As a leader of Black Lives Matter in Pennsylvania, Khalif has come under fire from both his critics on the right and his fellow activists on the left. Whats it like to be a lightning rod? An intimate conversation about race, police, Seth Williams, and life in the eye of a storm.
Left: Asa Khalif, photographed by Adam Jones. Right: Khalif protesting during the Mummers Day Parade on January 1, 2016 (Associated Press).
Philadelphia activist Asa Khalif is no stranger to controversy, but even he was unprepared for the slings and arrows of Breitbart.
As the Philly face generally associated with the national Black Lives Matter movement, Khalif had become accustomed to the kind of media scrutiny that comes when you, say, put a Klan hood on Phillys iconic Frank Rizzo statue. Since 2000, as founder of diversity and civil rights watchdog group Racial Unity USA, Khalif has crossed swords with everyone from Rosie ODonnell to Allen Iverson. He doesnt often talk about how old he is or where hes from he says he finds the concepts spiritually limiting but suffice it to say hes spent most of his life in the Philly region, where he was raised by his black mom and white adoptive father. Recently, Khalif, who works in real estate and is the filmmaker of the short AmeriKKKa Black, has been involved in nearly every hot-button civil rights issue germane to Philly, from stop-and-frisk policing to racism in the Gayborhood.
But when an April article on Breitbart mistakenly identified Khalif in a story about Black Lives Matter Philly, which the far-right news outlet had attacked for its policy of holding some meetings as black-only spaces (WHITE PEOPLE BANNED, shouted the headline), the trolls really came out. To be clear: Khalif is head of Black Lives Matter Pennsylvania, which is a different entity from Black Lives Matter Philly. It was a meaningless distinction for Breitbarts readers as they peppered Khalif with invective and death threats. Khalif publicly supported the Philly chapters policy and added that his own organization has a similar, unadvertised policy; such policies, it should be noted, have been staples of civil rights groups through the ages. Haters on the right, check. On top of that, Khalif endured criticism from other Black Lives Matter activists who accused him of grandstanding jumping into the fray when it was their business. Haters on the left, too, check. Khalif never shies from a scrum.
So it had been a long couple of weeks for Khalif an already thin man whod just completed a cleanse to rid himself of negative energy when he stepped into the recording booth at WURD Radios studios on Delaware Avenue to talk about the District Attorneys Office, his distaste for police, and the burden and privilege of being the face of a movement with the hosts of Philadelphia magazines and WURD Radios Pushback podcast, which is where much of this interview took place. (Subscribe to Pushback on iTunes.)
MB: Youve recently received criticism for being too front-and-center in the media when it comes to civil rights issues in Philadelphia. Other civil rights activists have faced scrutiny for being too popular, whether it was Malcolm X in the past or Baltimore activist DeRay Mckesson today. Is there any comfort in knowing you arent alone in facing this struggle? Its not comforting, to be honest, because you would think that this generation would get it, as black people. Any type of person of color that puts themselves out there, theres always going to be those crabs in the barrel that have the same complexion as you but really dont want to see you win. Haters come in all shapes, sizes, colors. But its really sad. Weve got so much anti-blackness, and then we do it to ourselves.
CN: The Breitbart article seemed to conflate your organization with another local Black Lives Matter group. Whats the difference between what youre doing as Black Lives Matter Pennsylvania and Black Lives Matter Philly? We [BLM Pennsylvania] are individuals in a group who are part of a movement, and then there are those who are part of a network of chapters. Black Lives Matter Philly is part of that official network.
CN: Like having an NAACP chapter? Exactly. There are chapters under the group created by the original three black and queer women who started the hashtag that led to the Black Lives Matter movement. Then there are those of us who are in the movement organizing locally, nationally, internationally. You have DeRay Mckesson, [New York Daily News writer] Shaun King, [Tampa activist] Janetta [Johnson], and so on. Thats the movement I consider myself a part of.
CN: You put yourself in a class with those guys? Even before I became a part of the movement, I never liked putting myself as someone whos a leader. Youve never heard that come out of my mouth. Thats usually something that the media came up with. I think we all have a leadership role, whether were writing about it or were in the streets or behind the scenes. We all have a leadership role to play in terms of fighting anti-blackness.
MB: One of the earliest conversations bubbling up about Black Lives Matter before most people had a conception of what it really was was about whether this was going to be a leaderless movement. Youre considered something of a leader now, so is there an advantage to putting a face to Black Lives Matter? Theres always an advantage if it gets you to the table, where you can actually sit down with your demands to help your community. The whole point of protesting, the whole point of shutting things down, is not just to get your name in the papers. The point is to eventually get to the table to make those changes. You cannot make changes unless youre at the table. If youre not at the table, then youre out in the cold with a sign. The sign gets you into those meetings where you can make fundamental change for your community and have a list of demands that you can articulate and that you can negotiate. Thats why I do it. If youre looking to be a celebrity under this movement, youre really in the wrong movement in terms of social justice.
