On Monday night, alleged news anchor Don Lemon brought actor Terry Crews onto his program to lecture him for expressing unauthorized view points. Crews, who is black, has argued that Black Lives Matter should have more to say about black-on-black violence. Lemon explained that Black Lives Matter does not mean “all black lives,” but specifically that small minority of lives that are taken in police shootings. According to Lemon, BLM has an intentionally narrow focus, and that focus simply cannot make room for the thousands of black lives lost every year due to black-on-black violence.
Even if this were true, it would be a paltry defense. If police brutality is all that Black Lives Matter cares about, then it should be called Police Brutality Matters. And even if it was called Police Brutality Matters, and it did stay on that topic, valid criticisms could be made about the choice to focus on a problem that is relatively small in comparison to all of the other dangers faced by the average black person, especially in the inner city. But as it happens, Black Lives Matter does not limit its advocacy to police brutality. It engages on a whole host of issues that have little to do with preserving black life or holding law enforcement accountable.
.png)
.png)
