Yesterday we delivered 108,034 of YOUR petition signatures demanding Congress end the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) “Black Identity Extremists” (BIE) designation, and to investigate the FBI and law enforcement’s use of surveillance. And now, in light of what the January 6 insurrection revealed about pervasive law enforcement collusion with white supremacists, we're also demanding investigation into their ties to the far-right. With our partners Free Press Action, the ACLU, and Color of Change, we brought together a panel of activists and experts representing communities targeted by the police and FBI to urge Congress to do more to protect Black communities instead of harm us. 
 

In the coming days, we'll share more comprehensive recaps of the briefing and the fight that led us there. But we really wanted to share this story with you as soon as possible! Here’s a few highlights from yesterday's powerful conversation:

• Our Campaign Strategies Director Myaisha Hayes moderated the panel, and made it clear that “We don’t want equal opportunity surveillance” in the form of knee-jerk reactions to the January 6 white supremacist insurrection. 

• Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D–Michigan) joined us with her commitment to prevent “domestic terrorism” policies that will only cause more harm: “Until we get serious about changing the culture of these [law enforcement] agencies, we can’t expand surveillance—no matter how well intended.”

• Reuben Telushkin of Jewish Voices for Peace explained why “More power to the people with the guns and the tools is not what we want or need.”

• Adjoa Aiyetoro announced that the Black & Brown Activism Defense Collective is organizing a lobby day to keep the pressure on Congress to #ProtectBlackDissent. 

Check out this Twitter thread for more briefing highlights.

Instead of being a Constitutional right, protesting while Black in this country is a cause for targeting. Systemic racism continues to sell us the age-old lie that Black activism is somehow inherently violent, and, thus, is deserving of disproportionate surveillance and force. This lie is further institutionalized by law enforcement and the FBI who designates Black protestors the same level of “threat” as white supremacist groups like the KKK. History tells us this practice is devastating for Black activists, but beyond that, the long-term impact of this practice is largely unknown due to a lack of transparency from the FBI and investigatory inaction from Congress–despite our repeated demands. 

This ongoing practice of creating a false equivalency between Black protestors and violent white supremacist groups is a stunning snapshot of racist policing in the U.S.

Time and time again we have seen Congress and those in power use an event like January 6th as an excuse to increase the reach and power of surveillance in the name of safety. But we know that in practice, this actually means increasing surveillance for Black and brown communities who are already overpoliced and spied on. The time is NOW to #ProtectBlackDissent.  

In Solidarity, 
Myaisha Hayes and the rest of Team #MediaJustice