CN: If youre not going to accept the term celebrity and youre not going to accept the term leader, then how do you see yourself? I see myself as a passionate black man who realizes that theres a [leadership] gap here in Philadelphia that I see, and I want to fill that gap.
CN: So celebrity is being imposed on you? I believe so, yes.
MB: Recently, not only was your name bandied about in Breitbart, but several local columnists wrote about you at the center of that controversy. What are the downsides to celebrity? When the Breitbart article dropped, my name was mentioned specifically. [Khalif says his attorneys wrote to the outlet, and that he no longer appears in the story]. Thats the only reason why I responded. To us, it was a Black Lives Matter Philly issue, and they were very capable of defending themselves. The only reason I got involved was because my name was being used, and I had to correct that. I had an 80-year-old Polish woman in Massachusetts who is my loving grandmother for those who dont know, Im adopted; my father is Polish-American. [He married Khalifs biological mother.] I had my grandmother at six oclock in the morning calling me crying, thinking that somehow Id changed my way of thinking and she was no longer welcome in my presence. I still get choked up about it, but it angered me that I was having those conversations. In the meantime mind you, my day hasnt even started Im getting inbox messages from certain individuals attached to certain groups that are saying, Youre an opportunist.
MB: Youve been getting it from both sides? Not just people in the movement, but also on the right? I received a threat today. Its now being revealed on Twitter that I live in Old City. We had to have people today two bodyguards watch out for my mother as she went to work in Center City. This is all a result of a racist, conservative blog, and it really doesnt help when instead of coming together in solidarity
Khalif speaking at the Rally for Racial Justice at Thomas Paine Plaza on April 4, 2017. (Associated Press)
CN: Lets take a step back for a second. When did you become an activist? My first protest was at 26th and Oxford. I was 13 years old. There was a corner store selling loose cigarettes and corn liquor on the side.
MB: Did you say corn liquor? Yes, corn liquor [laughs]. People kept saying, Were going to get corn, and Im thinking candy corn. People are going in and coming out lolly, and I was like, what is going on? They were selling corn liquor. I felt in my heart that it was not cool. I felt that in other neighborhoods in fact, I know that in other neighborhoods they wouldve stopped the situation. Plus, they were rude, and I could feel the anti-blackness, even at a young age. We organized what started out basically as 10 people, then the neighborhood came out, probably 60 or 70 people. The store was eventually shut down. It was bought by a local resident and became a black-owned store.
MB: They werent selling to black customers that was the issue? No, they were selling junk to black customers who were underage. That was a problem. It was causing a problem personally for me. Those who were indulging in it, they were happy to get the corn.
MB: Its the position of many Black Lives Matter groups and activists not to endorse political candidates. We just had a DA primary, and you campaigned for Larry Krasner. Why? The Black Lives Matter Movement Pennsylvania does not endorse candidates. This was me as an activist individually endorsing Larry because I know Larry personally, and I know he has put himself on the line to do pro bono work for Black Lives Matter activists. Not to mention his long history of supporting activists, from ACT UP to Occupy.
CN: Have you been taking a lot of shit for backing a white candidate? I say the only thing thats black-and-white with Larry is his record. You can be black and be anti-black. Weve had two terms of anti-blackness in the District Attorneys Office. Conversely, you dont have to be black to be a fighter against anti-blackness.
MB: For everyone who says that BLM doesnt compromise or that they dont work with anyone, wasnt the election proof that you can build coalitions? And thats what makes us different, talking about the movement and not the network. The movement is Shaun King. When Shaun saw that I was standing with [Krasner], it moved the needle on him getting involved. [King, who is based in Brooklyn, endorsed Krasner.] These are the kind of people who know who I am. Youve got to put yourself out there. This thing couldve ended badly for all of us, and it couldve showed that you dont really have the influence that you think you have. But I knew, because were in those neighborhoods, that our base was hungry for someone like Larry and his platform.
MB: It seems you had a big influence on this race. I know the influence that I have, and Im really careful with it. People trusted when I brought Larry to the hood and to a barbershop during the campaign. It resonated with people, because they know me. Im not going to bring someone before them thats going to play them.
MB: Was Krasners victory a vindication of going out on a limb to endorse? Absolutely. Im a visionary. I see things next year that were going to be moving on. This movement will die if we dont keep it moving forward. We cant be afraid to let it move forward because a few people dont have that vision. We cant just keep saying Black Lives Matter. We need Black Lives Matter politicians, we need Black Lives Matter judges, we need our own platform. Now we know we have the numbers.
