Black Brunch

In a piece for the Youngist, writer Muna Mire says, “The war on Black life is uncomfortable. We just won’t be quiet about it anymore.”

In case you missed it blow up on Twitter and the right-wing blog circuit, Black Brunch is a direct action tactic that was born from a West Coast collective of community members, students, organizers, and artists. The tactic involves a group of people interrupting business as usual at upscale restaurants during brunch (for no more than 5 minutes) to announce that every 28 hours — according to the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement — a Black life is taken by police or extrajudicial killing. Activists call out the names of fallen Black comrades, chanting ashe in affirmation with each name. Brunchgoers are then asked to stand in solidarity with the movement to end the war on Black life.

The idea behind Black Brunch is to target those who can afford to avert their gaze, bringing the struggle for racial justice to the table, literally, so that it’s impossible to ignore. Brunch is the hallowed tradition of the affluent, the comfortable, and often those with enough white privilege to insulate them from the struggle to end the war of on Black life in America. This is true on both the right and the left. In typical fashion, pundits with no credible connection to the movement or interest in racial justice have decried the label of “whiteness” being applied to high end commercial brunch establishments. It’s divisive, it’s rude, these people didn’t do anything to you. Why are you interrupting the Sunday meals of people who might, just might, be on your side? It’s racist.

Read more at the Youngist

Photo: Black Brunch NYC/Twitter