“We will not be silenced” and “Black Lives Matter” were just some of the slogans on signs held by over 70 protesters at the Albemarle-Charlottesville chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s gathering outside of Bella’s Restaurant Friday.
The protest comes after Douglas Muir, executive lecturer in the Engineering School and the Darden School, posted a comment on Facebook comparing the Black Lives Matter Movement to the Ku Klux Klan. Muir is also the owner of Bella’s Restaurant, which is located on the 700 block of West Main Street.
“I have been asked the question, ‘What determines success?’” M. Rick Turner, president of the Albemarle-Charlottesville chapter of the NAACP, said. “It’s the people, the size, the slogans, but see you have to look at the fact that we're not blocking the entrance. This is peaceful, but people are driving by and people are being deterred. Some people who might have gone here see the honorableness of this and [are] going some place else to eat.”
The protest began at 6 p.m., and during several people passed by and some ate at the restaurant. No one was harassed, but they heard the sound of protesters chanting “Black Lives Matter” and “Get used to it.”
“I grew up in Mississippi in the 50s and I know about the Klan and I know about Black Lives Matter, which I think is a very fine movement,” Brenda Lambert, a protester, said. “They are nothing alike, and I’ve worked on civil rights for 50 years and I have never felt threatened or uncomfortable or unwelcome in groups that were mostly black. Nobody could say that about the Klan. I think the comparison was egregious.”
Despite the protests against Muir and his restaurant, there were some people in attendance who were there to protest the Black Lives Matter demonstration. Jason Kessler was a member of the counter-protest.
“I am here to counter protest the Black Lives Matter Movement, buy some food from Bella’s, which I am eating right now — and it’s delicious pasta — and support free speech,” Kessler said.
Throughout the event, Kessler yelled back at protesters as they denounced Muir and Bella’s Restaurant. He walked around the event eating an order of pasta that he had ordered before the event and cited that Muir had the right to free speech.
“I think it is misguided, because at its heart, it is protesting the free speech of an American citizen, and I think that free speech is more than just a law that protects us from persecution by the government,” Kessler said. “I think it is a value that we need to recognize as one of the founding principles of our democracy.”
Others at the event were there as spectators to see what the Black Lives Matter and NAACP groups were doing in response to the lecturer’s comments.
“The reason I am here tonight is because I am interested in the Black Lives Matter Movement,” protest spectator George Vinsen said. “I am not a part of the movement. I do not agree or disagree with it. I am strictly interested in it because, like all movements in America, I want to see if it is actually going to cause anything to change in America. Did the Occupy Movement cause any change? I am not sure if it did or not, but the Black Lives Movement has a lot of fuel.”
Prof. Ervin Jordan, a research archivist at the Special Collections Library, was also present at the protest and said Muir’s comments should make people wonder if he ever treated all of his students fairly.
“As a faculty member, I am very concerned that a fellow faculty member would make such a statement,” Jordan said. “In my mind, it makes me wonder if he’s treating all of his students fairly. A racist comment like that makes you wonder if he treats them fairly. I was very disturbed by it.”
When asked about the University’s response to the incident, Jordan said he supported its stance, yet questioned whether Muir should return to the classroom or not.
“I supported those comments — I think it was measured and rational support to Mr. Muir's comments,” Jordan said. “He is entitled to his free speech rights and I have no problem with that, and I think the University took the right approach as far as addressing that. I am not sure whether or not he should be allowed to return to the classroom.”
Muir did not respond to a request for an interview before press time, but has said in a statement that it was never his intention “to cause so much turmoil.”
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