January 15, 2021
DES MOINES BLACK LIBERATION MOVEMENT CALLS FOR THE REMOVAL OF STATE SENATOR ZACH WHITING
On January 14, lowa Senator Zach Whiting of Spirit Lake spoke from the senate floor on a point of personal privilege, in which he compared non-violent racial justice advocates lobbying for expanding voting rights to the violent insurrection carried out by white supremacists on January 6 in Washington DC.
Senator Whiting commented that while BLM activists and their supporters were non-violently advocating for legislative change, "[We were] counting guns and bullets, cause we didn't know if we were gonna make it out or if we were gonna have to shoot our way out. Our capitol was under siege in June."
Contrary to his claims, the lowa State Capitol was not under siege. Approximately 30 DSM BLM supporters were present at the statehouse on June 10. This crowd was made up of majority students, young adults, parents and their children, some under the age of 5. This incident that Whiting describes is an exaggerated farce to say the least, empowered by his bold racism and general fear of Black people.
The counting of guns and bullets raises great concerns for our safety at the statehouse, and especially the safety of any Black people who may visit or lobby there. Our fear for our fellow freedom fighters has been heightened after a 15 year-old Black girl was shot following a MAGA event at the capitol. This knowledge that state lawmakers were calculating the violent deaths of non-violent community members is notably alarming.
#BlackEmergencylA was created because we are forced to deal with racist violence in everyday circumstances, as well as from law enforcement and even from our own legislators.
Any lawmaker who is threatening to shoot bullets at community members for advocating for expanding voting access to tens of thousands of people should not have the privilege of representing lowans. Senator Whiting's comments prove that he is unfit to serve lowans and that he is a danger to the public.
DSM BLM is calling for the immediate removal of Senator Zack Whiting from the lowa State Senate. #Remove Whiting