Going out to the streets to support Black Lives Matter isn’t enough anymore. If you’re white and want to remain in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) in Seattle, you should also share your money with black people.
“I want you to give $10 to one African-American person from this autonomous zone,” a speaker was filmed telling the crowd inside CHAZ, a police-free area in downtown Seattle created one week ago by people protesting the death of African American man George Floyd during his arrest.
The person argued that this is a chance for white people to prove their support the movement. “If you have a hard time giving up $10 dollars, you got to think about are you really down with this struggle? Are you really down with the movement? Because if this is a challenge for you, I’m not sure you’re in the right place,” he said.
“White people, I see every single one of you and I remember your faces,” the speaker added in a manner that made it difficult to tell if it was a joke or a threat. The idea was met with rather weak applause, mainly from the black protesters, while their counterparts seemed rather confused.
Also on rt.com People ‘are just enjoying themselves’: Get insight into life in Seattle's ‘autonomous zone’ (VIDEO)The idea is not completely new. Reparations for slavery have been discussed in the media and academic circles, especially in the past year or so, and have been called for by activists for decades, though no one has found a way to implement the idea. A 2016 Marist poll found that 58 percent of African Americans and 15 percent of whites believed reparations should be made. The issue returned to the headlines with the protests over George Floyd’s killing. Robert L. Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, put the amount due at $14 trillion.
There have also been reports about white people giving cash to African American people out of the blue on social media and in the news.
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