The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday gave its blessing to two of the most prominent activist groups associated with the Black Lives Matter protest movement, the #BlackLivesMatter network and Campaign Zero, to host a Presidential town hall focused on issues of racial justice, but stood firm in its stance that there will be no additional debates on the 2016 campaign schedule.
In letters addressed to leaders of the #BlackLivesMatter network and prominent activist DeRay Mckesson, the DNC invited the activist groups to coordinate and host a Presidential town hall similar to those currently being planned by some state-level Democratic parties and some liberal groups including MoveOn.org.
"We believe that your organization would be an ideal host for a Presidential candidate forum, where all of the Democratic candidates can showcase their ideas and policy positions that will expand opportunity for all, strengthen the middle class and address racism in America," wrote Amy K. Dacey, Chief Executive Officer of the DNC. "The DNC would be happy to help promote the event."
In an interview on Wednesday, Black Lives Matter organizer Elle Hearns said the umbrella group had yet to decide if it would proceed with an attempt to host a town hall.
Activists, many of whom were politically unaffiliated prior to the current protest movement, continue to grapple with how to best influence the ongoing Presidential campaign. While many of the most prominent activists and organizers have gained national followings, and most of the leading Presidential campaigns, especially in the Democratic field, have worked to ensure they remain in the movement's good graces.
An official at Twitter confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the company is currently discussing the possibility of working on hosting a Presidential townhall.
Top Twitter executives have taken pride in the fact that the platform is credited as one of the driving factors in the growth of the protest movement. Earlier on Wednesday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey mentioned specifically mentioned the spread of the Black Lives Matter hashtag on Twitter. "Twitter stands for speaking truth to power, and we see this every single day around the world," Dorsey said during a speech at the company's 'Flight' conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. "Most recently, with the community and hashtag #BlackLivesMatter."
The activists' response highlights differing tactics of two of the many factions of the ongoing Black Lives Matter protest movement. Activists with the #BlackLivesMatter umbrella group, which has dozens of chapters, have been among those most often picketing and interrupting candidates on the stump. Mckesson and his colleagues at Campaign Zero, a group that is not formally affiliated with #BlackLivesMatter, have opted instead for sit-down meetings with many of the candidates, and earlier this year released a set of detailed proposals with regard to policing policy.
Brittany Packnett, another organizer with Campaign Zero and a member of President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, called the prospect of a townhall exciting, in part because it would allow activists groups more flexibility and creativity to press candidates on the issues than a highly-regulated debate would.
"The lessons of history are clear, and instructive for us right now. It is both protest and policy work that will get us the win, and we need every single possible strategy at our disposal in order to see real change," Packnett said. "So I think we have an opportunity to be creative here in how we engage presidential candidates in the same way that our movement has been creative in how we have protested and created peaceful but necessary disruption around the country."
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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