A domestic violence shelter put up Black Lives Matter signs, and law enforcement revolted

[Judi Lynn]

The Price County office of Embrace, a nonprofit providing help and shelter to domestic violence and sexual assault victims. (Embrace)

By
Hannah Knowles
Oct. 17, 2020 at 12:51 p.m. CDT

Signs set the tone at the Embrace help centers and shelter for victims of domestic and sexual violence in rural Wisconsin. They declare a “safe space,” prohibit firearms and welcome people who are LGBTQ.

As of this summer, they also include “Black Lives Matter.”

In an overwhelmingly White and conservative stretch of the state, those signs of support for victims of color and their struggles with racism have triggered a firestorm — stoking tensions in towns a couple hours from Minneapolis, where George Floyd died in police custody, and north of Kenosha, where Jacob Blake was shot by officers.

Embrace executive director Katie Bement says she expected “tough conversations” but nothing like this: a parade of board resignations, the loss of $25,000 in funding, the end of valued partnerships with many police departments in the four counties where the nonprofit serves a population of about 90,000. Voters there in 2016 went decisively for President Trump, who has called the Black Lives Matter slogan a “symbol of hate.”

. . .

Embrace says it cannot serve victims without fighting all forms of oppression, especially when those it helps are disproportionately people of color. Members of law enforcement say shelter staff should “stay in their lane” to avoid alienating both victims and collaborators. Police say no victims will go unserved because of the dispute, but Bement says she is worried.

More:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/17/embrace-black-lives-matter/

[BeckyDem]

1. See that, only a few bad apples. cough

Keep repeating that white America, you're great at denial.

[Karadeniz]

2. An island of soul work in a sea of hypocrites. Pitiful.

[Eliot Rosewater]

3. I wish racists would grow the fuck up.

[llashram]

4. and while people are fighting racists

encouraged by this white nationalist administration, more racists are emboldened to hate brown skin and cultures other than transplanted Europeans. Trump really is an evil, evil human being with no right to call himself POTUS. POTDS is more like it.

[TheRealNorth]

5. That's how the fascists keep everyone in small town America in line

Don't tow the line, you lose your job/business etc.

[lunasun]

6. yes- area rather pull support of a refuge to help white women getting beaten up at home

rather than say Black Lives Matter.

[stillcool]

7. that is effed up...shouldn't be surprising...

that cops go out of their way, to lay down their version of the law, and intimidate anyone that goes against their grain. Black Lives Matter sign not allowed. It is so enraging. They just can't help riling sh*t up every chance they get.

[electric_blue68]

8. Such disturbing actions against a place of

hope and help. 😞😠😠😠😠😠🤬

[Aristus]

9. Law enforcement is always revolting.