Posted on 05/24/2026 7:13:29 AM PDT by Red Badger
Tom Steyer was in the groove last Saturday as he prepared to court black voters in historic Leimert Park, the cultural hub of Los Angeles’s Black community. Directed by R&B singer Howard Hewitt to clap “on beat,” the billionaire Democrat stood and closed his eyes, biting his lower lip and raising his arm overhead as he swayed with the crowd.
He would tell the packed room of voters that he’d been a leader in pushing for reparations for the descendants of enslaved people. He would describe the Black community as “the moral leader of the United States” for as long as he has been alive. And he would argue that there is a “gigantic debt owed to this community,” which he said has dealt with “structural racism in our society for 500 years.”
But outside his event at the Ora Cafe, a small group of protesters were agitated. Rumors of a “security incident” spread inside the venue as towering members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters — a union supporting Steyer — inexplicably paced in their orange vests from the front door to the back door. Instead of taking questions from the audience, the event’s moderator announced they’d have to cut the dialogue short (even though Steyer insisted he wanted to stay).
As voters grabbed final selfies with the candidate, union workers and several plainclothes security guards formed a tight circle around Steyer and escorted him out through the kitchen to the alley where his black SUV was waiting. But protesters, who numbered less than a dozen, had already surrounded the vehicle — putting themselves directly in its path once the candidate was inside.
Two security guards in sunglasses motioned for them to step back and tried to inch the vehicle down the alley. But they quickly came chest to chest with demonstrators who refused. “Don’t you put your motherfucking hands on me,” one protester said, shoving the security guard back. Others gave Steyer the middle finger through the tinted windows.
“You’ve got to let him go,” one security guard pleaded. Scuffles ensued as more event staff came outside to try to help clear the alley.
“What’s your position on reparations Tom Steyer?” one protester shouted at him through the glass, referring to Steyer’s support for exploring reparations when he ran for president in 2020. “How are you going to cut the check?”
“Don’t ever come back to Africatown,” another demonstrator told him walking backward in front of the SUV as it slowly tried to roll down the alley. It wasn’t until a California Highway Patrol officer showed up on a motorcycle that Steyer’s driver was able to peel out of the alley and the South LA neighborhood.
VIDEO AT LINK.................
It was a reminder that even in the most expensive campaigns, a small handful of protesters with megaphones can quickly change the narrative. With every interaction filmed on cell phones, increasingly loud voices on the far left of the Democratic Party have made it harder for candidates to campaign unscathed, even when they insist they are allies in the cause.
In 2024, pro-Palestinian activists repeatedly interrupted Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris demanding that she do more to end the war in Gaza. The Biden administration’s equivocation on the issue ultimately took its toll in critical areas, including Arab American communities in Michigan. As California Governor Gavin Newsom tries to build his support among Black voters ahead of his likely 2028 run, he is likely to face heightened scrutiny of his position on reparations for Black Californians after authorizing a nine-member task force to study the issue. (He has advanced several bills that emanated from task force’s work, but sparked a backlash by vetoing others backed by the California Legislative Black Caucus).
Dennae Wright, a 44-year-old social worker who joined the Steyer demonstrators in Leimert Park, said the small protest developed organically as word spread through the neighborhood about the Democratic candidate’s event. While Steyer described himself inside the event as one of the most pro-reparations presidential candidates among his 2020 competitors, Wright said she hasn’t seen any follow through from him the issue. (Steyer advocated for a race commission in 2020 to study reparations and educate the country about Black history, but mainly focused in that campaign on his plans to boost funding for historically Black colleges and institutions).
“Black people are really kind of tired of the Democratic Party always coming around during election season for our votes,” Wright said. “It’s a brand new day. You can’t come over here offering us symbolism, dancing, singing, pats on the back and think we’re gonna vote for you.”
State Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, a Democrat who organized the event for Steyer along with other South LA organizations, said the protests were to be expected given the heated debate in Sacramento over the past few years.
“This is Leimert Park and this is where Africatown protests, so we knew that going in, but I appreciate that Tom is courageous and he meets the community where they’re at,” Smallwood-Cuevas said in an interview. “He’s always been on the front line and I think that’s what people packed the house today to see.”
VIDEO AT LINK....................
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Where’s Waldo?
Given an opportunity to get away with it, they would have killed him and taken everything he had on him.
LOL, “Africatown”. Sure, just like Little Italy, Chinatown, Koreatown, Japantown...
Steyer should have brought a bottle of hot sauce along.
IIRC, that film was pulled from distribution because it was supposed to be a parody and wound up being a documentary.............
Kind of like “Wag The Dog”, went right down the memory hole.
There is a real ‘Africatown’ near here. It is a Historic community founded by survivors of the last slave ship to the U.S.
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/initiatives/slave-wrecks-project/africatown-alabama-usa
After the voyage, the ship was burned and scuttled in Mobile Bay in an attempt to destroy the evidence.
The Clotilda was recently found:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clotilda_(slave_ship)
On May 22, 2019, the Alabama Historical Commission announced that the wreckage of the Clotilda had been found.[24][25][26]
While these reparation types are not likely to vote Republican, they may decide to abstain completely, reducing the overall democrat vote total. Interesting that this whole “reparation” nonsense is taking place in a state (CA) that has no history of slavery. Once you dangle that carrot in front of people looking to have their perceived ‘victimhood’ validated, you paint yourself into a corner when it comes time to deliver or at least explain how you intend to do so, knowing full well it will never happen.
If he wants to be taken seriously, the hypocrite should start by donating at least $2 billion of his own $2.2 billion net worth.
Blacks haven’t thought out this reparations thing very well. I do expert witness testimony for wrongful deaths which is a form of “reparation”. So, I used the wage rates for blacks in those countries in Africa where most US slaves came from (i.e., Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Senegal/Gambia) and compared them to US black wage rates in the US. I then did a present value analysis for 157 years using a 5% discount rate. As it turns out, US blacks owe non-blacks in the US approximately $640,000 each. I’m not sure where to go to pick up my check.
Forget the idea of “reparations”.
1: it is unjust.
2: it would set a bad precedent.
3: it would never be enough. Ever.
Those seeking reparations should stop and be thankful Western White men decided to abolish slavery 175 years ago. Things could be worse.
“Slavetown” would be more accurate and appropriate but nowhere near as appealing. That’s why Europetowns and Asiatowns are iconic and popular...not. It’s a large continent. Like lumping all of the native groups into an “Indiantown”. What culture, food and traditions would an Africatown represent? All it really is is about skin color.
What culture, food and traditions would an Africatown represent? All it really is is about skin color.
Tell the Hutus and Tutsis that.
Of course. I’ve been to Indiantown in Florida. I’m sure the Navajo, Sioux, Mohicans, Cherokee and others (other than maybe Seminole) feel *well* represented there.
I was avoiding the word “tribe” to keep it short. Otherwise we’re into Kenya, Sudan, etc, etc.
A big proponent of central government planning can’t plan a little party.
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