Protests – What’s next

We know that justice isn’t being served but it is not a new thing, so what are we going to do about it? Injustice goes back to Angela Davis, Assata, the leaders of black nationalists’ organizations back in the sixties and seventies and the concerted effort from the government to subvert these groups and bring them down because they were advocating for change that those in power did not want even though it was just. So now, it continues, it continues, it continues. What I say is we need to stop killing ourselves. Build our strength, develop our troops. If this is a war, we are killing ourselves from within, that’s the old Willie Lynch model.

Let’s strengthen our base, educate our children, and create our own businesses. I’m not saying be separatists or black nationalists, what I am saying is be smart in the economy that we have, with the situation we are in and start take care of ourselves and each other. Let’s make a stink about everything that happens in our communities. We get blamed for everything anyway. So we need to just start focusing on being better to ourselves, and build ourselves up so we can get out there and be better from the bottom to the top and be about it. And be about it means being the best and taking care of people. And not getting five cents and deciding that I can’t you the penny I owe you that you gave me when I didn’t have anything last week. So that’s my prescription.

If we’re going to protest, let’s be focused. What wrong with the system? The problem is with the police and the courts so let’s address that and not stop BART and block the freeways, people are trying to go to work and school. Destroying businesses is not the answer. Some people have businesses. We talk about don’t work for the “man” and you are looking forward to Black Friday and then we say let’s boycott Black Friday. A Black Friday boycott is not going to hurt the police or the criminal justice system. We need to figure out how we’re going to positively impact the police and criminal justice. And I say if you did not vote in the last election, you don’t get to be out in the streets protesting. So let me see your “I voted” sticker or some proof that you voted and then you can go out here and protest. I don’t think that people who voted are out here tearing stuff up, I just don’t think that’s the mindset but if you are a voter and tearing stuff up, I’d like to interview you.

So what would we say if those in power said to the protesters, “Okay, enough already, what do you want?” How would the protesters respond? Is there a spokesperson, is there a leader? Is there a common theme? Is there a common goal, so that every protester would articulate the same objective? To be pondered or are we just protesting to have anarchy or to just have a tantrum and be mad. A protest without a purpose is a waste of time, money, and effort. If it’s all about just getting on the news, getting arrested, or stopping traffic then we are not going to change what we are protesting against which should be the objective.