BLM BBQ

(http://bb4sp.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/071916_bbq-700x525.jpg)

The Black Lives Matter protesters and the Wichita Police Department met on the grass of the Wichita Park, and the sound of the commotion echoed for blocks. These were not the noises of violence and vitriol, as many of us have become all too common with. No, instead the streets were filled with the sounds of music, laughter and the smell of cooked meats.

On July 18th, the Wichita Police Department and the local Black Lives Matter advocates had a Barbecue to mend recent events, enjoy the weather and most importantly; talk about their future together. According to local Black Lives Matter Chapter Leader A.J Bohannon, “It was everything I hoped for…” when organizing an event with the local police department. “We can get on the same page and say those things that are in Baton Rouge don’t trickle over into Wichita, Kansas. My heart goes out to the families, those officers in Baton Rouge, but I think the fact that that did happen makes this event more meaningful. I definitely think this is a start for this community and I definitely want to keep it going.”

Earlier that same day, three police officers in Baton Rouge were gunned down by African Americans yet almost a thousand people came to an event that was open to all. The ‘First Steps Cookout’, as it has come to be known, also included a panel in which the town could talk about it’s future. In said talk, the two groups came to compromises on issues like body cameras, bribery and violence.

Local Pastor, Father T. Lamont Holt, called it, “[a] model that the nation should follow.” However, not everyone feels that way, and some of the dissenting voices come from an unlikely place. According to the Black Lives Matter DC chapter’s Twitter page, “THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL #blacklivesmatter CHAPTER! THIS IS NOT IN LINE WITH OUR PRINCIPALS!”

The Black Lives Matter DC’s reasoning behind this response is fairly significant. “First, we clarified it wasn’t a BLM Network event,” the Twitter account responded to onlookers, “Second, we assured folks our principals were still focused on dismantling the system.” According to said tweet, the Black Lives Matter movement centered in DC (though not necessarily nationwide) seeks to completely overhaul the current US Law Enforcement system rather than slowly reform it. This barbecue was, in their eyes, akin to discussing the prospect of chemotherapy at the reading of a will.

In the eyes of many Americans, including mine, this meet and eat was a step in the right direction.