Black Lives Matter leader declares war on police (original) (raw)

A Black Lives Matter leader has declared war on the police and plans to release a blueprint for change that involves Black Panther style armed 'patrols' monitoring the behavior of officers on the streets, DailyMailTV can reveal.

Hawk Newsome, Chairman of BLM's Greater New York chapter, says the black rights group is 'mobilizing' its base and aims to develop a highly-trained 'military' arm to challenge police brutality head on.

In an exclusive interview, Newsome says the BLM movement has marched for years to wake people up to the realities of police brutality and oppression.

And he believes that since the tragic death of George Floyd - who died after his neck was pinned under the knee of white police officer Derek Chauvin during an arrest on Memorial Day in Minneapolis - people have finally awoken.

'It's our obligation, it is our duty to provide people with a pathway forward,' he said.

In an exclusive interview, Newsome says the BLM movement has marched for years to wake people up to the realities of police brutality and oppression. And he believes that since the tragic death of George Floyd - who died after his neck was pinned under the knee of white police officer Derek Chauvin during an arrest on Memorial Day in Minneapolis - people have finally awoken. Pictured: Protesters for Floyd in New York City on Tuesday

Newsome said: 'We want liberation. We want the power to determine our own destiny. We want freedom from an oppressive government, and we want the immediate end of government sanctioned murder by the police. And we prepare to stop these government sanctioned murders by any means necessary. We are preparing and training our people to defend our communities'

'We want liberation. We want the power to determine our own destiny. We want freedom from an oppressive government, and we want the immediate end of government sanctioned murder by the police.

'And we prepare to stop these government sanctioned murders by any means necessary.

'We are preparing and training our people to defend our communities.'

The bold and potentially inflammatory statement will likely infuriate those who have grown angry with days of BLM protests that have sparked violence and destruction across America.

Newsome is currently in Los Angeles - a city devastated by rioting this past few days - where he held a think tank attended by members of the BLM Greater New York leadership and 'military advisors'.

The meeting was held at the offices of NCredible Entertainment, owned by actor and musician Nick Cannon, a fervent BLM supporter who also attended.

In a conference room at the trendy compound in Burbank, Newsome said the group hammered out details of the 'Black Opts' blueprint - which stands for Black Opportunities - a new direction he hopes will be the beginning of the liberation of black people.

Black Lives Matter has tens of thousands of activists protesting the death of George Floyd in dozens of cities around America and across the world.

And BLM's Greater New York chapter has emerged at the forefront of the movement as black rights become a topic for debate.

Newsome, 43, an imposing 6ft 6in, who wore shades and smoked a thick cigar for our photo shoot, believes his group can lead the 'war on police'.

Newsome is currently in Los Angeles - a city devastated by rioting this past few days - where he held a think tank attended by members of the BLM Greater New York leadership and 'military advisors'. The meeting was held at the offices of NCredible Entertainment, owned by actor and musician Nick Cannon (pictured together), a fervent BLM supporter who also attended

In a move reminiscent of the strategy adopted by the controversial Black Panther Party in the 1960s, Newsome said BLM will create 'Peace Officers' who will patrol black communities to challenge law enforcement and stop police brutality. Pictured: Two members of the Black Panther Party are met on the steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento on May 2, 1967

Founded in 1966 the Black Panther Party's core practice was its open carry armed citizens' patrols - known as cop watching - to monitor the behavior of officers of the Oakland Police Department and challenge police brutality in the city. Pictured: Khallid Mohammad, of New York representing the New Black Panther Party, left, waves to people along a route that the group armed with guns in Jasper, Texas on June 13, 1998

But members of the BPP were involved in a string of fatal firefights with police, while many others were convicted of assaulting dozens of police officers. Pictured: Members of the New Black Panthers carry their rifles through the streets of Jasper, Texas on June 27, 1998

However, the group emerged as one of the most influential black movement organizations of the late 1960s and at its height in 1970 it had 68 offices and thousands of members across America. Pictured: Armed members of the Black Panther Party leave the Capitol in Sacramento May 2, 1967

He says the police have waged war on black people for decades but his chapter is 'escalating' the battle.

'We're talking about self-defense. We're talking about defending our communities,' he explains. 'You know what it's like to see a taser pointed at a seven-year-old, you know what it's like to see a 67-year-old black woman... pepper sprayed and pushed to the ground?'

Newsome, wearing a black 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirt with beads and an Ethiopian religious cross pendant around his neck, said his group has military advisors on board to get the job done.

'We have black Special Forces officers advising us, and we will teach and train people in our communities, the Black Ops department of Black Opportunities,' he said.

'What we'll see is people put in place to defend our communities from police who will murder us and get away with it.'

Asked if the 'Peace Officers' would be armed and open carry their guns in the states that allow it, he said: 'Yes, absolutely.'

