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Black Lives Matter Activist DeRay Mckesson and Edward Snowden Discuss Gov Surveillance

Posted byBy Zellie Imani | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

deray and snowden discuss surveillance on twitterBlack Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson and NSA whistleblower and American fugitive Edward Snowden initiated a provocative dialogue about government surveillance on Monday night, exploring the levels of state violence and surveillance faced by today’s activists.

Snowden initially posted:

Mckesson, one of the most prominent Black Lives Matter activists, proceeded to ask Snowden his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement.

Snowden responded by posting: “Police violence, like surveillance, is unevenly distributed. Arbitrary violence is a threat to civil society.”

He applauded the Campaign Zero platform as proposals that “could end the increasing militarization of society.”

Mckesson also asked how activists within the movement can secure their information and communication from being monitored by the government. Then, Snowden asked McKesson how people “can highlight the danger” of black leaders being disproportionately targeted by state surveillance, citing the example of J. Edgar Hoover’s wiretapping of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The dialogue ended with the two agreeing to participate in a public forum about the topics explored in the exchange.

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