Black, Democrat Leaders Must Condemn Attack on Owens [OPINION]

Witnessing the attack on African-American conservative activist Candace Owens outside a Philadelphia restaurant yesterday was absolutely chilling.

Seeing Owens encircled and harassed by a gang of left-wing white men with bullhorns, who screamed vulgarities in her face while others blew loud whistles at her, brought memories to my mind of the civil rights struggle that obviously continues to this day.

My thoughts returned immediately to March 7, 1965, in Selma, Alabama. Bloody Sunday. On that day, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and now Congressman John Lewis attempted to lead a peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery to protest the shooting of an unarmed black man by police several weeks prior. It didn't end well.

The marchers, some 600 strong--including children--were met by Alabama state troopers who were armed with whips, nightsticks and tear gas. The troopers encountered the group at the Edmund Pettis Bridge and beat them badly. The events of that day were captured by television cameras and were broadcast all across the country. It was a turning point for the civil rights movement.

Those who marched on Bloody Sunday were demanding their right to vote. To participate in the political process. To be heard. Fifty-three years later, Candace Owens is still fighting for her right to free political expression.

The protesters who harassed Owens and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk claim to be affiliated with Antifa. Ironically enough, the little fascists yelled such things as "F---white supremacy" at Owens, who again, is black.

The left pretends to be the "big tent" party as long as you buy into the program. They call Trump and his supporters racists, yet they scream obscenities though bullhorns into the faces of blacks who attempt to leave the plantation.

Racism continues to be a problem in this country, but it is not, as the left will tell you, because we have a racist in the White House. It's because the left cannot accept that a black woman, or minister, or performer might have a mind of their own and reject stale and empty promises of a Democratic party that has done little for their community for the last fifty years.

Candace Owens and many others like her are courageous to stand up and say "no more." There can be no more Selmas. Black and Democratic leaders must condemn what happened to Candace Owens.

So far, the silence is deafening.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.