8 Developments of the Black Lives Matter Movement Most People Don't Know About

http://www.alternet.org/activism/8-developments-black-lives-matter-movement-most-people-dont-know-about



1. Young Ferguson activists interrupt Al Sharpton’s DC event.

Al Sharpton's National Action Network held a Justice For All march in Washington on Saturday, which drew more than 10,000 people. But its scripted, scheduled format deviated from many recent Black Lives Matter rallies, in which people were permitted to speak even if they didn’t organize the event. So the National Action Network was in for a big surprise when a group of young Ferguson activists interrupted the rally and took the stage. NAN activists tried for several minutes to get the protesters offstage, but were met with loud chants of “Let them speak!”

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2. Hundreds of protesters deviate from planned marches.

In another effort to create their own path in this movement, hundreds of protesters broke off from the planned marches in NYC, DC and Oakland, Calif. to form their own protests on streets that weren’t “permitted.” In DC, a small group left the march to stop traffic in major intersections in the city’s downtown area. Following the Millions March in Oakland, about 200 protesters continued through the streets of the city, briefly shutting down a tunnel leading to the island of Alameda. Police eventually kettled protesters, arrested them and put them on buses. Hundreds of people from the Millions March in NYC left the action that drew 30,000 people and marched about nine miles to the Brooklyn public housing unit where the NYPD recently shot and killed 28-year-old Akai Gurley.

3. Protesters continue disrupting business as usual.

On Monday, protesters with the Oakland-based Blackout Collective, an all-black direct action collective, chained themselves to Oakland Police Department headquarters, effectively locking down the department. About 200 protesters gathered in solidarity. White allies joined in the protests by chaining themselves together and blocking off the intersections leading to the department. Asian allies blocked another set of doors to the department. Latino allies and elderly activists also blocked streets. One activist replaced the flag in front of the OPD with one bearing the faces of those killed by police violence. Police made 25 arrests for "obstructing and blocking a public safety building and delaying a police officer." Police were forced to use bolt cutters to break the chains on the headquarters’ doors.

4. Black organizers show white allies how to demonstrate solidarity.

Oakland’s Monday protest provided a clear demonstration of how non-black allies could show support for black organizers as they lead the charge in this fight. A photo taken from a public organizing meeting in Boston illustrates the national conversation taking place about how white people can display solidarity with the movement.