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Asa Khalif, a leader of Black Lives Matter Pennsylvania, got an early morning phone call from his Polish grandmother in Massachusetts on Wednesday.

His grandmother, who is white, was upset about aBreitbart.com reportshe'd read, about a meeting of Black Lives Matter Philly that will be open only to African Americans. (BLM Philly isn't Khalif's group, but they're part of the same movement.)

Khalif, whose adopted father is white, had to spend a portion of his morning calming down the 80-year-old he affectionately refers to as "Mama." She was afraid that his social activism had changed him for the worse after reading the article that initially had mentioned him.

"I told her I'm still the same grandson who requests Spam sandwiches when he comes to visit," he said.

When I caught up with him Wednesday afternoon outside City Hall, Khalif was still upset that she'd happened across the Breitbart piece about BLM's closed-meeting practice, something he describes as "very common in the movement."

"It's a space particularly for black people to heal, to cry, to vent, to organize, to be empowered, to be uplifted," Khalif said about the black-only gatherings. "We deal with anti-blackness every day, just being black in our work spaces and so on. That's why it's a safe space for us. White allies and other allies who stand with us understand that."

Even though the Breitbart piece made it look like a Philly thing, it's standard practice to admit only African Americans and others from the black diaspora to Black Lives Matter meetings.

Who knew? I certainly didn't. Neither, I'm guessing, did the folks at Breitbart.com, a right-wing website whose posting on the subject is headlined, "WHITE PEOPLE BANNED FROM BLACK LIVES MATTER MEETINGS IN PHILADELPHIA."

BLM Philly isn't the least bit shy about its closed-door policy.Its Facebook pageclearly states that the next meeting, on April 15, will be a "black only space."

I find this shocking and appalling, especially considering how many nonblack faces I see participating in Black Lives Matter demonstrations here and nationwide.As a person who grew up seeing images of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. protesting arm-in-arm with whites and others during the civil rights movement, the blacks-only policy feels wrong. It's exclusionary. The optics are bad. It feels as if African Americans are self-segregating and doing to whites what has historically been done to us.

Besides, how can the BLM movement be expected to grow and catch on nationally if it limits itself? African Americans represent just 14 percent of the U.S. population, and are virtually invisible in many parts of the country.

BLM Philly organizers point to activist groups such as the Black Panthers and historical thought leaders such as Malcolm X and Marcus Garvey for inspiration. One BLM Philly spokesman, Joe Green, 36, told me Wednesday that the meetings are so "we can direct the narrative for ourselves and by ourselves."

Needless to say, news of the BLM policy hit the blogosphere with a giant thud as various right-wing websites ran with it.

Black Lives Matter Philly members wrote on Facebook: "This is not the first time we have received backlash and threats in relation to how we organize. Let us be clear now. We are unapologetically Black and believe having Black only spaces -- where Black people can come together to strategize, organize, heal and fellowship without the threat of violence and co-optation -- is an important part of Black liberation."

Organizer Candace McKinley, 35, of Germantown, pointed out that black-only meetings are "not really a new concept. The outrage about it is new."She said that the group had gotten lots of messages on social media about the practice and that members have been explaining the policy to allies and foes alike.

That would not be me. Nor would I be the one standing in the doorway blocking white folks from coming in.I'm old school.

I admire many of the great black revolutionaries, too, butI know from experience how painful it is to be left out because of external characteristics that are beyond your control. I can't imagine how hurtful it must feel for nonblacks who happen upon a BLM meeting to be turned away because of skin color.

Khalif said his grandmother asked him as much when she said to him, "Am I welcome in your space?"

The question caused the 34-year-old activist to choke up.

"I lost it on the phone," Khalif told me as his voice broke again at the memory. "She is Mama and she is always welcome with us."

That's the way it's supposed to be.

Published: April 5, 2017 9:07 PM EDT | Updated: April 5, 2017 9:10 PM EDT Philadelphia Daily News

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Black Lives Matter meetings banning whites rankle - philly.com

If the Black Lives Matter movement were led by a 21-year-old white supermodel armed with a can of fizzy soda, then maybe everyone would just get along.

That's the vision presented in Pepsi's new ad featuring reality TV star Kendall Jenner. The ad was pulled on Wednesday after being met with widespread condemnation, with critics accusing the drinks giant of appropriating a nationwide protest movement following police shootings of African Americans.

"Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize," Pepsi wrote in a statement on Wednesday. "We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position."

In the ad released Tuesday, Jenner is in the middle of a photo shoot when she happens to notice a protest march making its way down the street.

