Michael Eric Dyson: Blacks Must March on RNC Convention with ‘Revolutionary Intentions’

Author and activist Michael Eric Dyson is calling on blacks to march on the Republican National Convention in Cleveland with “revolutionary intentions” and preparedness for violence.

{snip}

Mr. Dyson said they must march on the convention to proclaim Mr. Trump’s “moral repugnance and political illegitimacy.”

{snip}

“In calling for confrontation, I am probably bringing down the worst violence against my own people, asking them–us–to stand in the vanguard of challenging bias and hatred. The penalties will be higher for my people than for others. But then, there is nothing new in that,” he continued. “I would argue that to resist the sweep of malevolence signified by Trump’s prominence is a tragic counterpoint to a vote for Obama in 2008. It is the only way to find the right side of history again. There is no option but to go to Cleveland, to raise our voices, put our bodies to work, and maybe even at risk.

“How bad could it be in Cleveland?” Mr. Dyson asked. “It’s hard to say. If the force used against Black Lives Matter protesters in Ferguson and Oakland and Baltimore is any gauge, it may be very bad indeed. But if King proved anything, it’s that the threat of violence mustn’t dissuade from acting those who would do good. In fact, King used violence, integrating it into his strategy of civil disobedience. Displays of white madness let the nation in on its dirty secret: It was willing to blast black bodies with water hoses, and unleash police dogs on innocent black flesh. King sacrificed black bodies to make white America look plainly at its barbarism. Trump’s convention may be the next proving ground for this costly technique.”

The ACLU of Ohio filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Cleveland, accusing officials of infringing on free speech rights with “arbitrary” restrictions on demonstrations at the Republican National Convention, scheduled for July 18-21.

The ACLU wants the city to reduce the restrictions within the city’s convention “event zone,” which covers much of Downtown, and to immediately act upon permit applications from groups seeking to protest the convention, Cleveland.com reported.

{snip}