The Black Lives Matter movement has become a political flashpoint, stirring a backlash from the right and an increasingly heated debate about race.
Last weekend, conservative commentator Glenn Beck and Rafael Cruz, the father of GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), joined 20,000 other protestors in Birmingham, Ala., in a march that argued “All Lives Matter.”
{mosads}But black activists say that they find such rhetoric offensive.
“Do all lives matter? Of course but the reality is that in our country some lives matter more than others,” said Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter.
She said that “Republicans are out of touch with what’s going on right now — they refuse to acknowledge that there’s inequality in terms of race.”
Garza called it is “shameful” for conservatives to attempt to marginalize their movement by blaming African Americans for their response to police brutality.
“Republicans are using a pattern and practice of violence against black folks to galvanize their base,” she said. “They’re trying to shift the conversation away from what’s actually happening.”
Republicans have lambasted such criticism. They’ve argued that liberal policies and government programs have not helped minorities.
“Of course black lives matter,” Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, who is black, said last month campaigning in Harlem. “But what I feel instead of people pointing fingers at each other and just creating strife, what we need to be talking about is how do we solve problems in the black community?”
Garza said that Black Lives Matter will release a concrete set of policy proposals in the coming weeks in addition to hosting a public forum where the group will invite the presidential candidates to attend.
Garza said she expects Black Lives Matter activists to align with other movements, including “immigrants, environmentalists and those [critical of Wall Street].”
The criticism of the right comes as activists from within the movement have disrupted Democratic presidential candidates’ speeches, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.
Garza defended some of the activists who have disrupted speeches.
“Candidates come and make speeches — but actually what people want is a conversation,” she said. “There needs to be a dialogue between impacted communities and the people who want to lead them. … This is not going to be business as usual.”
Democratic strategist Richard Fowler said that Black Lives Matter would ultimately end up helping the Democratic nominee.
“Whomever the Democrats nominate — they’re going to have to turn out the same amount of Africans Americans that President Obama did,” Fowler said. “That means they have to appeal to you African Americans. And that’s exactly who Black Lives Matter appeals to.”