Teh One Who Knocks
01-05-2015, 01:12 PM
By Sophie Jane Evans For Dailymail.com
Dozens of demonstrators today stormed restaurants and targeted white diners in New York and California as part of a 'Black Brunch' protest against alleged police violence.
Carrying banners, the chanting protesters entered a number of venues in New York City that they identified as 'white spaces', including midtown eateries: Lallisse, Maialino and Pershing Square.
Once inside, they 'disrupted' customers' meals by reading out the names of African-Americans killed by police, including Michael Brown, 17, who was shot dead by officer Darren Wilson last August.
Addressing staff and patrons, they shouted: 'Every 28 hours, a black person in America is killed by the police. These are our brothers and sisters. Today and every day, we honor their lives.'
http://i.imgur.com/LARNq7Z.png
In each restaurant, they also asked diners to stand and raise their fists in the air 'for black life', according to Yahoo! News. At several venues, 'a good number' of customers apparently did so.
Throughout the day, many of the three dozen protesters - who also targeted 'predominantly white' restaurants in Oakland, California - posted photos of the 'Black Brunch' demonstration online.
Alongside an image of protesters inside a New York restaurant, Sharmin Ultra, tweeted: 'We interrupt your brunch time to let you know there is a war on Black lives. We will not stay silent.'
Another, using the handle @telushk, wrote: 'We're asking brunchgoers to STAND for black life. A good number in the last spot stood or raised their fists. #blackbrunchnyc #BlackBrunch.'
http://i.imgur.com/l1Vnm4V.png
And LA Times reporter Lee Romney uploaded a photo of protesters clapping and chanting inside Forge restaurant in Franklin Street, Oakland, saying: 'Manager of Forge: 'I think it's beautiful'.'
This afternoon, the hashtag #BlackBrunch was trending in the U.S..
Although the demonstration has been largely peaceful - with no arrests made - there have been several reports of protesters getting into heated discussion with staff and customers.
And while many have applauded the nonviolent tactic online, other social media users have mocked it and some have even criticized it as 'pathetic' and 'ridiculous'.
http://i.imgur.com/5tUN63j.png
Twitter user Adam Bohn wrote: '#BlackBrunch Yet another example of childish, community organized tomfoolery under the guise of 'activism'. Grow up.'
Meanwhile, Bob Owens said: '#BlackBrunchNYC is the most desperate and pathetic cry for relevance I've seen in a long time.'
And a user called Ted joked: 'How dare folks go out for an omelette with friends and family on a Sunday! #BlackBrunchNYC #BlackBrunch.'
According to protester Camila ibanez, Belgian restaurant Resto in New York City tried to silence the demonstration by raising the volume of the venue's music.
http://i.imgur.com/tvpJmCd.png
The protest comes just months after police killings of unarmed teenager Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and 43-year-old father Eric Garner on Staten Island sparked nationwide demonstrations.
The rage of demonstrators was then further ignited in November when two grand juries chose not to indict the officers responsible for Brown and Garner's deaths - Wilson and officer Daniel Pantaleo.
On December 20 last year, gunman Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley, 28, shot dead two officers in the line of duty in Brooklyn, New York, before committing suicide at a nearby subway station.
Earlier in the day, Brinsley had posted a photo of a gun on Instagram, with the caption: 'I'm putting wings on pigs today. They Take 1 Of Ours... Let's Take 2 of Theirs #ShootThePolice #RIPErivGardner #RIPMikeBrown… This May Be My Final Post. I'm Putting Pigs In A Blanket.'
This morning, tens of thousands of officers from across teh country lined the streets of Brooklyn for the funeral of one of the two deceased cops - Wenjian Liu - who emigrated from China aged 12.
Dozens of demonstrators today stormed restaurants and targeted white diners in New York and California as part of a 'Black Brunch' protest against alleged police violence.
Carrying banners, the chanting protesters entered a number of venues in New York City that they identified as 'white spaces', including midtown eateries: Lallisse, Maialino and Pershing Square.
Once inside, they 'disrupted' customers' meals by reading out the names of African-Americans killed by police, including Michael Brown, 17, who was shot dead by officer Darren Wilson last August.
Addressing staff and patrons, they shouted: 'Every 28 hours, a black person in America is killed by the police. These are our brothers and sisters. Today and every day, we honor their lives.'
http://i.imgur.com/LARNq7Z.png
In each restaurant, they also asked diners to stand and raise their fists in the air 'for black life', according to Yahoo! News. At several venues, 'a good number' of customers apparently did so.
Throughout the day, many of the three dozen protesters - who also targeted 'predominantly white' restaurants in Oakland, California - posted photos of the 'Black Brunch' demonstration online.
Alongside an image of protesters inside a New York restaurant, Sharmin Ultra, tweeted: 'We interrupt your brunch time to let you know there is a war on Black lives. We will not stay silent.'
Another, using the handle @telushk, wrote: 'We're asking brunchgoers to STAND for black life. A good number in the last spot stood or raised their fists. #blackbrunchnyc #BlackBrunch.'
http://i.imgur.com/l1Vnm4V.png
And LA Times reporter Lee Romney uploaded a photo of protesters clapping and chanting inside Forge restaurant in Franklin Street, Oakland, saying: 'Manager of Forge: 'I think it's beautiful'.'
This afternoon, the hashtag #BlackBrunch was trending in the U.S..
Although the demonstration has been largely peaceful - with no arrests made - there have been several reports of protesters getting into heated discussion with staff and customers.
And while many have applauded the nonviolent tactic online, other social media users have mocked it and some have even criticized it as 'pathetic' and 'ridiculous'.
http://i.imgur.com/5tUN63j.png
Twitter user Adam Bohn wrote: '#BlackBrunch Yet another example of childish, community organized tomfoolery under the guise of 'activism'. Grow up.'
Meanwhile, Bob Owens said: '#BlackBrunchNYC is the most desperate and pathetic cry for relevance I've seen in a long time.'
And a user called Ted joked: 'How dare folks go out for an omelette with friends and family on a Sunday! #BlackBrunchNYC #BlackBrunch.'
According to protester Camila ibanez, Belgian restaurant Resto in New York City tried to silence the demonstration by raising the volume of the venue's music.
http://i.imgur.com/tvpJmCd.png
The protest comes just months after police killings of unarmed teenager Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and 43-year-old father Eric Garner on Staten Island sparked nationwide demonstrations.
The rage of demonstrators was then further ignited in November when two grand juries chose not to indict the officers responsible for Brown and Garner's deaths - Wilson and officer Daniel Pantaleo.
On December 20 last year, gunman Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley, 28, shot dead two officers in the line of duty in Brooklyn, New York, before committing suicide at a nearby subway station.
Earlier in the day, Brinsley had posted a photo of a gun on Instagram, with the caption: 'I'm putting wings on pigs today. They Take 1 Of Ours... Let's Take 2 of Theirs #ShootThePolice #RIPErivGardner #RIPMikeBrown… This May Be My Final Post. I'm Putting Pigs In A Blanket.'
This morning, tens of thousands of officers from across teh country lined the streets of Brooklyn for the funeral of one of the two deceased cops - Wenjian Liu - who emigrated from China aged 12.