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Black Lives Matter Phillys exclusive meeting policies are reflective of religious groups regulations. (@blmphilly/Instagram)

After a spate of right-wing backlash over Black Lives Matter Phillys policy that only Black people are welcome at their meetings, the group has been forced to defend itself.

Based in Philadelphia, BLM Philly was the subject of recent articles by conservative media websites like Breitbart and Daily Wire that took issue with the policy advertised for an upcoming April gathering. Each meeting is regularly promoted on BLM Phillys social media pages as a black only space.

Candace McKinley, a 35-year-old member of the group, told Philly.com that exclusively Black meetings are not new but the outrage about it is new. She said BLM Philly has been fielding responses to the policy fromopposition and supporters.

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, BLM Philly said in a statement issued on their official Facebook page Wednesday, April 5. As a chapter, BLM Philly believes in self-determination and organizes in that manner. Simply put, we dont need or want others to define what it means for a Black person to be free and liberated in the U.S. We know that. Weve determined that.

The statement went on to say non-Black people can show their support in other ways, like advocating for quality housing and improved wages for the Black community.

Asa Khalif, a member of Black Lives Matter Pennsylvania who isnt associated with BLM Philly, said private meetings are a common practice within BLM as a whole.

We deal with anti-Blackness every day just being Black in our workspaces and so on, Khalif, whose Pennsylvania chapter is open to Hispanic attendees, told Philly.com. Thats why its a safe space for us. White allies and other allies who stand with us understand that.

BLM Philly announced on Twitter that itwill no longer participate inthe debate over the policy after Thursday, April 6.

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Home National Black Lives Matter Philly Defends Policy of Banning White, Other Non-Black People... - Atlanta Black Star

New York Times

Pepsi Pulls Ad Accused of Trivializing Black Lives Matter New York Times Pepsi has apologized for a controversial advertisement that borrowed imagery from the Black Lives Matter movement, after a day of intense criticism from people who said it trivialized the widespread protests against the killings of black people by the ... Kendall Jenner's Final Pepsi Scene Inspired by '60s Pic, NOT Black Lives MatterTMZ.com Pepsi tried cashing in on Black Lives Matter with a Kendall Jenner ad. Here's how that's going.Washington Post Pepsi criticized for Black Lives Matter imagery in adThe Crimson While The Sun -TheBlaze.com -NBCNews.com -YouTube all 1,376 news articles »

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Pepsi Pulls Ad Accused of Trivializing Black Lives Matter - New York Times

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Wealthy white Americans who do not eat meat, dairy products or anything else derived from animals are failing to support minority groups and valuing the lives of livestock more than the Black Lives Matter, according to an op-ed in The Daily Texan, the student newspaper at the University of Texas at Austin.

The author of the 558-word jeremiad against homogeneous, pale-skinned and definitely white American veganism is Audrey Larcher.

The cruelty-free culture of wealth, privilege and exclusivity inherent to veganism in the United States is a white thing,'the privileged student at one of Americas most notable taxpayer-funded universities explains,

Also, American vegans dont appreciate foods from other countries like, say, India.

And grocers that cater to white vegans charge prices that suggest profit is their primary motivation, the student on a college campus with an annual budget of approximately $2.66 billionsays she has determined.

And then Larcher gets to the very heart of the matter.

Most vegan communities offer no sympathy to victims of racism, appropriating minorities struggles to advance their own cause, she admonishes. Black Lives Matter is degraded to a distraction from chicken and cow lives, and equating Americas chattel slavery to the agriculture industrys imprisonment of animals is commonplace.

Vegans must make plant-based diets accessible to everyone, Larcher then declares.

The first step in making a more inclusive veganism would be to stop acting so bourgeoisie.

Larcher meant to write bourgeois in chiding white vegans here, not bourgeoisie. The French word bourgeois can be an adjective or, if describing a single person, a noun. However, bourgeoisie means an entire class of people and is only a noun.

In any case, Larcher implores white vegans to focus on solving global hunger without the benefit of meat and to promote sustainable and compassionate diets for the world by being intersectional.

Our struggles are intersectional, she insists.

