Leaked 2015 Dem Party Memo Warns Candidates Against Supporting Black Lives Matter Policies

By Sameer Rao Aug 31, 2016

A new leaked memo shows how the Democratic Party instructed its House of Representatives candidates to handle the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Mic reported that the memo, published late last night (August 30) by hacktivist blog Guccifer 2.0, was originally sent in November 2015 to the staff of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) by staff member Troy Perry. Perry currently works for Hillary Clinton‘s presidential campaign. 

The memo stated that House candidates’ campaign staff should meet with local Black Lives Matter activists, preferably in "personal or small group meetings," and "listen to their concerns" without "offer[ing] support for concrete policy positions." 

The memo further detailed the movement’s aversion to "politicians who hijack their message to win campaigns," instructing candidates to not say "all lives matter" or mention "black on black crime" (emphasizing this with a bulletpoint reading, "This is the worst response"). It also said that candidates should focus on police/community relations and "a history of systemic racism" against African-Americans in their media statements. 

"The DCCC highly respects and values the leadership of the Black Lives Matter movement," said the DNCC’s national press secretary Meredith Kelly in a statement to Mic. "We will not allow this hacking to distract from our common goals nor disparage the BLM movement.  We continue to welcome further engagement with activists and BLM leaders nationwide." 
 

 

A post from Black Lives Matter’s official Facebook page expressed "[disappointment] with the DCCC’s placating response to our demand to value all Black life." "Black communities deserve to be heard, not handled," it said. ""We expect that our elected officials will stop pacifying and take us seriously."

The post also urged officials "to read the Movement for Black Lives policy platform and commit to legislation in the first 100 days that ensures that #BlackLivesMatter."