BLM and the First Amendment

 

"BLACK LIVES MATTER"

It's a chant. It's a movement. It's a plea to all those who think otherwise. 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The First Amendment. One of the most important amendments in the U.S. Constitution, and one that should embody what America stands for as the "land of the free". 

The relationship between that of the BLM protests and that of the First Amendment is one of distrusts in my eyes, time and time again we, the black community, take to the streets and march and protest against a system that kills hundreds of us each year. And yet despite the fact that peaceful protest are protected under the rights of the First Amendment, time and time again we watch as protesters are fired upon and attacked. There's a point where we must ask ourselves if the First Amendment can't protect us, then must we protect ourselves? In this regard, the formation of groups such as the Black Panther Party, who were armed African Americans that conducted organized armed citizen patrols in an attempt to protect the black community from those who would do us harm. With that being said, I realize that looting and rioting is entirely different than protesting and I do not support, defend, or condone such actions as those are criminal acts.