With King Day fast approaching, I keep thinking not about how police would have treated #BLM at the Capitol but how they treated the *possibility* that #BLM protesters *might* show up to march in L.A.'s parade back in 2015. https://la.streetsblog.org/2015/01/20/are-you-supposed-to-be-here-officer-harasses-black-cyclists-during-mlk-day-parade/

The protests over the grand jury's decision not to charge Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson in November of 2014 put the LAPD on higher alert for folks doing crazy sh*t like gathering together to call for justice and the protection of Black lives.

So when the King Day parade rolled around there were more police there than I had ever seen before. I wish I had taken photos of them but I was too busy chasing the bike clubs they were harassing.

It is hard to explain, but there are few things on earth that move as slowly as the floats in the King Day parade. Which is what makes it so wonderful, in many ways, because it allows for interaction with the community.

And yet this officer kept jumping in front of the bike clubs, each of which had paid $500 for a spot in the parade, if they had a right to be there. Meanwhile, these clubs are community royalty. EVERYONE knows and loves them. And it's a PARADE.

But this officer insisted that youth were causing chaos by not wearing helmets. And that people were taking pictures of each other. He insisted to more than one group that their paperwork could not possibly be real.

Behold the chaotic youth. That's my man Cortez Wright pulling up the rear. He grew up joining in with the group of older riders he admired, which was the entire reason BKoB had started doing this kind of non-traditional float.

Cortez is now grown and about a foot taller than he is even in this photo from a couple of years ago. Best kid ever. But LAPD threw him out of the parade that day in 2015. https://twitter.com/sahrasulaiman/status/1087901427094061056

Meanwhile the photo below is literally what the King Day parade is about - community members building community and celebrating each other in a community where police have historically denied them ownership over the public space. That's BKoB co-founder @therealjswift

But the idea that anyone in the parade might not just think about the contributions of Martin Luther King Jr but also consider the injustices he fought against was just too much for both the city and LAPD that day.

LAPD even harassed beloved bike repairer Aaron Flournoy of Lil Bill's bike shop while he was by himself and trying to catch up with the BKoB group. Maybe they were afraid he'd pump up some tires along the route. https://la.streetsblog.org/2017/05/01/usc-poised-to-displace-black-owned-bike-repair-business-for-the-second-time/

Toward the end of the day, I think LAPD did end up ejecting groups who were protesting police violence and that tried walking in the parade, like this one. http://mlkcoalitionforjobsjusticeandpeace.org/mlk_coalition_contigent_for_kingdom_day_parade/media__press_advisory

There had been a massive show of force at an otherwise peaceful demonstration in Leimert Park after Trayvon Martin was killed, too. And they saw every move as potentially touching off a riot...

...which is how Nipsey Hussle and BH found themselves on the ground with dozens of guns pointed at them after a short chase. https://la.streetsblog.org/2019/08/15/nipsey-hussle-understood-cities-better-than-you-why-didnt-you-know-who-he-was/

All of which is to say that the thing I keep thinking about is not whether Black folks would have been treated the same way if they had stormed the Capitol but that Black folks wouldn't have been able to get with two miles of the Capitol.