Rahm Emanuel Ditches Meeting in Cafe When Confronted by Black Lives Matter Protesters

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wasn’t expected to appear at a meeting with Illinois gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker at a cafe in Chicago Thursday morning. But when Black Lives Matter activists invited to the meeting by Pritzker showed up, there he was.

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The ensuing encounter between the mothers and Emanuel was filmed by Black Lives Matter activist Maria Hernandez and posted on Black Lives Matter Chicago’s Facebook page.

The video shows Emanuel standing at a table near the front of the cafe. When a mother attempts to speak with him, he responds, “Just a minute I’m doing something for J.B [Pritzker].” A few moments later, you can see him leaving as the activists shout after him, asking for answers about police killings of Harith Augustus and others.

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“So many of the mothers have had heated issues with Rahm, who has dodged meetings with them, and who has been nothing but a roadblock to police accountability,” Hernandez told Splinter over a Facebook call. (Full disclosure: Hernandez is a former roommate of mine.) “He won’t meet with Dorothy [Holmes], who has called him a coward.” Emanuel is facing strong opposition from groups like Black Lives Matter, who have also protested in front of his home since Augustus’ shooting last week.

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According to Hernandez, members of Pritzker’s team distanced themselves from Emanuel. “The event host said he was not welcome there,” she says.

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