In the letter to Curtatone, dated Tuesday, police union president Michael McGrath said the Black Lives Matter banner “unfairly suggests culpability by them in the deaths at the center of the protest movement”.
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But others, like retired police officer Bob DeNapoli, called the Black Lives Matter banner “reprehensible”.
“When I hear the hashtag or see the banner ‘Black Lives Matter, ‘ it just brings to my mind personally that we have to be inclusive”, he told reporters.
But Somerville resident Mohaiminul Islam said, outside City Hall yesterday, an “All Lives Matter” banner would provide more support for police.
Activists with the Anti Police-Terror Project, Asians for Black Lives, Showing Up for Racial Justice Bay Area and Black Lives Matter Bay Area will hold an 11 a.m. news conference outside Oakland City Hall. Black Lives Matters is a narrative full of all kind of people who answer a question like ‘if we don’t matter than no one matters.’ For the longest period of time, Black lives seeming didn’t matter. “Both banners will remain hanging”.
The letter also asked the mayor’s officer to replace the banner with one that reads “All Lives Matter”.
“My unwavering support for our police officers does not and can not preempt our commitment to addressing systemic racism in our nation”. I’ve made very clear to our officers that we should be thankful for-and reinforce-what we have here in Somerville: a safer community thanks to the highest quality policing by a force dedicated to community policing, de-escalation, proper use of force, and anti-bias awareness.
Violence is never justified, and that is the message that both of our banners- for Black Lives Matter and for the slain officers-are meant to make.
More events are planned for the future, they said – Saturday’s march was meant to be a barbecue before costs got in the way – and all four agreed that their message still needed to be sent to both police and citizens in Springfield and around the country. Do they want it down?
Curtatone’s decision was applauded outside of Somerville City Hall today and supported by Somerville Police Chief David Fallon who said that he recognizes that “there is a problem” if anyone in his community feels excluded.
And his opinion on BLM?
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Attempting to clarify his view that it shouldn’t take police shootings to focus attention on discrimination against black people, Rocky said: “I just get upset, and what I was really trying to say there was, like, yo, I just, I hate when the bandwagon stuff start”.
