On Cities Church, ICE, and a Toxic Situationship
Georgia Fort, Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, and Jamael Lydell Lundy were arrested this morning at the direction of y'all's president's Attorney General Pam Bondi. This is not even a week after the arrests of Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Kelly. All of this is said to be connected to the Cities Church protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which this regime/administration has painted as "an act of domestic terrorism." What actually happened was a protest of the Church's leadership after it was discovered that the Church's pastor, David Easterwood, is the acting field director of the Minnesota branch of the taxpayer-funded slave-catcher domestic terrorist group ICE.
Now, mind you, not one act of violence happened in Cities Church during that protest. Those who entered the building violated no laws. They went in to hold the pastor of the Church - the man who was supposedly leading this congregation - accountable for being an ICE director and selling out members of the community he's supposed to be serving.
Now, some of you may see this protest as a violation of the place of worship. Sure. Why not? I mean, I hope you look at all of the violations of mosques and synagogues in this country by xenophobic "Homeland Security" agents in the same way you're viewing this act of protest in a Western culture-driven church building, but I'm going to guess most folx who view this as a "violation" aren't exactly the most accepting. Take that as you will.
Regardless, seven people have been arrested as "ring leaders" of a "violent coordinated attack", six of whom are Black and two of whom are journalists.
Again, no crime was committed. But we live in a horrifically toxic situationship where the federal government can paint anything as a crime and waste taxpayer dollars trying to prosecute people, especially Black and Brown people, on trumped-up and ridiculous charges ad nauseam if people of pallor who support the white supremacist regime and its leaders are "in danger" of being held accountable for their hatred. I mean, they tried to prosecute Letitia James three times for holding y'all's president accountable for his actions, and they would've tried a fourth time if they weren't shut down by the courts.
And guess what? There's not a lot of media coverage around the optics of this moment or the arrests of respected journalists. Why?
Because people of pallor only care about the optics when journalists of pallor are arrested.
People of pallor only step in when they don't fear for their comfort and well-being.
People of pallor speak up about hate when they can, then move on without giving it another thought.
As for the rest of us? The Black and Brown? The melanated?
I suppose it's just another Friday in the United States, one where we find ourselves sharing information the media and the masses are avoiding, while being tired of asking those who are willfully asleep or faking it to wake up.
Let us know when y'all are done sleeping.
