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Apolitical Lawrence businesses find themselves boycotted by BLM-LFK
http://www.pitch.com/news/article/20846675/apolitical-lawrence-businesses-find-themselves-boycotted-by-blmlfkI had a hunch that the proprietor of, say, the black-owned Watson’s Barber Shop — one of the businesses on BLM-LFK’s blacklist — might not actually be a white supremacist, so I called around Lawrence to check in with some businesses facing the boycott. (The group is keeping a running tally of who’s naughty and nice on its Facebook page.) Few of those who have declined to sign the pledge were eager to discuss the issue on the record.
“We don’t want to comment,” said Ryan, an employee at Happy Shirt Printing Company.
“We’ve got nothing to add,” said Amy Savoie, general manager of Wheatfields.
“It’s [BLM-LFK] not something I’m comfortable speaking about at this point,” said Chuck Magerl, owner of Free State Brewery. “I’m still learning, and may have greater understanding as time goes on.”
The three locations of Z’s Divine Espresso are also non grata with BLM-LFK. Sherry Bowden, who owns the stores, said she has tried twice to contact the group to discuss the pledge, to no avail.
“My wish would be that I could communicate with somebody [at BLM-LFK] about it, in a responsible way,” Bowden told me.
Several of the businesses I contacted told me privately that they felt bullied by BLM-LFK’s pledge demands. Others were mystified by the group’s language: What does “indigenous folkx” mean? What is intersectionality?
I’m a millennial and a journalist, and I can barely explain how they might interpret those words. I’m also onboard with pretty much everything Black Lives Matter represents — rejecting systems of oppression, racism and violence toward marginalized groups; loudly protesting police killings of innocent black people — but if I were a Lawrence shop owner, I’m not sure how I’d respond to this group.
In August, BLM-LFK disrupted a meeting in Topeka between local police and religious leaders. The gathering, held inside a black church and organized by a black pastor, was intended to be a community conversation about improving race relations in Topeka. When the city’s police chief began to speak, members of BLM-LFK stood up and started shouting and cursing. The event devolved into chaos and was cut short. A fight broke out in the parking lot.
“It was like there were two completely different agendas going on,” a woman present at the meeting told The Topeka Capital-Journal. “One that wanted to hear what the leaders had to say, and then you had this other group that had their own agenda to just be disruptive.”
“We don’t want to comment,” said Ryan, an employee at Happy Shirt Printing Company.
“We’ve got nothing to add,” said Amy Savoie, general manager of Wheatfields.
“It’s [BLM-LFK] not something I’m comfortable speaking about at this point,” said Chuck Magerl, owner of Free State Brewery. “I’m still learning, and may have greater understanding as time goes on.”
The three locations of Z’s Divine Espresso are also non grata with BLM-LFK. Sherry Bowden, who owns the stores, said she has tried twice to contact the group to discuss the pledge, to no avail.
“My wish would be that I could communicate with somebody [at BLM-LFK] about it, in a responsible way,” Bowden told me.
Several of the businesses I contacted told me privately that they felt bullied by BLM-LFK’s pledge demands. Others were mystified by the group’s language: What does “indigenous folkx” mean? What is intersectionality?
I’m a millennial and a journalist, and I can barely explain how they might interpret those words. I’m also onboard with pretty much everything Black Lives Matter represents — rejecting systems of oppression, racism and violence toward marginalized groups; loudly protesting police killings of innocent black people — but if I were a Lawrence shop owner, I’m not sure how I’d respond to this group.
In August, BLM-LFK disrupted a meeting in Topeka between local police and religious leaders. The gathering, held inside a black church and organized by a black pastor, was intended to be a community conversation about improving race relations in Topeka. When the city’s police chief began to speak, members of BLM-LFK stood up and started shouting and cursing. The event devolved into chaos and was cut short. A fight broke out in the parking lot.
“It was like there were two completely different agendas going on,” a woman present at the meeting told The Topeka Capital-Journal. “One that wanted to hear what the leaders had to say, and then you had this other group that had their own agenda to just be disruptive.”