Sunday, August 30, 2015
The following is a statement is response to the Democratic National Committee resolution expressing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and can be attributed to the Black Lives Matter Network, including our 26 chapters nationwide.
…
“A resolution signaling the Democratic National Committee’s endorsement that Black lives matter, in no way implies an endorsement of the DNC by the Black Lives Matter Network, nor was it done in consultation with us. We do not now, nor have we ever, endorsed or affiliated with the Democratic Party, or with any party. The Democratic Party, like the Republican and all political parties, have historically attempted to control or contain Black people’s efforts to liberate ourselves. True change requires real struggle, and that struggle will be in the streets and led by the people, not by a political party.
More specifically, the Black Lives Matter Network is clear that a resolution from the Democratic National Committee won’t bring the changes we seek. Resolutions without concrete change are just business as usual. Promises are not policies. We demand freedom for Black bodies, justice for Black lives, safety for Black communities, and rights for Black people. We demand action, not words, from those who purport to stand with us.
While the Black Lives Matter Network applauds political change towards making the world safer for Black life, our only endorsement goes to the protest movement we’ve built together with Black people nationwide — not the self-interested candidates, parties, or political machine seeking our vote.”
####
Patrisse Cullors, Please don’t allow the “Black Lives Matters” organization to become diluted and pimped by the Democratic Party as the NAACP has become. Today, the NAACP is just a branch of the Democratic Party that hasn’t been able to effect real change in the last 20 – 30 years. Blacks/African Americans are a powerful voting block that the Democrats have continued to use in order to win elections, all while ignoring us once they are in power. We must repudiate this pattern in order to force a sudden, complete or marked change in the political process. We must be just as persistent as the “Tea Party” movement – it’s the only way, not giving into the crumbs that we have long accepted.
-CZ