Photo: Hawk Newsome (R), May 31, 2017. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Hawk Newsome, who claims to be the leader of the New York chapter of Black Lives Matter, has blasted NYC Mayor Eric Adams, accusing him of being a Democrat who uses “conservative and Republican talking points.”
“He’s a white man in blackface and a very conservative-minded white man at that,” Newsome said during an appearance on Fox News on April 21, using a racial slur to refer to Adams.
“This city is a war zone, and (Adams) can’t stop it,” Newsome added.
Although Newsome calls himself a co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, Black Lives Matter Global Network issued a statement in 2020 saying that Newsome was not part of the organization.
The statement read in part, “Hawk Newsome has no relation to the Black Lives Matter Global Network (“BLM”) founded by Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi — and is not the “president” of BLM or any of its chapters.” He “has no relation to the Black Lives Matter Global Network” and his group “is not a chapter of BLM and has not entered into any agreement with BLM agreeing to adhere to BLM’s core principles.” The statement continued, “The only official chapter of BLM in New York is Black Lives Matter NYC.”
CNBC reported in June 2020 that Newsome actually runs a “fringe Black Lives Matter knock-off group.”
A lawyer and activist, Newsome graduated from Touro College Law Center in New York City. He has filed two ongoing civil lawsuits against the NYPD, alleging that he was assaulted by police officers and falsely arrested during protests in 2017 and 2018.
Newsome blames Adams, a former New York Police Department captain, for allowing the city to turn into a “war zone” with increased gun violence. Newsome called out Adam’s meeting with the mother of 12-year-old Kade Lewin, who was fatally shot while sitting in a parked minivan in Brooklyn on March 31. No arrests have been made in the killing.
“Don’t listen to what Eric Adams says, he gives great press statement. He’s the master of the press conference,” Newsome said according to a New York Post report.
“Some kid dies, he hugs their mother. He’s holding up sneakers, he’s crying. But what we elected him for — the city of New York — was to keep the city safe,” Newsome said. This city is a war zone, and he can’t stop it.”
There have been a series of shootings in New York City in recent weeks. On April 12, Frank James, 62, allegedly entered a New York Subway train in Brooklyn and fired a handgun 33 times. Ten people were reported injured by the gunfire, and 19 by other causes.
On April 19 and April 20, three people were killed in shootings and at least 12 were injured in the Bronx and Brooklyn.
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This isn’t the first time Newsome has had Adams in his sights.
In 2021, following a meeting with Adams, Newsome threatened “riots,” “fire,” and “bloodshed” if Adams went ahead with his plan to create a new version of the NYPD’s undercover anti-crime unit to target illegal gun possession.
“If they think they are going back to the old ways of policing then we’re going to take to the streets again,” Newsome said at the time.
“There will be riots. There will be fire, and there will be bloodshed.”
Photo: Hawk Newsome (R) speaks outside the Bronx Supreme Court after a police sergeant was indicted by a New York City grand jury for shooting a 66-year-old mentally ill woman, May 31, 2017. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
