Not long ago I reported on an event in Wichita put on by, what was then thought of as, the area Black Lives Matter group. The event intended to bring the community and Police together in peace, and to work out issues, and talk solutions. The cookout, called “First Steps,” was a huge success, and even garnered national attention.

Wichita had become the model on how to repair community relations with law enforcement, and with all the violence and death happening in the news, it was hopeful sign that things were going to change for the better.

Enter DC’s Black Lives Matter chapter, which wholly rejects Wichita’s peaceful intentions. So much so, that they felt it important to send out a tweet denouncing “First Steps,” and declaring that the peaceful gathering was not in line with its principles.

THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL #BlackLivesMatter CHAPTER! THIS IS NOT IN LINE WITH OUR PRINCIPLES. @Blklivesmatterhttps://t.co/IIlnTbgE1S

— BlackLivesMatter DC (@DMVBlackLives) July 20, 2016

Patrisse Cullors, who co-founded the national organization, said in a statement “The group of people who had a BBQ with the police are not affiliated with BlackLivesMatter.”

She said later, “We don’t sit on panels with law enforcement, and we don’t have BBQ’s or cookouts with law enforcement. We feel the best method at this point in history is by holding police accountable by organizing and advocating for police accountability.”

The Wichita “First Steps” organizer, A.J. Bohannon, went on record to say that they never once declared that they were a Black Lives Matter chapter. From KAKE.com:

Of course we’re in line with Black Lives Matter principles, because black lives matter,” said Wash. “We want people to stop killing us and then getting away with it. We want accountability for folks’ actions.”

“I just want to put it on record that we are not affiliated with Black Lives Matter. We do share some of the same issues and some of the same concerns, but we are not officially affiliated with them,” said Bohannon.

If this Wichita group wasn’t affiliated with Black Lives Matter then, they definitely aren’t now. The cookout represented a peaceful, and sensible way for police and black communities to come together to work out problems, and find common ground in order to put the days of division and violence behind them.

Black Lives Matter has confirmed that they prefer protests that block highways, and sometimes turn extremely violent, because somehow that will lead to police accountability, and racial tensions will settle.

Funny enough though, the national Black Lives Matter group declaring that Wichita’s actions don’t fall in line with their principles is actually a complete and total lie. The Black Lives Matter site itself states that the movement is designed “to facilitate the types of connections necessary to encourage social action and engagement.”

Apparently what is all talk for Black Lives Matter is actual action from the Wichita group.

Black Lives Matter continues its legacy of being an awful movement that does nothing but spur division instead of peace. Because of it, many have gotten hurt, or even killed. No wonder so many people outright reject it.