It's not clear what the smiling, attractive demonstrators are upset about, the only clues being their placards reading "peace" and "love" and "join the conversation."

But Jenner decides to join them anyway, beckoned into the throng by a handsome man with a cello. She rips off her blonde wig, wipes away her lipstick and joins the marchers. The beaming, break-dancing protesters are a far cry from the often fractious demonstrations that have broken out across the United States over the past few years.

In Pepsi's version, no one seems too worked up about anything. Jenner fist-bumps one of her recently adopted activists, before grabbing a can of Pepsi from a well-stocked ice-bucket.

Then comes the ad's climax and perhaps the part that has caused most uproar. Jenner reaches the remarkably calm front-line of the protest. She spots an officer, walks up to him and hands him the Pepsi.

He takes a sip, a woman wearing a nose-ring and a traditional Muslim headscarf takes a photograph and everybody cheers.

The ad has sparked accusations that Pepsi has appropriated a racial protest movement to sell a global fizzy drinks brand.

"This ad trivializes the urgency of the issues and it diminishes the seriousness and the gravity of why we got into the street in the first place," activist DeRay McKesson told NBC News correspondent Gabe Gutierrez.

McKesson, who organized and protested in Ferguson after the death of Michael Brown, also takes issue with the brand's apology. "Pepsi didn't apologize to all of the people who have been protesting for two years, didn't apologize to the people who dedicated their lives and their time to these issues and to understand the urgency of them because in so many cases, there's so much at stake including people's lives," he said.

It drew scathing criticism on social media from Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She posted an image of her father mid-peaceful protest literally being pushed back by a police line and tweeted: "If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi."

Pepsi in turn responded directly to King, "We at Pepsi believe in the legacy of Dr. King & meant absolutely no disrespect to him & others who fight for justice."

Many people believe the final scene of the ad in particular is a direct reference to one of the defining images of the Black Lives Matter movement: a photograph of Ieshia Evans, a 28-year-old nurse being detained in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Some took to Twitter, calling out the brand with satire.

Pepsi said the film, titled "Jump In," was produced by PepsiCo's in-house content creation arm, Creators League Studio.

The company said the ad "features multiple lives, stories and emotional connections that show passion, joy, unbound and uninhibited moments."

Kendall Jenner in the new Pepsi ad (L) and Ieshia Evans during the Baton Rouge Protest (R). Jonathan Bachman (R) / You Tube/Reuters

It was designed to "truly reflect today's generation and what living for now looks like" and it described Jenner as someone who "exemplifies owning 'Live For Now' moments."

Pepsi is not the first multinational brand to attempt to use counterculture and protest movements to sell its product. In 1971, Coca-Cola's iconic "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," advertisement rode the wave of flower-power protest that had emerged in opposition to the Vietnam War.

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Pepsi Ad With Kendall Jenner Echoes Black Lives Matter ...

EXCLUSIVE

There's actually an explanation -- though not necessarily a good one -- for Pepsi's decision to run the disastrous Kendall Jenner ad ... but to understand you have to take a trip back to the '60s.

CLICK THIS LINK and check out the second photo ... it became world famous, shot in Washington, D.C. in 1967 during a Vietnam protest. It shows a demonstrator with flower power approaching a slew of cops armed with bayonets.

Bjorn Charpentier --the director of photography for the Pepsi ad -- tells us it was this picture, and not a Black Lives Matter protest, that inspired the commercial. Substitute Pepsi for a sunflower, and there you have it.

Lots of people assumed the inspiration for the scene was the Black Lives Matter protest last July in Baton Rouge, where a woman in a sundress stood peacefully as cops approached her.

Charpentier insists his shoot had nothing to do with that demonstration ... it was all about flower power.

By the way ... Charpentier shot a commercial in 2014 for the Leica Camera company which showcased recreations of 100 famous photos, including the 1967 flower photo. So, that was on his brain.

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Kendall Jenner's Final Pepsi Scene Inspired by '60s Pic ...

The Philadelphia chapter of Black Lives Matter has banned white people from attending an upcoming meeting, arguing that the groupsevents are black centered.

This is a black only space, the organizationposted on itsFacebook event page.

The April 15event, ironically described as an open meeting,is a planning session for the year ahead, serving as an opportunity for activists to meet, strategize and organize. Though white people are barred from the meeting, the group made sure to note that they are family friendly and invited people to bring their children to the meeting.

When BLM Phillywas attacked on social media for blocking white people, the activist group took to Twitter to defend its ban. They explained to followers that themeetings areblack centered.

