A block party opposing displacement of the Black community in the Central District (CD) was interrupted by a scuffle that ended in one protester receiving a bloodied eye and anti-Semitic comments directed at Ian Eisenberg, owner of Uncle Ike’s pot shop.
Eisenberg recorded Omari Tahir-Garrett, activist and CD icon, as he yelled into the camera that Eisenberg should go back to Germany and “let the Nazis get on you again.”
Some involved in the anti-displacement movement, including Standing Against Foreclosure and Eviction (SAFE), denounced the language.
“To support or silently allow blatant or latent anti-semitism is to betray the spirit of intersectional and multi-racial unity,” SAFE’s statement read in part. “Our movement and our being is about inclusion, not exclusion and certainly not anti-semitism.”
The conflict began when music began blasting from the speakers at Uncle Ike’s Glass & Goods shop, interrupting a Spanish-language artist as she performed a set from a recent tour with Batallones Femeninos, a feminist rap group.
A fight broke out between a protester and several security guards.
The day was otherwise peaceful and filled with music. The organizers planned to continue to hold the Saturday events.
“We want a stake in our community,” said Soulma Hardiman, a community member.