It's not surprising that there's no love lost between Marjorie Taylor Greene, the much-reviled Georgia U.S. representative, and Black Lives Matter, an organization and movement she's frequently criticized, at one point going so far as to compare its tactics to those of the Ku Klux Klan (wow!).
Now, though, the potential vice presidential pick for Donald Trump's 2024 presidential bid is raising eyebrows by clashing with New York Black Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman. The two had a run-in last week on the Capitol steps, arguing over George Santos.
Greene said after the encounter that Bowman's actions and words made her feel "threatened," suggesting that he has a "history of aggression." She even took the extra stop of saying that him calling her a white supremacist was somehow equal to "calling a person of color the N-word." Is it really, now?
Click here to sign up for G-Code, LEVEL's weekly newsletter.
Bowman, unbowed, shot back by saying that Greene's messaging was dangerous, following a historical pattern of painting Black men as aggressive whenever they speak out. He evoked Emmett Till and the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in his response.
Now, it appears at least one leader in the Black Lives Matter movement has got Bowman's back.
Speaking to Newsweek, BLM Global Network Foundation board member Shalomyah Bowers, agreed with Bowers, saying that Greene's remarks are not surprising, yet still amount to "racist dog whistle language," adding that it could incite white supremacists to act out against the New York representative.
Unfortunately, Bowers herself may not be the best person to speak on behalf of BLM, given that she's been accused of siphoning money from the organization. Nevertheless, Bowman's involvement with BLM protests helped fuel his election victory in 2020, so it's safe to say that the organization is more likely to agree with Bowers' characterization of Greene than with Greene's distasteful statements.