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The Memphis Police Department has been collecting surveillance footage of protestors linked to Black Lives Matter, a local FOX News affiliate has learned.

Law enforcement officials told FOX13 that the police department gathers intelligence containing vital information of BLM protesters -- including date of birth, weight and height -- to help create a "watch list" that bars those listed from entering the Memphis City Hall without an escort.

In one reported instance, a cell phone video captured footage of the Memphis Police standing outside the union headquarters of Keedran "TNT" Franklin, a local organizer and activist for the BLM movement.

RELATED: Most iconic photos of Black Lives Matter movement since Ferguson

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Most iconic photos of Black Lives Matter movement since Ferguson

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FERGUSON, MO - AUGUST 17: Tear gas rains down on a woman kneeling in the street with her hands in the air after a demonstration over the killing of teenager Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer on August 17, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Despite the Brown family's continued call for peaceful demonstrations, violent protests have erupted nearly every night in Ferguson since his August 9, death. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A demonstrator protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. July 9, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

FERGUSON, MO - AUGUST 11: Police force protestors from the business district into nearby neighborhoods on August 11, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets as residents and their supporters protested the shooting by police of an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown who was killed Saturday in this suburban St. Louis community. Yesterday 32 arrests were made after protests turned into rioting and looting in Ferguson. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

ST LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 12: A demonstrator protesting the killings of 18-year-olds Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri Police officer and Vonderrit Myers Jr. by an off duty St. Louis police officer gets help after being maced by police on October 12, 2014 in St Louis, Missouri. The St. Louis area has been struggling to heal since riots erupted in suburban Ferguson following Brown's death. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 3: A demonstrator cries while gathering in Philadelphia to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall December 3, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Organizers called for the demonstration after a grand jury in the Staten Island borough of New York City declined to indict the police officer who used a chokehold on Garner, resulting in his death. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)

FERGUSON, MO - NOVEMBER 25: Police confront demonstrators during a protest on November 25, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Yesterday protesting turned into rioting following the grand jury announcement to not indict officer Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown case. Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was killed by Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson police officer, on August 9. At least 12 buildings were torched and more than 50 people were arrested during the night-long rioting. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

BLOOMINGTON, MN - DECEMBER 20: Thousands of protesters from the group 'Black Lives Matter' disrupt holiday shoppers on December 20, 2014 at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

A police officer stands over activists, demanding justice for the death of Eric Garner, as they stage a 'die-in' during rush hour at Grand Central Terminal in the Manhattan borough of New York on December 3, 2014. A New York City grand jury on Wednesday returned no indictment against a white police officer who used a chokehold on an unarmed black man who died as police tried to arrest him for illegally selling cigarettes, local media reported. The grand jury in the city's borough of Staten Island decided against criminal charges for New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner. The deadly encounter on July 17 was captured on a video that quickly spread over the Internet and helped fuel debates about how U.S. police use force, particularly against minorities. REUTERS/Adrees Latif (UNITED STATES - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY TRANSPORT)

A man protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. July 9, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

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The video was posted to Franklin's Facebook page on Feb. 6th.

Antonio Cathey, a local union organizer confirmed to FOX13 that the Memphis Police has been conducting surveillance over BLM protesters.

"Sometimes they sit outside our offices, sometimes they sit outside our house." Cathey said, further clarifying the "they'" he was referring to as "the police" in his statement.

Local minister Elaine Blanchard was surprised to find her name noted on the watch list, claiming that her only connection to BLM protests was an instance in which she crossed a barricade during a protest in Graceland, Tennessee, in 2016.

"My weight was on this list," Blanchard said. "I am curious to know where did the mayor's office and the police department get my weight."

SEE ALSO: Secret surveillance of Black Lives Matter protester

Sources involved with Memphis law enforcement told FOX13 police began collecting both Blanchard's an Cathey's information following the Graceland protest.

FOX13 spoke to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland about allegations claiming that his police department had engaged in political surveillance.

"Now that's a separate issue from the list. I've asked the police director to review the procedure with respect to the list" Strickland said.

Strickland said the list was created in response to a protest that occurred outside his home in January that left him and his family shaken, which is why it contained language that forbids a certain number of people from entering his personal property.

However, Strickland claims that he was unaware of the notation on the list mandating that those noted were "to be escorted while in city hall."

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Memphis Police store secret surveillance of Black Lives Matter protesters for 'watch list' - AOL News

Guest Blogger: Brooke Anne Wellman

As a white person, it is difficult to write about racism claiming any sort of moral high ground, but not to talk about it is a deep moral error.

