BLM organizer says Chicago looting is a form of reparations

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The Black Lives Matter organization held a rally in Chicago Monday night in support of over 100 people who were arrested for looting and other offenses committed the night before, during unrest in the city’s downtown shopping district, CBN News reports. BLM organizer Ariel Atkins described the looting as “reparations” because “these businesses have insurance.”

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, about 200 BLM protesters attended Monday night’s rally at the South Loop police station. The previous night’s unrest had resulted in people ransacking and looting stores in Chicago’s premier commercial district, the Magnificent Mile. People were seen going in and out of shops carrying clothes and electronic goods and also ripping open and emptying an ATM machine. Two people were shot and 13 police officers were injured trying to contain the rioting.

Police Superintendent Brown described the unrest as “an incident of pure criminality” and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot condemned it. Concerning Lightfoot’s management of the situation, BLM said in a statement earlier this week: “The mayor clearly has not learned anything since May, and she would be wise to understand that the people will keep rising up until the (Chicago Police Dept.) is abolished and our Black communities are fully invested in.”

Black Lives Matter Chicago said the looters were actually protestors, who needed to loot in order to have food and clothing. “I don’t care if someone decides to loot a Gucci or a Macy’s or a Nike store, because that makes sure that person eats,” Atkins told CBN News. “That makes sure that person has clothes,” Atkins said.

In a statement about people looting from expensive stores, BLM said: “Over the past few months, too many people — disproportionately Black and Brown — have lost their jobs, lost their income, lost their homes, and lost their lives as the city has done nothing and the Chicago elite have profited. When protesters attack high-end retail stores that are owned by the wealthy and service the wealthy, that is not ‘our’ city and has never been meant for us.”

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