They say it’s the Republican convention, but the press will be happy to make it the Anti-Republican convention. On the home page of the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s website on Sunday was a large picture with the headline “National Convention of the Oppressed marches in Cleveland.” It doesn't matter how many attend. The crowd was estimated at “about 100.”
The caption is “Participants in the National Convention of the Oppressed, including Dr. Cornel West, with beard and sunglasses, and march organizer Malik Zulu Shabazz, president of Black Lawyers for Justice at his left, begin trek from Perk Plaza to Second Ebenezer Baptist Church after holding an afternoon rally on Saturday, July 16."
Website visitors can see a pile of protest pictures. It's a little hard to guess how Dr. West of Princeton is "oppressed" by his Ivy League employers. It might be that other leftists like Michael Eric Dyson have "oppressed" West by declaring him too anti-Obama to be serious.
Plain Dealer reporter Adam Ferrise summarized the political views of the small band of black protesters:
"Mr. Trump is an uncouth racist," said rally organizer Malik Shabazz of the Black Lawyers For Justice group. "But it's not just Mr. Trump. It's an indictment on America. That a racist can be a hair away from being in the White House is an embarrassment for America."
The group touched on several issues during the 8-hour long rally and march, including racism and politics. Speakers called for more organization and blacks to stand up against police killings across the country.
"We want the world to know that we can stand together," prominent activist Cornell [sic] West said. "If we don't have the courage to keep our back straight when our brothers and sisters are being killed, then shame on us."
Some of the speakers were fiery and decried violence against blacks. Others spoke about acting in peaceful solidarity and some also criticized presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
"Hillary Clinton and her slick, sly politicized speech, she isn't that much better," Shabazz said. "She'll just kill you nicely."
Ferrise reported the New Black Panthers provided security for the protesters, unarmed. But the newspaper said nothing about how racist these protesters were. Even the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center can tell the tale: "The New Black Panther Party is a virulently racist and anti-Semitic organization whose leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews and law enforcement officers." Don't reporters usually trust the SPLC when conservatives are the subject? And the SPLC has a tough summary on Mr. Shabazz, the expert on Trump's (and America's) racism:
Although he's sometimes identified in the mainstream media as a mere "legal adviser" or "community organizer," Malik Shabazz is a racist black nationalist with a long, well-documented history of violently anti-Semitic remarks and accusations about the inherent evil of white people.
He is also particularly skilled at orchestrating provocative protests. Ousted from the Nation of Islam after he became an embarrassment even to that hard-line group, Shabazz went on to take up the leadership of the New Black Panther Party.
Shabazz is so noxious he got dumped by Louis Farrakhan. But his tiny gathering gets "mainstream" media recognition? Why?
Will a crowd of 100 conservative protesters of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia draw a story from a major city newspaper? Let's not bet on it.