The term intersectionality means the study of links intersections between different forms of oppression and discrimination. The idea is to bind different groups of fringe activists together. Frequently, however, the concept leads to friction because various fringe activists accuse others of putting insufficient focus on their particular, obscure causes. (RELATED: The Dictionary Of The Modern Campus Activist)

Follow Eric on Twitter.Like Eric on Facebook. Send education-related story tips to[emailprotected].

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America's White Vegans Are Degrading Black Lives Matter Now, You Guys - Daily Caller

The NYPDwent deep cover amongBlack Lives Matter activists during a protest in New York City and accessed text messages from leaders in the group, according to legal documents published by The Guardian.

The documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit show the texts were passed between a number of undercover officers. They were primarily e-mails that show the officers had found their way intosmall groups of demonstrators to get information about the groups location and planning in protests in November 2014 and January 2015.

Die in & community convergence at Grand Central. FYI stock up on FREE earplugs avail every night, one messagereads. Convergence atUnion Square begins in 15Mins #ShutItDown, another reads.

Keegan Stephan said that the disclosures show that the officers were able to blend into groups as small as seven individuals and obtain information that was never shared beyond a handful of people.

It makes me think that some of these undercover officers were deeply embedded in our groups and that they were infiltrating our social networks, not just attending public demonstrations, Stephan told the Guardian.

Another activist,Elsa Waithe, expressed dismay that police seemed to use trust among individuals who knew each other in order to gain access.

That text loop was definitely just for organizers, I dont know how that got out, said Elsa Waithe, a Black Lives Matter organizer. Someone had to have told someone how to get on it, probably trusting someone they had seen a few times in good faith. We clearly compromised ourselves.

E-mails between the officers show them following the movements of protesters during a protest at Grand Central Terminal

The documents were ordered released in February, despite the NYPDs argument that releasing them would interfere with their work.

But a lawyer who helped pursue the lawsuit said that the officers acted to infiltrate the group when there was no reason to do so.

The documents uniformly show no crime occurring, but NYPD had undercovers inside the protests for months on end as if they were Al Qaeda, attorney David Thompson told the New York Daily News. This is not law enforcement, it is NYPD acting politically while wearing guns, and using the authority and secrecy the NYPD is granted as political weapons.

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Court Documents Show NYPD Tried to Infiltrate Black Lives Matter - EBONY.com

Black Lives Matter activistsare launching a new initiative to shift the movements focus to state capitols, theAssociated Press reports.

People who wish to become more politically involved have the potential of greaterinfluence at the state level, according to organizers.

As the Associated Press notes, Republicans currently hold 33 governors offices, as well as majorities in 33 legislatures. They also have control over the governors office and legislature in 25 states, giving state Republicans more room to shape laws surrounding abortion, taxes, gun rights, and more.

OurStates.orgillustratesa trend of Democrats and left-leaning groups placing their eye onstatehouses.

From Associated Press:

Despite the movements national presence, it has not concentrated on engaging and resisting what state legislatures are doing to essentially implement the same agenda, said Sam Sinyangwe, a data scientist with the project. If we dont engage on the state level, many of the same rights were fighting to protect will be restricted at the local level anyway.

Users visiting the site can choose categories and click on states to learn more about pending legislation. It has a guide for influencing lawmakers, directing people to ask for in-person meetings, present specific demands and track the progress of legislation. The site also suggests conducting protests in lawmakers offices to apply pressure and get their attention.

Brian Robinson, Republican strategist and former assistant chief of staff for Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, says Black Lives Matteractivists could make inroads with GOP lawmakers, depending onhow they go about it.

If the goals are partisan, hot-button issues, the outcome is going to be no political or policy progress,Robinson said. If Republicans are approached in a respectable manner on issues that could have bipartisan consensus, they can make headway, but theyve got to be civil.

He also noted that activists must be serious and have doable, incremental goals. If what they want to do is demonize Republican leaders theyll be ignored.

SOURCE: Associated Press

SEE ALSO:

Black Lives Matter V. Trump: Whats Next?

White Bodies Protesting In The Age Of Trump

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Black Lives Matter Activists Shift Focus To State Capitols ...