But members of the BPP were involved in a string of fatal firefights with police, while many others were convicted of assaulting dozens of police officers.

However, the group emerged as one of the most influential black movement organizations of the late 1960s and at its height in 1970 it had 68 offices and thousands of members across America.

Newsome, 43, an imposing 6ft 6in, who wore shades and smoked a thick cigar for our photo shoot, believes his group can lead the 'war on police'

The BPP also became synonymous with the Black Power symbol - a symbol displayed on a giant banner on the wall at Nick Cannon's offices, which Newsome posed for photos in front of

The BLM chapter chairman doesn't hide from the fact that his group's blueprint replicates some of the ideologies of the BPP. Pictured: Looters broke into Zara near the World Trade Center, Nordstrom Rack on 6th Avenue, fought with Guardian Angels at Foot Locker in the East Village and stores were also targeted in Soho again

The BPP also became synonymous with the Black Power symbol - a symbol displayed on a giant banner on the wall at Nick Cannon's offices, which Newsome posed for photos in front of.

The BLM chapter chairman doesn't hide from the fact that his group's blueprint replicates some of the ideologies of the BPP.

'We pattern ourselves after the Black Panthers, after the Nation of Islam, we believe that we need an arm to defend ourselves,' he says.

'We will build and train peace officers to keep the peace in our communities, to defend our communities, to keep our communities safe.

'I don't see us working with police. I see us policing ourselves. I see us teaching black people how to police their own communities.'

Newsome says his chapter is now raising a 'war chest' and plans to build a headquarters in an unused church in New York.

But while big money donations have been flooding in from celebrities and high worth individuals, he insists his group won't accept the 'corporate dollar'.

'We've never received a corporate dollar as Black Lives Matter, Greater New York,' he said. 'We've had an immense amount of support from Nick Cannon. We've had support recently from Rihanna and her Savage Fenty brand.

'But most of our donations are small dollar donations from regular people of all colors, who respect what we stand for.

'When we start talking about Black Opportunities and building our war chest to defend ourselves from the war on the poor... to defend ourselves against the war that is anti-blackness in America, then people will have to meet a certain criteria.'

Newsome says his chapter is now raising a 'war chest' and plans to build a headquarters in an unused church in New York. But while big money donations have been flooding in from celebrities and high worth individuals, he insists his group won't accept the 'corporate dollar'. Pictured: Peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators in Bryant Park NYC on Wednesday

A Black Lives Matter protester sits and holds a sign for change outside Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti's house in Los Angeles on Tuesday

Protesters leave the Manhattan Bridge after being stopped by police last night during an 8pm curfew which thousands ignored but which was followed by less rampant destruction than on previous days in New York City

Newsome says the blueprint also aims to ensure that the black community has fair housing, economic empowerment and wants to nurture entrepreneurship.

'We want freedom from oppression and we don't believe in equality, but we fight for equity and access,' he said.

The Bronx native, who recently returned from a trip to Minneapolis, also says education is key and he wants to teach people how to use the law as a tool.

'We want to teach knowledge to our people, teach them their history, which American textbooks omit; we want to teach them about the law,' he explained.

'We'll bring in kids and teach them and train them the way that the Black Panthers used to do.'

Newsome, wearing a black 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirt with beads and an Ethiopian religious cross pendant around his neck, said his group has military advisors on board to get the job done

Newsome says the organization also aims to feed the poor, put its people in positions of power to make a change for the better and push for new legislation in government.

But as rioting continues across the nation, Newsome refused to call for an end to the violence and looting.

Instead he believes the world needs to be more 'empathetic' towards the rioters.

'You're talking about people who have been told time and time again that their black lives don't matter,' he said.

'You're talking about a people who witnessed their peers and their family members incarcerated at unfair rates.

'You're looking at people who are miseducated and then to add insult to injury, the government allows police to come in and kill us and allow police officers to continuously get away with killing us. Any person would be outraged.'

Newsome said the looting is ultimately a product of capitalist America and its treatment of the black community.

'They want to go out and grab all those things that America told them that they should have, but they couldn't have,' he said.

'People are poor. People are desperate. People are frustrated. So what do you expect them to do? People want to destroy because they're angry and they're frustrated.'

He added: 'Black Lives Matter didn't create this violence. Black Lives Matter is a product of this violence. The rioters are the product of the violence.'

Newsome, who has a law degree and was a project manager at a law firm before becoming full-time activist, says Black Lives Matter Greater New York has risen to the point where it is one of the most effective BLM organizations in the world.

He described its president, 19-year-old Nupol Kiazolu, as the second most influential young activist behind Greta Thunberg.

BLM Greater New York's blueprint will be unveiled in Times Square, New York on Sunday at 12pm.

The document will be delivered to black communities across America.