Taylore Norwood is a 20-year-old Chicago activist. She’s best known as one of the faces of of GoodKids MadCity, a Chicago-based group that, according to its Facebook page, is about “Black and Brown young people united in fighting to end violence in our cities.” She’s testified before Congress about ending that violence.
And she’s now been spotted in a clip saying that if Chicago residents don’t listen to her, they “can get ran over.”
The clip was posted to Twitter by Grabien’s Tom Elliott on Saturday. It was unclear from Elliott’s tweet when the clip was taken or who was in it, only that he claimed, apparently incorrectly, that it was a Black Lives Matter activist.
However, part of Norwood’s oration was briefly quoted in a Chicago Tribune story about an impromptu news conference held outside of the Wentworth District police station on Aug. 16, which called for demonstrators who were being held by police to be released and to have their charges dropped. That article also made it clear that Norwood was with GoodKids MadCity, a completely different group. There was no mention of Black Lives Matter Chicago.
Also, guess what wasn’t mentioned? The part about how those who don’t listen “can get ran over.”
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During her remarks, Norwood claimed that “three of my sisters, my friends, have been arrested and brutalized by the Chicago Police Department.”
She went on to say that liberal Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had “said nothing about it.”
“Our black, gay mayor is not protecting the women in this city,” she continued. “I have a personal problem with that.”
WMAQ-TV reported that the protests the night before, which were focused (among other things) on demands to abolish Immigrations and Customs Enforcement as well as defunding the Chicago Police Department, had turned violent.
Do you think this was a direct threat of violence?
Twenty-four were arrested, four on felony charges.
To Norwood, this was a problem, inasmuch as it would take voting rights from those who were convicted of felonies — for those arrested here and during other protests.
“You can’t just throw felonies on somebody for speaking their mind,” Norwood said.
“Shaundric [Mann, an activist] has not been processed, he has not been released, we’ve been here for 12-plus hours and [Mayor Lightfoot] still has said nothing, nothing to the community, nothing to the black organizers who were brutalized. We haven’t heard anything.”
WARNING: The following video contains graphic language that some viewers will find offensive.
.#BlackLivesMatter activist in Chicago: “We have demands and they need to be met … we’re not asking you anything. We’re telling you what’s about to happen with your permission or not. … You can listen to us or you can get ran over.” pic.twitter.com/yEXFT4LOv9
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 22, 2020
“This is our city, our city, and we’re taking this s— back. Point back. Period. End of discussion,” Norwood said.
“We have demands and they need to be met and I feel like I’ve been saying this too much.
“We’re not asking you anything. We’re telling you what’s about to happen with your permission or not,” she added. “You can listen to us or you can get ran over. And that’s all I have to say.”
Yes, well, that’s quite a lot to say.
There’s no evidence Norwood was with Black Lives Matter Chicago, which has gotten itself a whole lot of press lately. It’s rather doubtful that she was — given that had she been, this would have been foregrounded in the Tribune’s article.
Black Lives Chicago has been behind some of the city’s more dubious demonstrations. When they’re not actively behind them, they’re apologizing for them. The week prior to this, the group had organized another protest to free jailed demonstrators, with one leader claiming that looting was reparations.
That’s not me putting an inflammatory conservative spin on it, that’s actually what some Black Lives Matter Chicago members said.
“I don’t care if somebody decides to loot a Gucci or a Macy’s or a Nike, because that makes sure that that person eats. That makes sure that that person has clothes,” said Black Lives Matter Chicago organizer Ariel Atkins told reporters after looters pillaged the city’s Magnificent Mile area the night of Aug. 9 and 10.
“That is reparations. Anything they want to take, take it because these businesses have insurance.”
GoodKids MadCity, an organization named after a Kendrick Lamar album (which actually isn’t too bad), seems to be a bit more legit than that. And yet, here’s one of that group’s most visible organizers saying, “You can listen to us or you can get ran over.”
There are certainly metaphorical connotations you can pin on this, but not necessarily in the middle of a city that’s become a hotspot for some of America’s more violent demonstrations of late. This is inflammatory stuff.
As for their demands, what “protesters” are saying is that people who allegedly committed crimes need to be let out — or, you know, their supporters might commit crimes. They’re not saying that they would. But you know, they’re just saying.
No, police misconduct shouldn’t be tolerated. No, that’s not an excuse for violence. And no, the residents of Chicago don’t have to listen to Norwood’s demands or “get ran over.”
This should be an outrage. Now, it doesn’t even get reported on by the Chicago Tribune.
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