This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/11/bernie-sanders-black-lives-matter-squirm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Why Bernie Sanders' run-in with Black Lives Matter activists made me squirm | Why Bernie Sanders' run-in with Black Lives Matter activists made me squirm |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| On Saturday, Black Lives Matter organizers Marissa Johnson and Mara Willaford got on stage and took the microphone away from from presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders to remind him that the Black Lives Matter movement is the grassroots movement of the 2016 race. As a black woman, a part of me felt like I should have stood up and cheered when I watched the video, but I also felt downright uncomfortable. I cringed at the sight of women who look like me storming a stage and making themselves heard. I couldn’t put my finger on why. | On Saturday, Black Lives Matter organizers Marissa Johnson and Mara Willaford got on stage and took the microphone away from from presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders to remind him that the Black Lives Matter movement is the grassroots movement of the 2016 race. As a black woman, a part of me felt like I should have stood up and cheered when I watched the video, but I also felt downright uncomfortable. I cringed at the sight of women who look like me storming a stage and making themselves heard. I couldn’t put my finger on why. |
| Related: Bernie Sanders assures Black Lives Matter protesters: I'm your guy | |
| The movement has been vocal in its calls for 2016 presidential candidates to address this new civil rights movement. It was the second time that Sanders had been upstaged by members of Black Lives Matter. At both events it was black women who grabbed the microphone, proving their own agency by making their voices heard. | The movement has been vocal in its calls for 2016 presidential candidates to address this new civil rights movement. It was the second time that Sanders had been upstaged by members of Black Lives Matter. At both events it was black women who grabbed the microphone, proving their own agency by making their voices heard. |
| My gut reaction wasn’t an indictment on the actions of those Black Lives Matter organizers on the ground. They were pushing their way into progressive spaces and, in so doing, riled up audience members who have long patted themselves on the back for being the most liberal people in the room. It didn’t dawn on me until much later that their actions made me uncomfortable because they were doing something that I, as an introvert who prefers to stay quiet, would never be brave enough to do. | My gut reaction wasn’t an indictment on the actions of those Black Lives Matter organizers on the ground. They were pushing their way into progressive spaces and, in so doing, riled up audience members who have long patted themselves on the back for being the most liberal people in the room. It didn’t dawn on me until much later that their actions made me uncomfortable because they were doing something that I, as an introvert who prefers to stay quiet, would never be brave enough to do. |
| There is no doubt that Bernie Sanders has spent his entire career being a champion of progressive causes, including civil rights issues. He participated in the March on Washington and was arrested for demonstrating against desegregated public schools in Chicago. I am not discounting his past work, but what is he doing right now, in the present? Sanders, an ‘uber-progressive’ who was there when Dr King went to the mountaintop, seems rattled and unsure of how to react in the face of the Black Lives Matter movement and how to be more inclusive to African Americans, who have been on the outside of the political process for decades. | There is no doubt that Bernie Sanders has spent his entire career being a champion of progressive causes, including civil rights issues. He participated in the March on Washington and was arrested for demonstrating against desegregated public schools in Chicago. I am not discounting his past work, but what is he doing right now, in the present? Sanders, an ‘uber-progressive’ who was there when Dr King went to the mountaintop, seems rattled and unsure of how to react in the face of the Black Lives Matter movement and how to be more inclusive to African Americans, who have been on the outside of the political process for decades. |
| Politicians love to tell the stories they hear from ‘regular’ Americans out on the campaign trail. They hold town hall debates and roundtable discussions to listen to the problems of those they claim to fight for. Why is it that, in the case of Black Lives Matter, they would prefer to stay mum? Possibly because it’s easier to fight for social security than deep dive into all that encompasses institutional racism. The latter isn’t a soundbite and requires candidates for the highest office in the world to check their privilege. | Politicians love to tell the stories they hear from ‘regular’ Americans out on the campaign trail. They hold town hall debates and roundtable discussions to listen to the problems of those they claim to fight for. Why is it that, in the case of Black Lives Matter, they would prefer to stay mum? Possibly because it’s easier to fight for social security than deep dive into all that encompasses institutional racism. The latter isn’t a soundbite and requires candidates for the highest office in the world to check their privilege. |
| Activists like Johnson and Willaford are tasked with calling candidates out on this hypocrisy – and that is inspiring those of us who watch from the sidelines. A friend wrote on Facebook today that she “stands on the shoulders of giants” and I gave her a ‘like’ in agreement. For every move forward in society, there has to be one person who takes the first step. Being first is a terrifying place to be. It’s brave. I know myself well enough to know that I will not be the first to do anything but that when these giants force me to look in the mirror and question my actions, then I will do so. A state of emergency has been declared both literally and figuratively which means that I must step out of my shell to physically join the protests I have so frequently written about. | Activists like Johnson and Willaford are tasked with calling candidates out on this hypocrisy – and that is inspiring those of us who watch from the sidelines. A friend wrote on Facebook today that she “stands on the shoulders of giants” and I gave her a ‘like’ in agreement. For every move forward in society, there has to be one person who takes the first step. Being first is a terrifying place to be. It’s brave. I know myself well enough to know that I will not be the first to do anything but that when these giants force me to look in the mirror and question my actions, then I will do so. A state of emergency has been declared both literally and figuratively which means that I must step out of my shell to physically join the protests I have so frequently written about. |
| Black Lives Matter protests have dared to push the status quo and speak for those who have been afraid to speak for themselves. They have put a magnifying glass to the campaigns of presidential candidates, they have forced us all to squirm out of discomfort. No matter who is speaking, discourse on race isn’t supposed to be easy. Grassroots members of Black Lives Matter are pushing their way through spaces and forcing conversation that makes us all a little tense but that’s the whole point, isn’t it? | Black Lives Matter protests have dared to push the status quo and speak for those who have been afraid to speak for themselves. They have put a magnifying glass to the campaigns of presidential candidates, they have forced us all to squirm out of discomfort. No matter who is speaking, discourse on race isn’t supposed to be easy. Grassroots members of Black Lives Matter are pushing their way through spaces and forcing conversation that makes us all a little tense but that’s the whole point, isn’t it? |
| They are forcing Americans of all races to look deep inside themselves at their own biases and how hundreds of years of biases have contributed to racial turmoil of today. No one is excluded – especially not those who want to be leader of the United States of the America. | They are forcing Americans of all races to look deep inside themselves at their own biases and how hundreds of years of biases have contributed to racial turmoil of today. No one is excluded – especially not those who want to be leader of the United States of the America. |