@BillRM,
Quote:
http://www.fox8live.com/story/31267487/black-lives-matter-moves-meeting-after-dispute-with-library
Black Lives Matter Nashville will no longer host meetings at the north branch of the Nashville Public Library, and members said white supremacy is to blame.
Nashville Library spokeswoman Andrea Fanta said after a patron complained that the Black Lives Matter Nashville meeting planned for Saturday might be exclusionary, the library spoke with the group.
Library officials told the group that if it holds a meeting at a public space such as the library, it has to be open to everyone.
“It really goes back to our values as a part of Metro government and our values as a library which is to be free to all, open to all and welcoming to all," Fanta said.
Because of that rule, Black Lives Matter Nashville decided to change locations for the meeting.
A post on the Black Lives Matter Nashville Facebook page said their next meeting had been relocated to Dixon Memorial United Methodist Church because of “white supremacy in our local government.”
“We’ve been meeting regularly and then one person, I assume white person, felt excluded and complained and we were kicked out," said Black Lives Matter member Joshua Crutchfield. "I definitely think it is a result of white supremacy."
Black Lives Matter Nashville issued the following statement:
After several months of meeting at the North Branch library, on Wednesday (2/19), the Nashville Chapter of Black Lives Matter was contacted through email and by phone that library administrators received complaints regarding BLM’s policy of general meetings being open to black and non-black people of color only. Although meeting rooms are available to local organizations for use of a “cultural” nature, we were informed that “due to the library policy of open meetings for meeting room use,” all future meetings held at the library would be cancelled.” Ironically, all cancelled dates were in February during Black History Month. The Nashville Chapter of BLM has this policy in place to center the voices and experiences of people of color that have historically been excluded or segregated within supposedly public spaces. Black and/or people of color only spaces are often questioned and viewed with suspicion, though there is seldom any interrogation of white-only board rooms and staffs. However, we view these spaces as integral to healing and community building, particularly to those who have experienced racialized violence and ardently maintain this policy as imperative to the work and mission of BLM. We understand and even honor the importance of the library as an invaluable site of accessible information, community events, and safe space, often especially for disenfranchised people without homes and people of color, but if it cannot or will not support our values we will continue to meet elsewhere.
Crutchfield said the group welcomes people of all races to join the movement, but not the meetings.
"In our space, we really don’t have that time to deconstruct the ways in which white people can help our movement. It really is a time dedicated to healing and community building among black people and people of color," Crutchfield said.
Copyright 2016 WSMV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
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