Daily Lobo new mexico
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Black Student Union condemns Brian Urlacher post on Jacob Blake shooting By Gino Gutierrez @ GGutierrez_48
On Aug. 27, perhaps the most famous football player ever to wear the cherry and silver uniform of the University of New Mexico posted an incendiary screed on Instagram denigrating NBA players’ brief strike of playoff games in protest of police brutality and structural racism. The players’ strike was in response to the police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Aug. 23. Blake is paralyzed from the waist down, according to his lawyer, and remains hospitalized as of the publication of this article. UNM’s Black Student Union (BSU) followed with a strongly worded statement, released on social media on Sept. 2, rebuking what they said was Urlacher’s “horrific” interpretation of the events leading up to the near-fatal police shooting of Blake. “We will not support anyone, notable alumni or not, who believes it is acceptable for an unarmed Black man to be shot seven times in his back in front of his children,” the BSU’s statement read. “It is horrific that Brian Urlacher could share memes/propaganda condoning the attempted murder of Jacob Blake.”
Urlacher’s post on Instagram derided the unprecedented strike of NBA players as a political stunt and called into question the motivations behind the players’ public protestations against police brutality. “Brett Favre played the (Monday Night Football) game the day his dad died, threw 4 TDs in the first half and was a legend for playing in the face of adversity,” Urlacher said. “NBA players boycott the playoffs because a dude reaching for a knife, wanted on a felony sexual assault warrant, was shot by police.’’ The BSU dismissed Urlacher’s post outright and stood in solidarity with the UNM football team in decrying his sentiments and blasting what they deemed as an offensive response during a resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. “We as the Black Student Union of the University of New Mexico are in full support with the statement made by the UNM football student-athletes,” the BSU said. The UNM football team released a statement on Aug. 28 condemning Urlacher’s remarks. The players highlighted the racial disparities that exist in the U.S., characterized the Lobo alum’s post as “hurtful” and condemned the Kenosha shooting as “target practice.”
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Zozobra, a 50-foot-tall marionette also known as “Old Man Gloom,” engulfed in flames during the 2020 Burning of Zozobra.
Right-wing Rio Rancho residents plan counter-demo to BLM protest By Bella Davis @bladvs
Courtesy Photo
Brian Urlacher at a retirement ceremony in 2013. Photo courtesy of SweetsPhotoSuite.com.
As right-wing violence continues to escalate across the country, a Black Lives Matter counter-protest is organizing online. Black New Mexico Movement (BNMM), a group that formed over the summer, is planning to hold a demonstration on the eve of the late rapper Tupac Shakur’s 1996 murder “to call for the same changes Tupac called for many years ago,” the Facebook event page states. Shakur was outspoken about systemic racism and police brutality, having himself been a victim of such violence. In response, an anonymous right-wing Twitter account cre-
ated in June has been promoting a counter-protest The flyer reads “Rio Rancho: Protect Our City” and “BLM New Mexico will be holding a ‘Protest Against Police Racism.’ NOT IN MY CITY.” The account has been active throughout the summer, frequently posting photos from local protests and encouraging who they often refer to as “patriots” to arm themselves. On Aug. 25, the account shared a video reportedly showing a Milwaukee resident shooting at Black Lives Matter protesters, writing, “These people are TERRIFIED of Americans standing up for themselves! Arm yourselves while you still can.” The account also shared two YouTube videos made by a man identifying himself as a Rio Rancho resident. The first video — which
was posted on Aug. 31 and has since been deleted — showed the man standing in front of a movie theater that’s the planned meeting place for the BNMM demonstration. He said that although he “has faith in” and supports Rio Rancho police, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham should request the presence of federal officers. “Governor, the blood will be on your hands,” he said. “Swallow your pride, show that you actually care about this state, maybe even save some face — contact the federal government and ask for those reinforcements.” Federal agents policed Portland, Ore. protests for several weeks, during which time they brutalized and
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BLM page 3