I have heard people of color say that in these kinds of conversations, they often find themselves doing most of the work to educate white people. Either that, or feeling like they have to lighten the mood and keep their real thoughts shut up inside so as not to bruise the egos of their white friends. This is evidence of the term, white fragility, which describes the way in which many white people are reluctant to engage in discussions about race for fear of getting corrected in their ignorance or even worse, appearing racist.

In younger years I found myself deep in the mud of these blunders, saying things like, I dont see color. Though my heart may have been loving, my method was perpetuating a cultural erasure of seeing the truth of black culture. And it is this kind of mentality that inflicts deep wounds into the psyche of black culture again and again. And when one is not seen, what does that do to what one believes about themselves and about what God desires for them? We as white people must look and see what we have done and what is still being done. We as white Christians must face the unveiling of any actions that are contrary to the heart of God and we must stand against them.

In reading Karen Baker-Fletchers Dancing with God,she quotes Mamie Till, whose son Emmett was brutally murdered for false accusations of flirting with a white girl. Mamie called for the world to face the facts of this unjust horror, crying, Look!See!Get delivered of your demons and look! As white people, what makes us not want to look, to look at the marred bodies and blood, to look at things weve perpetuated?

Multicultural scholar, Robin DiAngelo, focuses on racial bigotry among white progressives, whom she calls her most difficult audience. Difficult because of their self-perception that they are already aware and informed and engaged. When interviewed by the Seattle Times for an article entitled Lets Talk About Race, DiAngelo argues, Even if you marched in the 60s, you are not certified racism-free for the rest of your life. For many whites, she continues, being a good moral person and being complicit with racism are mutually exclusive.

White fragility remains because whites dont have to talk about racism; our jobs, our safety and our lives do not depend on it. White people are the ones who have allowed systemic racism to continue. As I have heard it said, racism is a white people issue. And because we have not been traumatized by it, we do not have to grieve it and because of this, it continues and people of color are victims because or our lack of awareness.

The history of racism against blacks casts a long shadow over their lives. During the days of slavery there were different types of preaching within the black church. Some focused on the liberation of the spirit and others prophesied for liberation from the systems of racism. The story of Nat Turner illustrates how a southern black slave and preacher moved from preaching salvation of the soul to the salvation from chains of slavery that crushed everyone around him in spirit and in body.

In Turners early days of preaching, he attempted to encourage his people with the hope of glory and the sweet by and by of heaven to come. But as he saw and experienced the horrors of slavery and how his brothers and sisters were tortured, both body and soul, he knew that salvation meant not only freedom in spirit but freedom from domination. For the oppressed to be free, they must not only hear mercy but must know justice. One without the other lacks the full power that the gospel demands.

In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr., knew his people may be free in spirit, but they still lacked economic opportunity. In his last days he prepared to lead The Poor Peoples March in a protest against Washington. As whites too often we only hear Kings cry for mercy but his final challenge was for justice, for economic opportunity for his people, for all people. To be free in spirit and in body.

The Poor Peoples March demanded economic human rights for poor Americans of all backgrounds. Three thousand people camped out on the Washington Mall for six weeks that spring to stand for the right that all people should have what they need in order to live. In his last years,King focused more and more on issues of poverty and human rights for everyone, in the U.S. and around the world. His non-violent resistance demanded equality for all people, and sought to overcome systemic elements of injustice wherever it was found. For King, and for us, it is not enough to have a theology that all are equal. The soul may be free but if unjust social and economic structures remain there is no true transformation.

To be sure, in the time of slavery, justice was a dream and paradise the only hope. And slaves, having been beat into a brainwashed slave-consciousness cowered in terrible submission. Nonetheless the deep sense of injustice would cause many to rise up. Nat Turner and his band of revolutionaries stood on the truth that the gospel promised liberation now. They could not just promise heaven, without also preaching deliverance from the chains of their hell.

So too, if whites today are merely preaching the hope of heaven and glory days to come, but failing to preach and stand for liberation for the oppressed here on earth, their gospel is empty and becomes an excuse not to do the hard work of justice.If the church today is not standing in the pulpit calling out that Black lives matter, and speaking out against racial oppression and injustice in the here and now, they are missing the heart of Jesus, who taught us to pray, May Your Kingdom come, your will be done, onearthas it is in heaven.

