Rashida Tlaib: This Moment and ‘Movement’ on the Streets ‘Gives More Credibility to Why I Ran’

In this March 6, 2020 file photo, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., speaks at a campaign rally
AP Photo/Paul Sancya
Hannah Knudsen

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) told Vanity Fair that the current moment — and “movement” on the streets — gives more “credibility” to why she ran for office.

Vanity Fair published a photo portfolio to celebrate Black Lives Matter activists and those who are on the “forefront of change.” The collection of activists includes “Squad” member Rashida Tlaib, who told the magazine that the current movement solidifies why she ran for Congress.

“How has this moment galvanized you and your activism?” the magazine asked.

“It just gives more credibility to why I ran. It gives more credibility [to] why I fight to [lift] people out of poverty, why I am saying enough with structural racism, and ending mass incarceration, and ending the injustices that we see in our school system,” Tlaib explained, speaking of the “movement on the street,” specifically.

“When I see this movement on the street—that’s where transformative change really starts and it’s hitting us right here in the halls of Congress,” she said, adding that it is “powerful to watch it happen.”

Fellow “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) made similar remarks, calling the movement “profoundly exciting.”

She added:

I think that all these people in the streets that are educating others, that are engaging in this elevated and amplified way, have really emboldened me, and it’s given me a lot of courage and encouragement to try to match the energy of everyone else right now who’s really fighting for progressive change.

Neither Ocasio-Cortez nor Tlaib condemned the violent riots dominating U.S. cities in their interviews.

While “Squad” members continue to praise the greater “movement,” business owners in cities such as Kenosha are picking up the pieces. Protesters took to the streets of Kenosha Monday night, spurred by the officer-involved shooting of Jacob Blake, and destroyed area businesses, setting many of them on fire:

“It’s emotionally hurtful, but we didn’t do anything to anybody,” one store owner told BlazeTV’s Elijah Schaffer as he stood in front of the damaged building. “Why did we deserve it?” the store owner asked:

“When we came on scene, it was just carnage,” another business owner told him.

“I don’t understand why people do these things. Our society is just really disappointing. What about just being kind to people?” he asked.

“Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you. And why don’t you just show everybody respect?” he continued. “I don’t care who you are — what color, race, creed. Everybody deserves that. So obviously we’ll clean up the damage and move forward”:

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