A Michael Brown protest in Toronto is creating controversy because of some "rules" posted on the organization's Fracebook page.

Black Lives Matter, a group that arose in the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting, is instructing white people to "refrain from taking up space in all ways possible" and "never be at the centre of anything" at the event in Toronto on November 25.

The page also instructs white people not to talk to the media.

Daily Mail:

'If you see a cop harassing a black person,' it added, 'come in and engage (chances are they are least likely to arrest you)'. 

It has provoked tension in the wake of the grand jury verdict in Ferguson, which refused to indict officer Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.

[...]

However, the peaceful protests were marred by a war of words on Wednesday as the Facebook event created by Black Lives Matter: Toronto was flooded with accusations of racism. 

One user wrote: 'Wow, is this an anti-racist rally or a pro-segregation one?'

Another said: 'Changed a lot for me. I will no longer be attending this event or supporting this cause.'

Others, however, supported the organizers.

'So many white tears about the rules for allies... Why can’t you let black folk stand in the centre and let their voices be heard, just for once,' one commented.

And one said: 'I can’t believe how the media and so many of the commenters on this page are making this event about White people. 

'Do you think that putting Black voices at the forefront of a conversation about racism against Black people is wrong?'

In the early days of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King welcomed all races to help with the cause; white communists, Jews, rich white college kids, and of course, the Hollywood left.

My, oh my how the times – and the character of black protest – have changed.

Rather than welcoming all the help they can use, the black activists who run Black Lives Matter may as well put a disclaimer in their organization's name: "And only black lives."  Suggesting that whites act as human shields for blacks bespeaks a worldview twisted by racism.  They don't want whites taking up space unless they bear the brunt of police action after the organizers provoke a response.

I can understand the urge to put a black face on these protests.  But segregating people by race is wrong on any level, at any time.  The very people who should realize that truth are the ones most egregiously violating it.