During his speech at the Republican National Convention Monday night, Sheriff David Clarke said the Black Lives Matter movement was anarchy.
Talk show host Tavis Smiley was asked by reporters how he felt about Clarke’s statements, to which he said “if the Black Lives Matters movement is anarchy, as Clarke said in his speech, then the Boston Tea Party was too, reports MSNBC.
“But we wouldn’t be here without it,” he added. Also noting that, “It is always easy to find these sort of political sycophants who are willing to stand up and advance these sort of simple slogans and rosy rhetoric but can’t get to a real conversation about what’s at stake here. What’s at stake here is not just the lives of cops. And there’s no one in the country who doesn’t believe that blue lives matter, indeed they do. The question is when do we get around to appreciating, to valuing the sanctity, the humanity, and the dignity of black life? That’s what’s at the stake.”
Smiley went on to say that is the reason as to why Black Lives Matter is protesting and that ultimately Clarke is “scapegoating” because he does not want to address the issue at hand.
“Again, I repeat, it’s about the humanity, and the dignity, and the sanctity of black life,” Smiley said.