"When predominately white insurgents stormed the US Capitol with nooses, Confederate flags, and other symbols of white supremacy, they faced virtually no opposition, experienced fewer than 60 arrests, and had the full-throated support of their President. Public outrage surged on progressive social media. ‘Imagine if they had been Black!’ pundits emailed, texted, posted, and tweeted, pointing yet again to the racialized double standard of policing and punishment in this country. But we need not imagine—we have a point of comparison. On June 1, 2020, nearly 6,000 law enforcement officers and National Guard helicopters were mobilized to descend on Washington, DC in response to a largely peaceful Black Lives Matter protest that never came close to the seats of Federal government. Over 300 people were arrested that night—a small percentage of the protesters jailed, beaten, or tear-gassed during 2020’s long, hot summer of protest."
Sara Clarke Kaplan, Executive Director,
Antiracist Research and Policy CenterAssociate Professor of Literature and Critical Race, Gender & Culture Studies