Portland's Black Residents ‘Drowned Out’ by Black Lives Matter Protests
African-American community feels dominated by mostly-white radical-left protesters
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Portland's black residents are reportedly feeling "drowned out" by the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests in the city that are being led by mostly-white, violent Antifa extremists.
The African-American community in the Oregan city is feeling silenced amid the nightly riots and violence caused by radical-left protesters, the Associated Press reported Monday.
According to the AP, the "voices of many black Portland residents" are being "lost" in the "chaotic and often violent protests," supposedly against racial injustice.
Some in the black community feel the overwhelmingly white crowds of Black Lives Matter protesters — and particularly those committing vandalism — are co-opting the anti-racism movement.
Others have naively welcomed the mobs, believing large numbers of white demonstrators can draw attention to the city’s racial inequity in ways that black demonstrators alone can’t.
The radical-left believes deeply that there can’t be a "Black Lives Matter" movement without defunding the police, however.
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Others say a recent vote to cut a specialized gun violence reduction unit is behind a sharp spike in shootings that’s devastated their community, the AP reports.
Primarily, there is a persistent worry that a critical opportunity for achieving racial justice in Portland’s tiny black community could be lost.
The AP added that shootings have risen dramatically in the city since the protests began, following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Memorial Day:
In July, the city experienced a sharp rise in gun violence that has overwhelmingly hurt black people, according to Breitbart.
There were 99 shootings — more than triple the amount from the previous July — and the city has tallied 366 non-suicide shootings this year compared to 388 in all of 2019.
Roughly two-thirds of the victims in July were black, said police Sgt. Derrick Foxworth.
Meanwhile, Democrats and the mainstream media have generally defended the chaos in Portland as “peaceful protests.”
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The Washington Post published a lengthy profile of the Portland demonstrators on Saturday.
The fluff peice was complete with artistic portraits of black-clad Portland rioters, celebrating the city’s tradition of violent radicalism:
As Portland experiences more than 70 days of violent protests, riots, arson attacks, soaring homicides & shootings, @washingtonpost actually published a glowing photo essay on #antifa riot fashion. What is wrong w/reporter @Marissa_Jae & the editors there? https://t.co/uiqmwXT9cY pic.twitter.com/lJhrPW6avC
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 10, 2020
The Post noted that the withdrawal of federal law enforcement from the city is seen by activists as a victory — the first of many demands they hope to achieve.
Meanwhile, riots and attacks on local police — and residents — have continued in the absence of federal officers.