CN: Who are some of your early mentors, and what impact did they have on your life? Sister Sakari Rose, a legendary activist and strong black woman who organized against anti-blackness long before Black Lives Matter came to Philadelphia. Sister C. Delores Tucker. I remember her bringing me into her office and encouraging me, helping me with my first protest. Of course, my dear, dear mentor Jerry Mondesire [the late president of the Philadelphia NAACP]. He brought me to that table at a young age and told me to take notes. I kept my mouth closed and took notes. Then, of course, individuals I never had the pleasure to meet: Malcolm X, Cecil B. Moore, Martin Luther King.
MB: Your mother married a Polish man whos the only father youve known. How did your parents impact your understanding of race? My dad knew that no matter how much money he had, it was not going to protect me from anti-blackness. He knew that he was raising a black son, so we couldnt pussyfoot around it. We had to deal with it directly. How to handle the police we had those talks. Youre going to be driving my car, youre going to be stopped, what do you do? Im white, I know how white folks think; this is the strategy you use when youre in the room with white folk. Im going to be a traitor to my race because youre my son and I love you. Thats what he said.
CN: Your dad is also one of your biggest fans. He was there when you put the white KKK hood on Frank Rizzo. My dad had marched with me when I couldnt get two people to come out. My dad was there. People would say, Whos that crazy white dude? And my mother, too. Theyve been my biggest fans. My whole family. Im so blessed, because we have black, white, Asian in my family. We have people from the LGBTQ community in my family. My uncle [Tyrone Smith, co-founder of Unity Inc.] is a legendary gay rights activist here in Philly. Sometimes you need that connection with your family. Sometimes you need that Big Mama, and that soul food/love connection.
CN: We cant go further in this conversation about family and not talk about Brandon Tate-Brown, your cousin who was killed by Philadelphia police officers almost three years ago. From the day after Brandon was killed, you were nonstop protesting. Have you had a chance to grieve? Brandon was murdered December 15, 2014, by two rookie police officers. It took a lot of protests, a lot of arrests, one big dramatic brawl, just to get the names [of the officers]. Thats the thing thats outrageous about it. Before we even asked for a dismissal or lawsuits or any of that, just to get the names of the police officers, we had to go through all that. It really showed that black lives really dont matter when it comes to law enforcement, and they really dont matter when it comes to Philadelphia. I was in the studios, about to tape a segment on stop-and-frisk, when I got the call that Brandon was murdered. And our family found out that he was dead on Channel 6. Thats how disrespectful this rotten system was and how disrespectful the District Attorneys Office was.
CN: Youve been protesting against the District Attorneys Office for at least four years. Are you relishing whats happening to Seth Williams right now? Im not happy when anybody, especially somebody black, finds himself in a historic position and fails. [Williams was the first African-American DA in Philly history; this interview was conducted in the runup to his federal trial on corruption charges, at which he eventually pleaded guilty and resigned.] I think we all voted for Seth because we wanted him to succeed and we wanted change. He presented himself as a progressive, but he was actually very anti-black.
CN: Williams, who didnt run for reelection, doesnt have nearly the support he used to have, and a lot of that exodus was a result of the Brandon Tate-Brown case. Are you just now recognizing the impact that case had on the city and its leaders? Im conscious of it, but to embrace it now is to embrace the pain. Im dealing with the fact that my family was in pain, Im dealing with the fact that hes gone. Im able to exhale at this point, to say, okay, this happened, and what do I do to honor him? I honor him by fighting and keep moving.
MB: It sounds like your grief was hijacked. I didnt have a chance to grieve, because everyone was grieving on my shoulders and I had to stay strong to keep them moving. Now, its a little different. I can finally grieve without having to go behind the scenes to cry.
CN: I think people may pause and say: Asa Khalif cries? Because to a lot of people, youre just this really angry caricature who says Fuck the police. But you do have feelings. I think at Philly Mags ThinkFest last year, people saw another side of me. Still the same passion, but not the imagery that they see at protests. We can have a conversation right here without me using the bullhorn. When youre in a protest, face-to-face with your oppressor, it does bring up a different side, because youre calling on your ancestors for justice and strength and courage. Its different. But its still fighting anti-blackness, no matter how the volumes are up or down.
MB: Privately, how do you sustain yourself and keep up the energy that you expend in public? Its my spirituality. I did a fast-and-cleanse last night, at 12 oclock, to prepare for this space. Ive said many times that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high places. People dont wake up one morning just hating. Theres something that brought them to that point. Theres a spirit of hate, and it festers and it grows. Racism is a spirit of hate and ignorance. Itll consume you. When you go home and youre drained, you dont want to become like your oppressor. You dont want to start hating like them. If you wake up in the morning and before you eat your Cheerios youre saying Fuck the police, theres a problem. You have to say, Wait a minute, I cant be this damn angry over some Cheerios.
Published as The Face of a Movement in the July 2017 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
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Asa Khalif: The Face of a Movement - Philadelphia magazine