Anyone who identifies as a person of the African Diaspora is invited to attend.

If you identify as a person of the African Diaspora You can attend our meetings and become a member, the chapter tweeted.If not you can support us in other ways.

The African Diaspora typically refers to the people who were dispersed from Africa during the Transatlantic Slave Trade from the 1500s to the 1800s.

When someone on Twitter pointed out to the Black Lives Matter group that civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. worked alongside white people to accomplish his goals, they brushed it aside as his choice.

He made that choice and we have made ours, the group tweeted. White people can support us but they cannot attend our meetings.

The chapter then referred to civil rights activist Malcolm X. Malcolm took our same stance. White people could not attend the meetings but could support his organization, the chapter said in a tweet.

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Black Lives Matter Philly bans white people from open ...

Kendall Jenner stars in a new Pepsi ad thats causing controversy online. Here's why. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

This story has been updated to reflect Pepsi pulling its new ad.

A new Pepsi ad campaign invoking a Black Lives Matter protest drew immediate backlash on social media for appropriating a movement highlighting the killings of black Americans by police.

In the 2 minute ad, celebrity model Kendall Jenner notices a passing rainbow coalition of marchers while shes in the midst of a modeling shoot. She tosses her blond wig, wipes away her lipstick, and struts purposefully into the crowd.

The now-brunette Jenner makes a beeline toward a row of uniformed police, wading through a diverse group of beaming protesters flashing peace signs and flirtatious glances. She passes an ice bucket, reaches in to grab a can of Pepsi.

A photographer wearing a hijab captures the denim-clad Jenner handing the Pepsi to one of the stoic police officers. Click. The world stops for a second. The officer sips. The crowd erupts in cheers and hugs as if institutional racism had been magically erased by her Pepsi peace offering.

DeRay Mckesson, a Black Lives Matter activist, called the ad trash on Twitter. If I had carried Pepsi I guess I never would have been arrested. Who knew? he wrote.

Other critics called it a tone-deaf ad strategy and questioned the diversity of the executives involved. Pepsi's chief executive, Indra Nooyi, is an Indian woman.

Corporations like Pepsi should make political statements. But their statements shouldn't distort political realities to generate revenue, Khaled Beydoun, a law professor and scholar of critical race theory at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, wrote on Twitter.

Jenners role in the commercial echoes the iconic photograph of Ieshia Evans, the black woman in a flowing sundress who stood facing riot police in Baton Rouge while protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling. Except Jenner is white. And wealthy. Daughter of one of the most superficial families in Hollywood who has not, on reality television or social media anyway, put her life on the line to protest any of the issues being highlighted by Black Lives Matter.

The Internet erupted with sarcasm, proposing an alternate ad with Jenner replacing all of Flints water with Pepsi. The Michigan citys contaminated water supply crisis has led to class-action lawsuits and criminal charges after health catastrophes came to light.

Someone else suggested an ad in which Jenners more famous sister, Kim Kardashian, parachutes into Syria and uses Pepsi to wash the faces of children targeted by chemical weapons. Scores of people died there this week from a chemical attack.

Its unclear what message Pepsis ad was trying to convey. If it was solidarity, critics say it backfired. They say there are ways to embrace diversity in commercials and convey progressive messages without offending the very people companies are trying to attract.

The Super Bowl this year featured many such ads. Take, well, Coke. It reprised a 2014 ad showcasing a diverse cast singing America the Beautiful in multiple languages. It was edgy and yes, offended some for featuring the patriotic anthem in Spanish, Hindi and Hebrew among other languages in addition to English. But it was not tone deaf.

The new Pepsi commercial put off so many people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds that they tweeted that the ad made them want to drink Coke. Others joked that perhaps it was actually a Coke marketing ploy.

But no. Pepsi owned it. At least initially. The soft drink giant released a statement defending the spot, calling it a global ad that reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony.

We think thats an important message to convey.

Pepsi may have indeed helped people of diverse backgrounds forge common ground. Those on the political right panned the ad too for promoting leftist protest movements.

Watching p.c. corporatism backfire is schadenfreude-licious, tweeted conservative commentator Michelle Malkin.

Less than 24 hours later, Pepsi pulled the ad.

"Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize," the company said in a statement Wednesday. "We did not intent to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout."

Pepsialso apologized for "putting Kendall Jenner in this position." Jenner has deleted her previous tweets promoting the commercial.

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Pepsi tried cashing in on Black Lives Matter with a Kendall ...