October 09, 2017

Black identity activists pose a violent threat, according to the FBI

located:	USA
editor:	Gurmeet Singh

It begins with protests against police brutality, against institutional violence on black people. It goes into public areas, kneeling during national anthems. It then develops into far-reaching debates about society and culture. Black lives matter. Blue lives matter. Black people aren't safe. Police aren't safe. Why must black men die at the hands of police? Why can't black people just get in line?

We're all familiar with the debate and the ways in which identity politics has thrust discussions headlong into areas which are riddled with difficulty. Whether that means legitimate concerns about 'who' gets to speak on an issue, to more specious claims of people being equal in poverty. Inequality, social inequality, injustice and mistreatment predicated on race and ethnicity are real. They are historically real, and persist today in forms of political marginalisation as well as economic isolation. The stats are all there: cycles of poverty and imprisonment, held together by prejudice.

Yet, the FBI deems it necessary to label Black identity activists as a potential threat to safety. Rather than tackling the structural causes of grievance, the FBI has deemed the grievance a problem of 'perception', and is calling those activists violent.

"The report, dated August 2017 and compiled by the Domestic Terrorism Analysis Unit, said: 'The FBI assesses it is very likely Black Identity Extremist (BIE) perceptions of police brutality against African Americans spurred an increase in premeditated, retaliatory lethal violence against law enforcement and will very likely serve as justification for such violence.' Incidents of 'alleged police abuse' have 'continued to feed the resurgence in ideologically motivated, violent criminal activity within the BIE movement'."

Although certainly there will be dangerous elements in the movement, there are legitimate concerns which are being brushed aside; in the context of Trump's America, with its white supremacist celebrations, this is a highly worrying development.