Is violence a valid response to racial injustice?

This appeared in The Millennial Source

In the wake of the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and, most recently, Rayshard Brooks, there has been a diverse range of responses from protestors.

Many protests have been peaceful, especially as initial waves of anger hardened into resolve, but rioting, looting and destruction of community property have nevertheless been an aspect of the overall response.

Although BLM does have an official organization and leadership, in many ways it is an organic, community-driven movement that is gaining momentum — and garnering increased public acceptance — in response to documented cases of police violence against minorities, most particularly African Americans.

Policing the actions of protestors within a widespread movement fueled in large part by anger and resentment over repeated killings and economic and social inequalities might be unrealistic, but a number of BLM supporters and leadership members have openly suggested that violent tactics are justifiable aspects of their overall response.

In response to a question on violence within the movement from The New Yorker, Opal Tometi, one of the founders of BLM, said that while it was a…