Dr. Melina Abdullah — a California State University professor who also leads the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter — was denied entry to Mayor Eric Garcetti’s inauguration ceremony on Saturday, despite her claim of receiving an invitation to attend the event.
“They won’t let Black Lives Matter in because Garcetti is scared of black people,” Abdullah shouted outside Los Angeles City Hall. “He’s scared of black people except for good house Negroes.”
Abdullah said she had been invited to the private affair through the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, to which she was appointed in 2014. While in line to enter the mayor’s second swearing-in festivity, Abdullah was approached by a Garcetti staffer and informed that her name was not on the list of invited guests.
“They removed me from the list,” Abdullah could be overheard telling an acquaintance. “They don’t want us to say, ‘black lives matter.’”
For several years, Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles has disrupted various Garcetti appearances throughout the city — often demanding the mayor terminate the LAPD’s chief of police.
“Fire Charlie Beck! Fire Charlie Beck,” Abdullah yelled as attendees funneled into Garcetti’s celebration. She was accompanied by her three children, who joined her in chanting Black Lives Matter slogans.
“You can’t get arrested, you’re seven,” Abdullah assured her son, who was soon to be the pretext of a minor ruckus at the inauguration’s entrance.
“He needs to pee,” Abdullah announced to several Garcetti staffers and security guards within earshot.
She insisted that they allow her son to use the portable toilets located inside of the event — visible from the entrance gate where Abdullah stood.
When she saw LAPD Commissioner Shane Murphy Goldsmith pass by, Abdullah called out for assistance. Goldsmith, who heads a foundation that funds several Black Lives Matter-allied activist groups, lobbied on Abdullah’s behalf, asking, “Can I take my friend to the restroom?”
The police commissioner successfully got Abdullah’s son past security, but officers stopped him en route to the rented bathroom. After authorities had told Abdullah that her son would have to relieve himself somewhere else, she instructed a policeman to “move” — barging through several security guards.
“My kid is right here, dumbass,” Abdullah told the officer. “This is why we hate the police. I’m taking my child to the damn restroom.”
Law enforcement watched as Abdullah escorted her son to the portable toilet. When he was finished, they both vacated the venue on their own free will. Meanwhile, Abdullah’s allies had successfully infiltrated the ceremony. Actor Matt McGorry, who represents a group called White People for Black Lives, was later ejected by security along with other activists.
As the Los Angeles Times reported:
Shortly after Garcetti began taking the oath, protesters from Black Lives Matter stood up and started shouting before they were escorted out, police said. Police estimated that fewer than a dozen people were removed and said none were arrested.
“Eric Garcetti, who claims to be a liberal, who’s floating his own damn name for president of the United States, is against free speech,” Abdullah told her Facebook Live audience from outside of the event. “If you speak out against police abuse, if you speak up for black people, if you lift up that black lives matter, he will not only try to arrest you, but he’ll try to humiliate your children and say they can’t use the bathroom.”
“Yeah, he went,” Abdullah gloated, while referring to her son.
Follow Jeffrey Cawood on Twitter @Near_Chaos.