Black Lives Matter targets Democrats and GOP

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has referred to “systemic racism” in the criminal justice. She would know. Former President Bill Clinton helped to mold the shape of our modern criminal justice system in the 1990s. Still, her choice of words reflects a growing influence by the Black Lives Matter movement in the Democratic presidential race.

This influence, of course, does not extend to Republican presidential contenders. Leading candidates vying for the Republican nomination will only hug our criminal justice system that much tighter and offer rhetoric that flies in the face of protest mantras. GOP frontrunner Donald Trump says it is police officers who are “the most mistreated people in this country.” Trump. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas says Black Lives Matter protesters have been “celebrating the murder of police officers,” referring to the deaths of NYPD officers in 2015.

So why have Democrats also been the targets of Black Lives Matter protests? Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont had his stage commandeered by black activists last summer and a Clinton event was interrupted during a speech in November. Part of the reason might be that Democrats have played major roles in building a criminal justice system activists say crushes black lives. Democrats helped fund the expansion of police forces and the creation of more prisons. But might there be a long term political strategy?

It’s important to note that the actions and protests across the country are not products of one monolithic group or organization. As with many social justice movements, the efforts are not centralized but rather share an overarching set of values, what many observers simply label Black Lives Matter. With sharper and more specific demands than the whiter, Sanders-friendly Occupy movement, today’s crop of young black activists want things like an end to broken windows policing, consequences for cops who kill unarmed citizens and funding geared toward building futures for black communities.

There are internal questions over strategy at Black Lives Matter. Why participate, and risk legitimizing, electoral politics? While the civil rights era of the 1960s focused on these sorts of politics — pushing for legislative change and valuing the power of the black vote — today’s movement seems bigger than an election or candidate. Marching, protesting and shutting down traffic has its purpose. But if affecting political change is the goal, then where does one channel a national frustration? Meeting and talking with candidates, as some activists have done, seems a very pedestrian and traditional route.

There are other ways to pressure politicians. After the campaign promises and primary seasons are behind us, a politician can still be held accountable. Take the recent actions of a black protester during the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington D.C. Jumping in front of the mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a woman held a sign referring to the police shooting death of Laquan McDonald and asking that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel step down. McDonald was black tennager who was shot 16 times by a Chicago police officer. Video of the shooting was not released for a year, and only after a court ordered that the material be released.

Targeting the machinations of political power, like a conference of American mayors, appears to be a merging of the disruptive means of a protest with a political goal. In the case of McDonald, the goal is Emanuel’s job. Many, including even those on the right, could appreciate that. Throw the bums out. An aggressive political strategy that goes after public officials in power could catch on. Emanuel’s resignation could send a clear message to other parts of the political establishment: There are consequences for your actions.

Josmar Trujillo is a trainer, writer and activist with the Coalition to End Broken Windows.