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Monday, April 12, 2021 | Vo l u m e 1 2 5 | I s s u e 2 9
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
ABQ ‘White Lives Matter’ rally flops, dominated by counter-protesters By John Scott
@JScott050901 On Sunday, protesters gathered at Civic Plaza in Downtown Albuquerque with plans to counter a “White Lives Matter” protest scheduled to take place at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Fight For Our Lives (FFOL), a self-described non-violent student activist organization, arranged the event, which lasted about two hours and was attended by close to 120 people. No one directly affiliated with the Proud Boys attended the protest, despite a Facebook messenger screenshot that said members of the organization would arrive at 11 a.m. The Proud Boys are a designated hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center and described as a white nationalist group with “anti-Muslim and mysoginistic” ideology. Zoey Craft, a FFOL cofounder, said the turnout for the counterprotest demonstrated the community’s dedication to anti-racism. “It’s really great to see this show of unity,” Zoey Craft, FFOL cofounder, said. “It’s great to see everyone coming together against this planned action that we know is going to further embolden white supremacists in the future.” FFOL wasn’t the only organization present. ABQ Street Action Coalition also hosted a dance party to protest the Proud Boys in another area of Civic Plaza. The gathering mainly consisted of a group of around 30 individuals, most of which were older than the FFOL crowd. Besides the ABQ Street Action Coalition, the Black New Mexico Movement and the Brown Berets were also in attendance. The Brown Berets are a national organization with different chapters across the country, and were also listed as co-hosts for the original Facebook event posted by FFOL. A member of the Brown Berets, who asked to be referred to as “X,” said it’s important for Chicanos to be at the protest to stand in solidarity and protect other communities
Liberty Stalnaker / Daily Lobo / @DailyLobo
A man carries an assault rifle and a sign and stands with his family at the Albuquerque Convention Center on April 11, 2021 near a counter-protest against a planned “White Lives Matter” rally. The man, who asked to remain anonymous, denied any involvement with the Proud Boys, an extremist group whose attendance was expected at the rally.
Liberty Stalnaker / Daily Lobo / @DailyLobo
LEFT: APD officers in riot gear head to intervene between a protester and counter-protesters in Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 11, 2021 at a counter-protest to a planned “White Lives Matter” rally. RIGHT: A brawl involving a man of unknown affiliation and a group of counter-protesters ensues at the Albuquerque Civic Plaza.
from racist violence. “White supremacy perpetuates violence in every direction but its own,” X said. “(The Brown Berets are) not so blind to think we’re the only people being persecuted and have people suffering.” Around the time that the Proud Boys were scheduled to appear, a man outfitted in tactical gear arrived
with an AR-15 style rifle and a sign that read, “#Save Our Children.” The man was accompanied by a woman and two small children. “#SavetheChildren” is a popular hashtag promoted by QAnon, an online conspiracy group. The hashtag refers to a theory that former President Donald Trump was “secretly fighting a supposed network of celeb-
rities and government officials who are running a child trafficking ring,” according to AP News. The armed man, who wanted to remain anonymous, denied any affiliation with the Proud Boys and said, “I’m very passionate about wanting to help people and spread the message that guns can be used to save people.” The arrival of the armed man
caused a small number of protesters to cross the street from Civic Plaza to the Convention Center. The rest of the demonstrators followed, moving from the Al Hurricane Pavilion and other parts of Civic Plaza to the curb along Third Street directly across from the Convention Center. After some demonstrators began circling the man, waving signs in his face and yelling, a group of Albuquerque riot police made their way towards the protest. The riot police were quickly surrounded by the demonstrators as they led the family into the Convention Center. According to a tweet from the Albuquerque Police Department, the man was detained and will be cited. It’s unclear at this time what the man was cited for. At the time of publication, APD could not be reached for comment. Soon after, as demonstrators began to make their way back to Civic Plaza, a small fight broke out between a few protesters and a man who appeared to be recording the protest. According to witnesses, the man refused to identify himself or why he was recording. White Lives Matter rallies took place across the nation on April 11, according to NBC, but turnout was dismal. These protests were arranged via Telegram, a widely used networking app that became popular among white supremacists, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League. Even without the Proud Boys, the event’s organizers still wanted to emphasize the importance of combating white supremacy. A FFOL member, who requested to be referred to as “Johnny,” described the importance of being anti-racist outside of protests and demonstrations. “When you actively live in a racist society, it’s not just enough to be against racism,” Johnny said. “You have to be actively anti-racist every single day.” John Scott is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @JScott050901
Gov. Lujan Grisham signs off on NM paid sick leave bill By Madeline Pukite @madelinepukite On Thursday, April 8, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed HB 20, the Healthy Workplaces Act, making paid sick leave a reality in New Mexico. The bill will allow employees to accrue one hour of paid time off for every 30 hours worked, which can be used for their own illness, whether mental or physical, or to care for a family member who is sick. In addition, employees have
the ability to accrue paid time off for future use. The bill defines “family” as, “an individual whose close association with the employee or the employee's spouse or domestic partner is the equivalent of a family relationship.” Rep. Angelica Rubio, D-Las Cruces, one of the bill’s cosponsors, worked closely with grassroots organizers on this legislation and was excited to finally see the bill get signed into law. “I was constantly reminded that there was no way that our
legislature would ever do something like this, and so I was glad that we were able to prove a lot of people wrong,” Rubio said. Not everyone in the state is celebrating the passage of HB 20, however. Some in the local business community were worried about the effects it might have on the economy. John Garcia, the executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico, argued that the passage of HB 20
Inside this Lobo MATA: NM Notify App makes contact tracing automatic (pg. 2)
see
Sick leave page 3
Justin Garcia / Daily Lobo / @Justi516garc
The New Mexico state capitol building, as known as “the Roundhouse.”
GLEASON: New Mexico COVID-19 Association club spearheads pandemic student volunteer work (pg. 5)
MATA: Antonia Anderson, Jaedyn De La Cerda to play one more year at UNM (pg. 3)
HOBART: UNM CAMPerinos Awareness Week (pg. 6)
hosts
9th
annual
Farmworker
KLEINHANS: REVIEW: ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ delivers ultimate CGI battle royale and little else (pg. 4)
BUTLER: Lobo basketball adds to its coaching roster (pg. 7)