District Attorney Candidate Anne Swern‘s campaign today denied that an offshoot of the Black Lives Matter movement are nothing more than paid campaign volunteers forced to wear t-shirts reading ‘Black Lives Caucus’ (BLC).
About a dozen of the organization’s members showed up wearing these t-shirts at yesterday’s district attorney candidate’s forum at Mt. Pisgah Church, 212 Tompkins Avenue, in predominately black Bedford-Stuyvesant.
BLC was created last year as the political action arm of the nonprofit Black Lives Matter of Greater New York. Neither organization is affiliated with the national Black Lives Matter organization.
Several members at the forum that were wearing the t-shirts said Swern’s campaign was paying them to wear the t-shirts and canvas train stations and Brooklyn neighborhoods to vote for Swern, who is white, on Sept. 12.
BLC and Black Lives Matter of Greater New York Executive Director Hawk Newsome acknowledged that members were being paid, but said this is no different from workers being hired to canvas for all campaigns, and that union members often wear their union t-shirts when campaigning for candidates of their choice.
“People get paid to canvas and collect signatures for politicians. That’s how it works, but that doesn’t mean we don’t fully support Anne,” said Newsome.
Newsome noted that the BLC has backed candidates for various offices across the city. In Brooklyn, besides Swern, this includes Green Party Candidate Jabari Brisport, who is running to unseat 35th District City Councilmember Laurie Cumbo.
“In this campaign you have [acting district attorney] Eric Gonzalez bragging about programs that Anne created. We need a district attorney we trust and what better way to show support then to take to the streets for this person. Candidates come and go, but the ones we stand behind are those that represent us and our best interests,” said Newsome.
Swern campaign spokesperson Michael Oliva denied the BLC and its members were paid to attend the forum last night. “They came because they are working very hard for Anne Swern, and are actively involved in her campaign day after day, and believe passionately in her candidacy,” he said.
Oliva said it was the BLC that first approached Anne Swern and not the other way around, because of Swern’s record on criminal justice issues.
“They respect that as a Brooklyn ADA she [Swern] tried and convicted a police officer who killed an unarmed black man in 1990, in a time where this issue was not at the forefront of the public’s mind and attaining a conviction against a police officer was almost unheard of,” said Oliva. “In light of the fact that three unarmed black men with mental illnesses were shot and killed by police officers this year, Anne’s record of implementing a mental health court in Brooklyn strongly resonated with them.”
But eyebrows were raised at the forum that Swern brought these “volunteers” to give the impression that Swern enjoys wide black support, and that she was exploiting the national Black Lives Matter movement.
“If true [that the BLC are only paid volunteers], that’s very disappointing,” said a spokesperson for DA Candidate Ama Dwimoh. “It is our hope that no campaign in this race would resort to misleading voters about their support–especially in such a disrespectful way.”
Members of the organization were also passing out palm cards at the forum with a photo of Swern in front of members wearing Black Lives Matters of Greater New York t-shirts swearing allegiance to her candidacy.
One photo had a quote from Newsome saying in part, “I’m voting for Anne Swern.” Newsome lives in the Bronx and can’t vote for the Brooklyn DA position.
“It’s true I can’t vote for Anne because I don’t live in Brooklyn, but I’m voting for her in spirit,” said Newsome.
