Greater New York Black Lives Matter leader Hawke Newsome made an appearance on Fox News Wednesday night and threatened to burn the country down if demands aren't met.
“If this country doesn’t give us what we want then we will burn down the system and replace it. All right. And I could be speaking figuratively, I could be speaking literally. It’s a matter of interpretation," Newsome said.
He then went on to argue that historically, violence is the way his community has been able to get results.
"Like, let’s be very real and observe the history of the 1960s. When black people were rioting, we had the highest growth and wealth and property ownership. Think about the last few weeks. Since you started protesting there have been eight cops fired across the country. Remember they were telling us that there was due process? That’s why the cop that choked Eric Garner to death kept his job and received raises for five years. Anytime a cop hurt a woman, hurt a child, hurt pregnant people, hurt our elders, there was always a call for due process. You must wait, you must wait, but the moment people start destroying property, now cops can be fired automatically. What is this country rewarding? What behavior is it listening to? Obviously not marching. But when people get aggressive and they escalate their protests, cops get fired. Now, you have police officers and Republican politicians talking about police reform. I don’t condone nor do I condemn rioting but I’m just telling what I observed.”
In recent weeks, cities across the country have experienced extensive rioting, looting and burning of property. The majority of businesses that have been destroyed belong to black owners.
