Black activists say Jan. 6 insurrection was part of white supremacist playbook

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January 6, 2022

By Jessica Floyd, The Grio

EXCLUSIVE: Voting rights advocates connect Capitol attack to racial riots throughout history that sought a common goal to strike fear in Black voters and anyone who validated their political power.

LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter received a call from the Federal Bureau of Investigations on Jan. 6, 2021 notifying her of credible threats against her life.

She evacuated her home in Georgia that day. Miles away in Washington, D.C., federal lawmakers took cover and hid from an assault on the U.S. Capitol building.

“[My co-founder] Cliff and I had to move our families from our homes and go stay at safe houses for 10 days,” Brown exclusively told theGrio. “On January 6, you know, not only were we witnessing an attack on the Capitol, we were also dealing with the fact of our own safety issues.”

Co-founder Black Voters Matter LaTosha Brown speaks as other voting rights activists listen during a “Rally for D.C. Statehood,” the last stop of BVM’s “Freedom Ride for Voting Rights” bus tour, at the National Mall June 26, 2021 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Brown and other voting rights advocates pin the violence that unfolded on Jan. 6 on white supremacists. Additionally, the proponents of voting rights connect the riot at the Capitol to racial riots throughout history that sought a common goal: to strike fear in Black voters and anyone who validated their political power.

Read the full article here.

Learn more about the January 6, 2021 Capitol building riot here and here.

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