When St. Paul police last week attempted to clear Summit Avenue of the encampment dedicated to protesting the death of Philando Castile, a black man shot and killed by a St. Anthony police officer, a nearly daylong standoff culminated with 70 arrests.
Of those taken into custody, 50 were white.
Two weeks before, 41 demonstrators were arrested for blockading Interstate 35W during morning rush hour to decry the shooting. None of the protesters was black — and none of them was talking.
"As non-Black people committed to highlighting the voices of Black organizers, members of this action will not speak to press," read a flier handed out to reporters.
White Minnesotans are fueling the influx of protesters across the Twin Cities area in the wake of Castile's death and the fatal police shooting of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis last November. They share a common view with their Black Lives Matter counterparts: That the killing of black men by police is due to systemic racism of law enforcement and other institutions.
But their participation represents a balancing act for black leaders, who say that while they welcome the support from their white allies, it's crucial that black voices remain the crux of the movement.
"The majority of white allies seem comfortable with black leadership in the movement, and they are reminded to check their privilege when they become involved with the demonstrations," said Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP. "It means we know that white privilege is a real phenomenon; it means they would be willing to take a secondary role and defer to black leadership."
While Minnesota is growing more diverse, its predominantly white population — about 85 percent, according to the latest statistics — is generally considered a major factor in why many Black Lives Matter demonstrations are majority nonblack.