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Do Black Lives Matter to the Church? - Patheos (blog)

Black Lives Matter Cities Hit 90's Level Murder Rates FrontPage Magazine The big 4 all have a sizable Black Lives Matter presence with the accompanying Ferguson Effect of intimidating police officers into inaction. Obama and pro-crime activists trashed Baltimore. Chicago's entanglement of gangs and politics is especially toxic.

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Black Lives Matter Cities Hit 90's Level Murder Rates - FrontPage Magazine

by: Greg Coy Updated: Feb 20, 2017 - 8:01 PM

Memphis, TN - FOX13 Investigates has learned Memphis Police engaged in political surveillance of protesters connected to Black Lives Matter.

Several law enforcement sources told us the intelligence collected helped to create the so called watch list at Memphis City Hall.

The intelligence gathered included vital information such as date of birth, height and weight. Protesters told us MPD got the information through surveillance.

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For example, cell phone video recorded and posted on the Facebook page of Keedran "TN" Franklin shows Memphis Police outside his union headquarters.

It was posted on to his Facebook page on February 6th.

Union organizer Antonio Cathey told us protesters have been under surveillance by Memphis Police.

"Sometimes they sit outside our offices, sometimes they sit outside our house." Asked whothey were. Cathey replied "the police."

Local minister and peace activist Elaine Blanchard was surprised to find her name on the list that doesn't allow people inside city hall without an escort.

Blanchard's only connection to the Black Lives Matter protests was when she crossed the barricade without problem during the Graceland protests last year.

The list had information about Blanchard that she doesn't readily share.

"My weight was on this list. I am curious to know where did the mayor's office and the police department get my weight."

Law enforcement sources told FOX13 Investigates police began gathering information on Blanchard after the protest at Graceland.

Cathey for his involvement at both the Graceland demonstration and the one at the bridge.

FOX13 caught up with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland at and event downtown.

We asked him about allegations that his police department had engaged in political surveillanceNow that's a separate issue from the list. I've asked the police director to review the procedure with respect to the list" said Mayor Strickland.

Sources said the lawyers for the Memphis Police Department and the City of Memphis conferred regularly to make sure they didn't violate a federal agreement that states the Memphis and City of Memphis do not engage in political intelligence.

FOX13 asked the mayor if he had any knowledge of meetings between the lawyers representing both the City and the MPD.

"All the more reason I have asked the trusted police director to review the situation," The mayor told FOX13 the list was developed in response to the early morning protest outside his home in January that left him angry and his family shaken.

The front page of the list includes legal language forbidding a certain number of people from being on his property.

The police used that criteria to develop the list to keep people away from his home.

He claims the notation on the top of the page with the hand writing that reads " also have to be escorted while in city hall" was written by MPD Lt. Albert Bonner and the mayor was unaware until the media requested the document in an open records request.

2017 Cox Media Group.

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FOX13 Investigates: Secret surveillance of Black Lives Matter protesters - FOX13 Memphis

Robin Bridges, Managing Editor February 21, 2017 Filed under Arts & Life, Book Reviews

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The police-involved shooting of 19-year-old Timothy Thomas in April 2001, sparked days of riots and protests in Cincinnati, OH. The riots occurred specifically in and around the predominantly poor black neighborhood of Over-The-Rhine.

Six Days in Cincinnati: A Graphic Account of the Riots that Shook the Nation a Decade Before Black Lives Matter is a graphic-journalist account by Daniel Moore. The book tells the story of the days before and after the civil unrest that resulted from the shooting of Timothy Thomas.

The second release of the limited print book is set to hit shelves in June 2017. The book was first printed in 2002 with the title Mark Twain Was Right. That title was taken from an unknown protesters sign that read, Mark Twain was right; Rodney King 1991; Timothy Thomas 2001.

The sign refers to the quote attributed to Mark Twain in which he said, If the world comes to an end, I want to be in Cincinnati. Everything comes there 10 years later.

The book is pulled straight from the headlines of that fatal day, featuring a new personal testimony to map out each day. Moore mixes his own experience living in the area with these testimonies to create a comic that lays the foundation for the events of those six days.

For those unfamiliar with the 2001 riots, the book can be hard to follow. This works to the books advantage. News surrounding police-involved shootings and subsequent protests can also be hard to follow.

To the same end, the book references similar police-involved deaths which add to the convoluted nature of the book.

I would recommend the book to anyone. Its a great graphic representation of events leading up to the riots and a perfect example of some of the events that led to the formation of the Black Lives Matter movement.

For me, the book was not my cup of tea, but it provides a learning tool and introduction for understanding and growth.

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Before Black Lives Matter, Six Days in Cincinnati: A Review - The Independent