Rev. Rivers calls 93 protests danger to public, damaging to 'black causes'

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- FOX 25 reached out to members of the African-American community who have been active in the Ferguson movement to get their take on the Route 93 protests Thursday.

It's a polarizing issue, especially in the black community with leaders on both sides critical of Thursday's protest, and questioning what the future of the Black Lives Matter movement is.

Traffic was at a stand-still Thursday as protesters made a stand chained to barrels, speaking out against what they call police and state violence against black people.

But is this what Democracy looks like for those in Boston's black communities? Longtime civil rights activists are split.

Reverend Eugene Rivers says, absolutely not.

"They're exploiting the legitimate issues of black people to advance their own interests. These white, Occupy Wall Street trust fund babies are having a good time at the expense of black people," Rivers said.

He went on to point out that almost all of the protesters out Thursday were not black and he calls their actions dangerous to the public and damaging to black causes because the group lacks a clear agenda.

"None of these demonstrations solve a problem," he said. "In 1965 when Martin Luther King marched, he marched and disrupted things to get legislation. To get a voting rights act. These young people are not focused on anything that produces a measurable outcome."

Black Lives Matter Boston released the following statement Thursday, "This action was in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. This diverse non-black group of pan-Asians, Latinos, and white people, some of whom are queer and transgender, took this action to confront white complacency in the systemic oppression of black people in Boston."

Boston NAACP President Michael Curry said he disagrees with Rivers. He says the Black Lives Matter movement needs all the supporters it can get.

"The faces of the movement should and has always been many faces. I think that what we've been waiting on is this movement of white kids from Newton and Wellesley and all across the state to say wait a minute, black lives do matter," Curry said.

Both Curry and Rivers agree it's time for the Black Lives Matter organizers to accept Mayor Marty Walsh's invitation to sit down and start working on solutions to some of the problems they say are plaguing the city.

Cox Media Group