it no longer does. What matters is that no country’s constitution is worth the paper it is written on without the actions of moral men and women following it. This remains a struggle that today’s elected officials face, and that, among other things, has given rise to the libertarian movement. Listen to Judge Andrew Napolitano’s Lecture (Part 1), (Part 2) and (Part 3). Michael Badnarik is also a great teacher who explains where rights are derived from.

Progressives and Liberals Have No Answers

Many of us need to accept the reality that this administration and many local leaders praised by black communities just cannot do anything for those black communities. Most of the work has to begin within each home and then spread out to the extended community. Many who supported originally Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress elected in 2008 are now very frustrated because despite their promises, conditions actually got worst for many African-Americans. Unemployment rose for young blacks, some had their government assistance decreased, taxes increased and economic conditions did not improve. Could BLM be the result of a perceived let down from the current administration as much as it is a response to police brutality? If so, people need to realize that what Democrats have been selling the black community for years just isn’t true. Government can’t fix the lives of the citizens. That is not the job of government, and when we try to make it the job of government we get excessive debt, corruption, and overstepping. Where government should be strong, like protecting the country from external and internal threats, it is weak. Donald Trump has the chance to do better than most Republicans with black voters this November. Could this be due to some people finally recognizing that Al Sharpton and similar leaders take them for granted, making a mockery out of serious issues and acting as gatekeepers to keep them loyal to Democrats?  Time will tell.

In a Nutshell

When one takes into account all of the genuine issues within black communities throughout the country that get glossed over by BLM, many observers are left baffled by the BLM movement. BLM appears to be controlled by a progressive philosophy, yet that philosophy itself is partly the reason for so many hardships felt within inner cities. The political groups BLM members ally themselves with are the same groups that argue for more public assistance for these communities, and no matter how much is given, it’s never enough and the struggles become more intense. There undoubtedly is a better way for BLM activists to effect change within black communities than what they are currently doing, and they should look to the libertarian and Tea Party movements to show them the path. There is too much work to be done, to spend arguing politics.  We should first pull the beam out of the eye of black communities before pulling the speck out of the eyes of other groups.

American demographics have changed over the past five or more decades. Black and white differences are a moot point today, especially in an era of rampant illegal immigration. Resources are now being split among a much larger group of people.  While BLM protesters mass in the streets and harass attendees at events, others who have just as hard a time in modern America are thinking how to get jobs, survive, and even thrive. The black activists of the fifties and sixties had legitimate reasons to protest as times were more intense and real violence was practiced against blacks and other groups.

It’s different today. Everything isn’t framed around blacks versus whites any longer. Although the mainstream media wants to present this narrative to their viewers, there is much more diversity today and the biggest challenge for blacks will be how to compete and survive in the modern economy. What will become of those dependent on shrinking government programs as more and more people take advantage of limited resources? Unless the economy turns around, and soon, these economic challenges could be the biggest threat facing black lives, not police brutality. BLM has an opportunity to prepare blacks for the unforeseen future if it does more than just agitate.

BLM would do good to network with political groups outside of the usual progressive mix. BLM should work with libertarian groups. A strong alliance between BLM and libertarians would be a more credible, given the commonalities in their views on civil rights. Working with libertarians would not give BLM the appearance of a disorderly group looking for controversy. It would be perceived as authentic. We must recognize that blacks are not the only victims of police brutality, no matter how much misleading media reporting makes it seem.

And if BLM really wants to make a difference, they should chew on the idea of changing the organization’s name to “All Lives Matter.” Because somebody needs to speak for everyone.


Theresa Robinson is a long-time African-American libertarian activist from Richmond, Virginia. She was a Ron Paul delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention. 
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