Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) is sharing her experience fighting for racial justice and protesting against police brutality.
In an op-ed she wrote for the Los Angeles Times, Waters made it clear she is “not new to protest and I am not new to challenge and confrontation.”
She mentioned the murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and called it “a shocking and disturbing experience for so many people.”
Waters explained, “Many of those who joined in the sustained protests last summer did so for the first time because of what happened to George Floyd and were motivated by their newfound understanding of the pain Black people endure in this country.”
Noting the killings of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, and Daunte Wright, Waters said, “I have been an activist participating in the civil rights movement and I have dealt with the issue of police abuse for many decades.”
When discussing the protest she attended recently, Waters mentioned her message to protesters that landed her in hot water, “We got to stay on the street. And we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational.”
She added, “Now, because of who I am, the right wing and members of Congress who subscribe to the views of groups like QAnon, the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys and the KKK have targeted me.”
Waters accused those criticizing her for her comments of diverting attention from “the fact that they aided and abetted a violent, domestic terrorist insurrection led by Donald Trump.”
Touching on accusations suggesting she is violent, Waters said, “I am nonviolent.”
The Democrat wrote she is “hopeful” police chiefs will assume more responsibility and “city councils and mayors who oversee police budgets will understand that they can no longer let their fear of police unions and losing elections stop them from moving us toward a better future.”
She concluded, “I am hopeful that the police killings of Black people can be stopped.”
