Marissa Johnson

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Marissa Johnson at microphone at August, 2015 political rally in Seattle

Marissa Johnson (b. 1990/1991[1]) is a Seattle, Washington resident, who attained notoriety when she interrupted U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at an August, 2015 rally in Seattle. Her activism has been associated with the Black Lives Matter movement.[2][2][3] She is founder of a Seattle based justice group called Outside Agitators 206,[4] which was disbanded when she became a cofounder of the Seattle chapter of Black Lives Matter c. September 2015.[5]

Activism

Johnson had been noted in media outlets in Seattle and beyond for her engagement[4] and disruption of public meetings before the Sanders incident.[6] She organized a November, 2014 die-in at a Downtown Seattle shopping mall which shut down the mall on Black Friday 2014.[7][8][9] At a January 2015 city council meeting to discuss the use of body cameras by city police, she caused suspension of the meeting and said "I don't need a home video of my oppression".[10]

Widely reported as being black, she has one black and one white parent, and describes herself as an evangelical Christian.[1][11] She has cited her faith as a motivator for her activism, saying "white supremacy is sin".[12] She graduated from Seattle Pacific University in 2013 with a degree in theology. After graduating, she went to work as a nanny.[1][13] Some writers have said she has been "smeared" as a Tea Party movement activist,[14] and she has said that her parents were Tea Party members when she lived with them.[1] Johnson has said that she once supported Sarah Palin as a national political candidate, and criticized "white liberal" people for being like Rachel Dolezal.[12]

The disruption of Bernie Sanders' speech was described by Seattle political commentator Maria Tomchick in December, 2015 as being an important part of the "biggest news story of 2015", the expansion of the Black Lives Matter movement into the national political stage.[15]

Black Lives Matter Seattle chapter controversies

The Seattle BLM chapter of Black Lives Matter has been criticized while under Johnson's leadership for allowing anti-Semitic remarks at its rallies.[16][17][18]

Awards and recognition

Johnson was a nominee for Crosscut.com's 2015 Courage in Public Service Award.[19]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Marissa Johnson: a generation of activists who believe in disruption, Nina Shapiro, The Seattle Times, August 15, 2015
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bernie Sanders event shut down by Black Lives Matter activists, Alex Seitz-Wald, MSNBC, August 8, 2015
  3. ↑ Black Lives Matters Stands With Protestors In Seattle This Week in Blackness (podcast) (Elon James White ed.) August 10, 2015
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ In Her Own Words: The Political Beliefs of the Protester Who Interrupted Bernie Sanders, Eli Sanders, The Stranger, August 11, 2015
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Woman who disrupted Bernie Sanders rally stands by white supremacy remarks by Richard D. Oxley, MyNorthwest.com August 18, 2015
  14. ↑ Thank You, Mara Jacqueline Willaford and Marissa Johnson, Erica Garner, The Huffington Post, August 16, 2015
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

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External links

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