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We need to talk about what’s happening in Los Angeles, John.
Right now, the people of LA are peacefully protesting brutal ICE tactics: targeting school graduations, detaining labor leaders without cause, and kidnapping people out of parking lots. These tactics are designed to tear apart Black and Brown immigrant families and communities, which is why Angelenos are coming together to protest.
In response, the Trump administration has mobilized 700 Marines and seized control of the California National Guard, hoping to inflame the situation, intimidate protestors, and suppress Angelenos’ right to free speech.
This militarized response is not just deeply alarming, unconstitutional, or a waste of >$130 million. It's also a clear demonstration of the administration’s commitment to maintaining white supremacy through intimidation and brute force.
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“The response feels like provocation, not protection…deploying the National Guard against protestors in a city still grieving and grappling with racial and immigration injustice echoes the federal show of force we saw in D.C. after George Floyd’s murder. We must ask: who is being protected and from what? Because real leadership doesn’t silence dissent—it listens, it learns, and it leads with care.”
— Cicley Gay, Board Chairwoman, Black Lives Matter
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We’ve seen the double standards: Trump welcomes in White South African refugees. Meanwhile, Black and Brown immigrants and refugees are demonized and scapegoated. MAGA terrorists storm the Capitol, but Angelenos peacefully demonstrating in support of their neighbors are the ones met with the National Guard.
The fight against ICE is our fight.
We can’t have Black liberation without abolishing ICE. We need freedom from the policing of bodies and borders.
We will continue to organize against state-sanctioned violence, surveillance, incarceration, and displacement. Whether it’s ICE vans or police helicopters, Black and Brown communities continuously experience tactics designed to break our spirits.
Yet we refuse to be broken.
Despite burying loved ones lost to state violence, we rise daily to protect each other, nurture our communities, and build resistance. Even under severe intimidation, we continue to organize, speak out, reclaim our collective power, and imagine a future free from state violence.
They may deploy troops into our streets, but they can never control our spirit.
They will never break us.
We are stronger together than apart, and that’s why we are met with such resistance.
To our brothers and sisters in immigrant communities and across the diaspora: we’ve got your back.
To the brave protesters who continue to raise their voices, even when their safety is on the line: we rise with you.
Our hearts are with all those in Los Angeles right now.
In solidarity
Black Lives Matter
P.S. Watch Shalomyah Bowers, another board member, share his thoughts on Instagram.
Our grassroots movement is pushing for Black liberation every single day. We are striving to create a world where Black people do so much more than just survive. It’s time we thrive.
As an organization one of our biggest hurdles is consistency.
A recurring contribution of anything you can afford goes a long way as we plan for the months, years, and even decades ahead. This is the most effective way for small-dollar donors (like you) to power our Black liberation work.
Will you make a recurring contribution of $5 or more today so that we can keep building momentum for our movement?
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