An important leader in the Black Lives Matter movement says he is fed up with the Democrats–and repercussions are coming.
Hawk Newsome is the chairman of Black Lives Matter in New York and he is especially angry that the statute of limitations has just run out without federal charges being filed against the police officer that choked and killed Eric Garner in Staten Island back in 2014.
Fresh off a march in Washington D.C., Newsome was clearly frustrated, telling Florida Daily that “America is still a place where justice eludes black people”.
Newsome saved his fiercest jabs for Democrats, saying he particularly angry that none of that party’s leaders turned out for the protest march in Washington. He singled out former U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., though his work on civil rights and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, since Black Lives Matters was an early endorser and worked hard to get her elected.
“Once they get elected it’s like ‘Oh you say the wrong thing.’ They’ll use us for our press opportunities and they will use us for their headlines, and then they put us on the shelf,” Newsome said.
To Newsome, it is not about himself–it is about Eric Garner and other African-Americans that have been targeted, injured and killed by police.
“All this talk about the border,” Newsome said. “From top to bottom, party to party, not one party, not one celebrity politician mentions Eric Garner’s name? We all know it’s horrific. I don’t care what your politics are. If you look at that on video what is going on with that cop.”
Newsome told Florida Daily that Black Lives Matter cannot turn to President Donald Trump for help.
“If he wanted to do something that Obama didn’t do, he could bring justice to the family of Eric Garner but that’s just going too far. He’ll do anything but that,” Newsome said.
Newsome does feel like he could work with some GOP members, saying he has a certain appreciation for the art of a good deal but one major obstacle stands in his way.
“They don’t want to come across as anti-cop, but you don’t have to be anti-cop to be pro-reform or pro-accountability,” Newsome said.
Now that federal charges cannot be brought against Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Garner’s death, Newsome is turning his attention to upcoming elections and promising to get back at Democrats. He plans to run candidates that he feels won’t turn their backs on Black Lives Matter and is already signing up candidates from neighborhoods affected by heavy violence. The next part of the plan: out organize and out work rivals.
“The old establishment, older black leadership, the old Democratic party, they are on their way out,” Newsome insisted. “They are being dismantled. We just have to build a new lane for black people that is real.”
Most politicians may not want to bother searching for a Black Lives Matter endorsement out of New York.
“They act as if one is better than the other, like ‘I do more for black people than you, you’re just using them’. No, they are all using us. They are all using us,” Newsome said.
If the Democrats nominate former Vice President Joe Biden to challenge Trump, Newsome says all bets are off.
“When I was talking people who care, I didn’t even talk about Joe Biden. He was in the White House for years when Eric Garner died and could have given him justice,” Newsome said.
“As far as I am concerned, Joe Biden is a Republican in views. I am sick of these little crumbs they throw us off the table when we are entitled to a whole plate.”
Newsome said Democrats are failing in their attempts to reach out to Black Lives Matter members and minorities in general–and insulting people in the process.
“When they talk to undocumented people, they have things like the Dream Act or DACA, literature, legislation. When they talk to the LGBTQ+ people, they show they are fighting to pass marriage equality. When they talk to black people, they just come in, smile, talk jive and dance, but they don’t give us anything,” Newsome said.
As Newsome continues his effort seeking justice for people beaten or killed by police, Democrats have a long way to go if they want to win back his trust.
Reach Mike Synan at mike.synan@floridadaily.com.
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