The co-founder of Black Lives Matter Chicago has rejected an invitation from the White House to meet with President Obama and a group of Civil Rights leaders. The meeting, billed by the White House as a first-of-its kind gathering, was referred to as a “sham” by Activist Aislinn Pulley.
In an op-ed that appeared on Truth-Out, Pulley writes that she “respectfully declined the invitation to the White House to discuss criminal legal reform and to celebrate Black History Month. I was under the impression that a meeting was being organized to facilitate a genuine exchange on the matters facing millions of Black and Brown people in the United States. Instead, what was arranged was basically a photo opportunity and a 90-second sound bite for the president. I could not, with any integrity, participate in such a sham that would only serve to legitimize the false narrative that the government is working to end police brutality and the institutional racism that fuels it.”
Read more at TIME.
