In the crowd was a group of armed black men and women who called themselves the “Not F ** King Around Coalition” or NFAC. The group did not rush towards shelling or break formation. Instead, they fell to their knees in confusion, and then walked away after their leader shouted, “Fall back! Fall back!”
Its founder, John Fitzgerald Johns, said the question L-Black, an Atlanta-based group, grew up in despair during a summer of protests against questionable policing and the killing of numerous black people at the hands of police.
Their presence in the cities they visited has caused a stir and the group made a few criticisms after people accidentally wielded weapons during their two rallies, including one in Lafayette.
Along with protesters in several U.S. cities, most white groups have also shown their right to a second amendment to bear arms. Unlike many of those groups, Johnson says his group has emerged as a response to racial inequality and police brutality.
“We’re no longer being ‘effective’ because of the constant abuse in our community and the lack of respect for our men, women and children,” Johnson told CNN.
The Black L-Black group, Johnson said, seeks to protect black communities with weapons and its constitutional rights, self-policing and educating.
“We’re not against anyone,” said Jones, also known as Grandmaster Jay.
The founder says the group is exercising its constitutional rights
Large black armed-groups, not often seen in the US. The most famous Black Panther Party was founded in 1966, in which police shot and killed a black teenager, Matthew John. The group has since largely disappeared.
“In a sense it (NFAC) echoes the Black Panthers but they are more armed and more disciplined … so far, they have coordinated with the police and avoided engaging in violence,” he said.
Johnson said the group was “made up of US citizens exercising our constitutional rights and should not make any difference in the color of our skin.”
“No one says anything when other demographic takes up arms, decides to arm themselves and confront the government in any matter until they stay indoors wearing masks, but when demographic material hands itself out people suddenly Behaves “the constitution doesn’t matter,” Johns said.
There is no moral similarity when comparing the NFAC with White armed groups, Mokaitis said.
“The White Military Movement is older, bigger, probably more heavily armed, certainly more widespread, has a lot more people in it and it’s been going to be violent.”
And while Mokaitis said the NFAC made some questionable remarks during the Georgia rally, including challenging White armed groups, he did not believe the NFAC had a clearly racist ideology.
Black and outfit in Kentucky, Georgia and Louisiana
Black-clad NFAC members have raised their fists and chanted “Black Power” slogans without major incidents in at least three cities, but days of tension have come before their rallies.
The arrival of the NFAC quickly became a matter of concern among city officials. At the time, the city had witnessed more than a month of protests centered on the death of Breno Taylor and some had turned violent.
David James, president of Louisville Metro Council, said officers simply did not want people to march on city streets with guns.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher said in a statement that city officials have worked hard to communicate with all groups, including the NFAC, and have seen large-scale peaceful protests.
Jean Porte, deputy director of communications for the mayor, said flexibility and communication are needed to balance opponents’ right to first amendment with our duty – and our practical ability – to protect public safety.
When asked about the incident by CNN, Johnson said the NFAC is exercising its right to free speech. They knew that White armed groups usually gather at the site, Jones said, and the NFAC was responding to “that threat.”
A Facebook spokesperson told CNN that the post was deleted because it violates the platform’s policies against inciting violence.
“They are our visitors. They are our guests and yet we have rolled the red carpet for them,” Lafayette said of the group, Carlos Harvin, head of minority affairs at the Consolidated Government.
“They want the same thing we want: a safe community,” Harvin said.
Police say the protest ended peacefully despite the arrest of the man who accidentally fired a weapon in the incident. The NFAC said the man was not part of their group.
The countermeasures of other groups, some experts say
Police are not a way for armed groups because each state and city has its own rules but officials tend to take a “very careful, almost child’s glove approach” with them, said Caroline Gallaher, the school’s professor and senior associate dean. International service at American University.
For Judson L. Jeffries, a professor of African American and African Studies at Ohio State University, it will be interesting to see how the NFAC’s priority so far has been preventing police brutality and how the group’s behavior and ideology develops further.
The group could follow in the footsteps of Martin Luther King Jr.’s thinking, he says, by showing “too much patience and love for those who oppressed him” or by showing more affiliation with Malcolm X, who advocated self-defense against white violence.
“I hope we will witness an open war between the shootings, the police department there and these (armed) groups,” Jeffries said. “I can’t help but wonder if we’re close to that point because on a group of people they can clip before they respond so much punishment.”
Johnson has said on several occasions that the NFAC is a peaceful group with no record of violent incidents. Officials in Louisville and Lafayette told CNN that no major incidents were reported during NFAC programs in their cities.
Some military experts also described the group as a replica of the mostly white armed groups in the United States, especially those associated with white supremacist and neo-federal ideology.
What we know about the founder
Johnson led the NFAC and years before he called on his social media followers to stay for the black community, he served in the military and some knew him as a hip hop DJ and producer.
Johnson declined to discuss his life outside the NFAC, but records show he served in the Virginia National Guard and Army from 1989 to 2006. According to the Army, they were private when they left the military.
According to the Federal Election Commission, Johnson recently ran a failed campaign for the 2016 presidential election as an independent.
Although the NFAC has clearly drawn several hundred people to their meetings, like Johnson’s life, the membership size is unknown.
Johnson would not disclose the number of members, but said his group grew “rapidly” after the Lewisville march and quickly reduced the age limit from 21 to 18 years.
And for some, like Kristen “Casey” Coleman and her 9-year-old daughter, the group is seen as a symbol of empowerment rather than fear.
“It simply came to our notice then that we had the support of a group representing the United States and the White House,” Colemo told CNN. “
The 31-year-old and his daughter went to a rally at the NFAC’s Oct. 3 Lafayette.
“She knew those guns were for her safety so as not to harm her.”
Her daughter was supposed to be nervous around so many guns, the mother said, but even with being black she went home with a sense of pride.
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