1/n E. G. Mondainé writes that Malcom X came to believe that there was much white women could do for black equality:

“But I am quite certain that striking yoga poses nude on the streets of Portland, Ore., was not on his list of actionable items”
2/n “Naked Athena,” went viral, her unclothed confrontation with police earning her accolades as a brave ally of the cause. But I see something else: a beneficiary of white privilege dancing vainly on a stage created to raise up the voices of my oppressed brothers and sisters”
3/n “In this, she is not alone. As the demonstrations continue every night in #Portland, many people with their own agendas are co-opting, and distracting attention from, what should be our central concern: the #BlackLivesMatter movement.”
4/n “The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis prompted a nationwide reckoning with the original and savage crime of slavery our country committed against African Americans...That monstrous crime finally caught up with us as a nation. I do not believe it is a time for spectacle”
5/n “Unfortunately, “spectacle” is now the best way to describe Portland’s protests. Vandalizing government buildings and hurling projectiles at law enforcement draw attention — but how do these actions stop police from killing black people?”
6/n “What are antifa and other leftist agitators achieving for the cause of black equality? The “Wall of Moms,” while perhaps well-intentioned, ends up redirecting attention away from the urgent issue of murdered black bodies.” #PortlandProtest
7/n [ #PortlandMoms] might ease the consciences of white, affluent women who have previously been silent in the face of black oppression, but it’s fair to ask: Are they really furthering the cause of justice, or is this another example of white co-optation?”
8/n - key passage by E. G. Mondainé, head of @NAACP in #Portland:

“The federal government’s response... is a deliberate cover for Trump’s weakness. The president and his allies want spectacle, be it a naked yogi or the next shocking display of force.”
9/n this man, E.G. Mondainé @NAACP, should be @DHSgov Secretary cc @JoeBiden

“That’s why we need to remember: What is happening in Portland is the fuse of a great, racist backlash that the Trump administration is baiting us to light.” #Portland
10/n #Portland

“We cannot fall for their deception. We cannot settle for spectacles that endanger us all. This is a moment for serious action — to once again take up the mantle of the civil rights era by summoning the same conviction and determination our forebears did.”
11/n

“We welcome our white brothers and sisters in this struggle. In fact, we need them. But I ask them to remain humbly attuned to the opportunity of this moment — and to reflect on whether any actions they take will help establish justice, or whether they are for show.”
12/n “I am not suggesting retreat. Instead, I am proposing we take the cause of Black Lives Matter into those places where tear gas and rubber bullets and federal agents cannot find us, and where there is less risk of spectacle distracting from our true aims” #PortlandProtest
13/n “In boardrooms, in schools, in city councils, in the halls of justice, in the smoky backrooms of a duplicitous government — that is where we will dismantle the gears of the brutal, racist machine” #Portland #BLM
14/n “.... that has been terrorizing black Americans and hollowing out the moral character of this nation since its inception.”

E. G. Mondainé writing in @washingtonpost, and I heard @repjohnlewis legacy in every word. #BlackLivesMatter
15/n I *tried* to do a highlight thread of this opinion piece but every paragraph is a highlight. Read the whole thing, atop this thread, #Portland and listen to what Black leaders say to white Trumpist violent agitators making it ALL ABOUT THEM
End thread. @emondaine3 sir, if this piece and this leadership is you, I thank you for it. #PortlandProtest #PortlandMoms
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