February 1 is the anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins. In 1960 four young African American students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, inspired by the actions of Dr. Martin Luther King,  decided to do something about segregation. They decided to go to the white only lunch counter at the local Woolworth and order coffee. This simple act sparked some of the most courageous and imaginative organizing in defense of human rights in this country. 

It is fair to say that the members of the Detroit City Council owe their ability to participate fully in public life to these young men: Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., and David Richmond. They owe it to the hundreds of thousands of men and women who joined together to intentionally challenge the unjust laws of this land. These law breakers broke the hold of white supremacy and Jim Crow terror to open new possibilities for African Americans.

It is this legacy that five members of the Detroit City Council defiled. Last week they voted to  provide $200,000 for a spiteful counter lawsuit against Detroit Will Breath. DWB is the main organization challenging police violence. The suit, clearly initiated by Chief Craig in retaliation to allegations of police violence, charges activists with criminal conspiracy. A slim majority voted for City support, after widespread public condemnation of the suit during council session. 

The emptiness of this lawsuit should be clear to everyone. In addition to desecrating the long legacy of struggle for justice lead by African Americans, the counter suit ignores well documented police brutality and misconduct against activists. Prior to the Council vote, a federal judge found police actions so outlandish they issued a restraining order against excessive force. The judge found it necessary to actually list the kinds of routine, violent behaviors they needed to limit: rubber bullets, chokeholds, and use of tear gas. 

In addition to this acknowledgement of police violence, city prosecutors dismissed 238 of the misdemeanor charges against protestors. More dismissals are expected to follow.

This lawsuit is more than a waste of money or rejection of a proud history. It is dangerous. It flows from the inability of law enforcement to distinguish between public advocacy for change and right-wing terrorism. It reflects the kind of thinking that has been fostered in the Trump era. It endangers all of us. 

This week the NYT reported on how the Trump presidency recklessly focused attention on progressive demonstrations and willfully ignored growing far right violence. 

The times explained:

As racial justice protests erupted nationwide last year, President Donald J. Trump, struggling to find a winning campaign theme, hit on a message that he stressed over and over: The real domestic threat to the United States emanated from the radical left, even though law enforcement authorities had long since concluded it came from the far right.

It was a message that was quickly embraced and amplified by his attorney general and his top homeland security officials, who translated it into a shift in criminal justice and national security priorities even as Mr. Trump was beginning to openly stoke the outrage that months later would culminate in the storming of the Capitol by right-wing extremists.

Chief Craig is among those who embraced this dangerous nonsense. He has now been supported by Council Members Roy McCalister, André Spivey, Janeé Ayers, Scott Benson and President Brenda Jones voted for the lawsuit. Council Members James Tate, Raquel Castañeda-López, Gabe Leland and President Pro Tem Mary Sheffield voted against it. 

Trump has left the White House, but his legacy lingers in our City Council and Chief of Police. We owe our ancestors more than this.