Group defends actions
Oct 25, 2015 00:03:19 #
Black Lives Matter members say Garcetti hasnt kept a promise to work with them.
BY ANGEL JENNINGS
BLACK LIVES MATTER protesters, who complained that they werent notified of the event, swarm Garcettis car at Mondays town hall in South Los Angeles.
Days after a tense confrontation with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, members of the local chapter of Black Lives Matter accused the mayor of breaking a promise to work with them to hold a forum to find solutions to problems that plague residents in South L.A.
The groups members spoke Friday in response to criticism over their disruption of a forum that the mayor held this week at Holman United Methodist Church.
Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter, said Garcetti never told members of her group about Mondays event despite previously agreeing to work with them to host a two-hour discussion. She said the mayor met with members of the group and made the promise in July.
What happened afterward is that Mayor Garcetti had a meeting without consulting us, Cullors said at a press conference held at a memorial site near the spot where LAPD officers last year fatally shot Ezell Ford, a mentally ill black man.
Cullors and others said that members of Black Lives Matter only learned about Garcettis first South L.A. forum days before the event.
About 50 protesters from various organizations, including Black Lives Matter, disrupted the meeting. Demonstrators turned their backs to Garcetti as he addressed the packed sanctuary. While Garcetti attempted to leave the hour-long session, he was swarmed by a crowd of chanting activists.
Garcetti, speaking to reporters Tuesday, pointedly declined to criticize the protesters conduct the night before.
As mayor, thats part of the job. Sometimes people scream. Sometimes people shout, he said. Any person who talks about their frustrations you know, those are real problems with jobs, with housing, with policing. But I just keep doing the work.
A Garcetti spokeswoman said Friday that the mayor had no further comment.
However, some who attended the event denounced the groups action.
To the members of BLM-LA and allies who cussed at me in the sanctuary ... your disrespect and verbal violence will not be a weapon of mass distraction to our resolve in pressing on to seek solutions for the challenges and opportunities in our community, the Rev. Kelvin Sauls, who heads the church, wrote in a Facebook post Thursday.
Pete White, of Los Angeles Community Action Network, said at Fridays Black Lives Matter press conference that Garcetti has divided black residents and aligned himself with people who wont criticize him for failing to follow through on promises.
We are going to be loud about that, and we are going to engage in tactics that are meant to save our lives, he said.
The group has outlined a series of demands to Garcetti and the citys police commissioners, most prominently that they fire LAPD Chief Charlie Beck for his handling of the department and recent police shootings. Theyve also called for a series of mayoral town hall meetings with more public give and take, as well as increased input from South L.A. residents on appointments to city commissions.
The Aug.11, 2014, shooting of Ford became a local touchstone in the heated national conversation about police officers and how they use force, particularly against black men. Ford, 25, died two days after an officer shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.
Attending Fridays press conference was Fords mother, Tritobia. Afterward, she said she doesnt always agree with the tactics of Black Lives Matter members but supports the cause.
I share the frustration and compassion and anger too, she said. angel.jennings
@latimes.com
BY ANGEL JENNINGS
BLACK LIVES MATTER protesters, who complained that they werent notified of the event, swarm Garcettis car at Mondays town hall in South Los Angeles.
Days after a tense confrontation with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, members of the local chapter of Black Lives Matter accused the mayor of breaking a promise to work with them to hold a forum to find solutions to problems that plague residents in South L.A.
The groups members spoke Friday in response to criticism over their disruption of a forum that the mayor held this week at Holman United Methodist Church.
Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter, said Garcetti never told members of her group about Mondays event despite previously agreeing to work with them to host a two-hour discussion. She said the mayor met with members of the group and made the promise in July.
What happened afterward is that Mayor Garcetti had a meeting without consulting us, Cullors said at a press conference held at a memorial site near the spot where LAPD officers last year fatally shot Ezell Ford, a mentally ill black man.
Cullors and others said that members of Black Lives Matter only learned about Garcettis first South L.A. forum days before the event.
About 50 protesters from various organizations, including Black Lives Matter, disrupted the meeting. Demonstrators turned their backs to Garcetti as he addressed the packed sanctuary. While Garcetti attempted to leave the hour-long session, he was swarmed by a crowd of chanting activists.
Garcetti, speaking to reporters Tuesday, pointedly declined to criticize the protesters conduct the night before.
As mayor, thats part of the job. Sometimes people scream. Sometimes people shout, he said. Any person who talks about their frustrations you know, those are real problems with jobs, with housing, with policing. But I just keep doing the work.
A Garcetti spokeswoman said Friday that the mayor had no further comment.
However, some who attended the event denounced the groups action.
To the members of BLM-LA and allies who cussed at me in the sanctuary ... your disrespect and verbal violence will not be a weapon of mass distraction to our resolve in pressing on to seek solutions for the challenges and opportunities in our community, the Rev. Kelvin Sauls, who heads the church, wrote in a Facebook post Thursday.
Pete White, of Los Angeles Community Action Network, said at Fridays Black Lives Matter press conference that Garcetti has divided black residents and aligned himself with people who wont criticize him for failing to follow through on promises.
We are going to be loud about that, and we are going to engage in tactics that are meant to save our lives, he said.
The group has outlined a series of demands to Garcetti and the citys police commissioners, most prominently that they fire LAPD Chief Charlie Beck for his handling of the department and recent police shootings. Theyve also called for a series of mayoral town hall meetings with more public give and take, as well as increased input from South L.A. residents on appointments to city commissions.
The Aug.11, 2014, shooting of Ford became a local touchstone in the heated national conversation about police officers and how they use force, particularly against black men. Ford, 25, died two days after an officer shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.
Attending Fridays press conference was Fords mother, Tritobia. Afterward, she said she doesnt always agree with the tactics of Black Lives Matter members but supports the cause.
I share the frustration and compassion and anger too, she said. angel.jennings
@latimes.com
Oct 25, 2015 08:54:53 #
Looks like a balanced report.
KHH1 wrote:
Black Lives Matter members say Garcetti hasnt kep... (show quote)
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