Hawk Newsome
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Walter "Hawk" Newsome is an American
law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...
graduate who co-founded Black Lives Matter of Greater New York alongside his sister Chivona Newsome.


Biography

Newsome worked as a
paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with an admission to practice law. The market for p ...
for the
Bronx District Attorney The Bronx County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for Bronx County, which is coterminous with the Borough of the Bronx, in New York City. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws. (Feder ...
's Office and also worked as a
project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the Project planning, planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined star ...
at the
law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker. He unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the
New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...
from
The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
, garnering around 3% of the vote on a platform Newsome said was "too radical". He subsequently co-founded Black Lives Matter of Greater New York with Chivona Newsome. Chivona later stepped down from the group to run for a
U.S. House The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
seat in The Bronx. In 2017 Newsome attended the
Mother of All Rallies The Mother of All Rallies (M.O.A.R.) was a rally held on September 16, 2017, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States, in support of President Donald Trump. The event was held on the same day as other demonstrations throughout the ...
in Washington, DC. He was invited onstage by Tommy Hodges, the rally organizer, to speak for two minutes; Hodges told Newsome "Whether they disagree or agree with your message is irrelevant. It's the fact that you have the right to have the message". Newsome tried to connect with the crowd, saying "I am the president of Black Lives Matter New York. I am an American. And the beauty of America is that when you see something broken in your country, you can mobilize to fix it". The crowd applauded, and afterward Newsome decided he was "not out to argue, to fight. I'm there to make people understand, to make people come together. I'm here for progress". In September 2021, Newsome called COVID-19 vaccine mandates "racist" and "discrimination." In November 2021, Newsome threatened "riots", "fire", and "bloodshed" in the streets if
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
mayor-elect
Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer who has served as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City P ...
reinstated the
New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
's (NYPD) controversial anti-crime units. Later, when asked whether he condemned riots and burning down buildings after a police use-of-force incident he did not approve of he said, "I’m not going to condemn, nor am I going to condone it." Newsome has filed two ongoing civil lawsuits against the NYPD, alleging that he was assaulted by police officers and falsely arrested during two separate protests in 2017 and 2018. A video posted by the ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' shows a police officer punching Newsome before several police officers tackled him to the ground. Newsome was holding a sign that read: " Blue Klux Klan". The New York Times stated that as people were leaving the courtroom after the acquittal of Daniel Penny for the death of
Jordan Neely On May 1, 2023, in New York City, Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, was killed after being put in a chokehold by Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old United States Marine Corps veteran while riding the New York City Subway. Neely, who was repor ...
, Newsome, who was present in the courtroom and "...who has led daily protests during the trial — said toward Mr. Penny: 'It’s a small world, buddy.' Several people gasped and court officers urged the group to keep moving. Mr. Penny and his team were quickly ushered out." Later, addressing a crowd, Newsome made a similar threat, calling for "black vigilantism".


Relationship with BLM

In June 2020, then-U.S. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
described Newsome in a tweet as a "Black Lives Matter leader." This description of Newsome prompted a response from managing director of the
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGN or BLMGNF) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Civil and political rights, civil rights organization dedicated to promoting the Black Lives Matter move ...
Kailee Scales, who stated that Newsome "has no relation to the Black Lives Matter Global Network," "is not the 'president' of BLM or any of its chapters," and that 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," adding, "the only official chapter of BLM in New York is Black Lives Matter NYC."


Personal life

Newsome lives in The Bronx in New York City. He regularly attends
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
service and smokes
cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...
s. Newsome often wears a
bulletproof vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or bullet-resistant vest, is a type of body armor designed to absorb impact and prevent the penetration of firearm projectiles and explosion fragments to the torso. The vest can be either soft ...
and drives a rotation of rented vehicles for security and safety purposes. Hawk Newsome was arrested at Bronx Criminal Court May 14th, 2024. Video clips show Hawk in verbal altercations with the court officers. According to the NY Post, "At one point, Newsome was filmed grabbing a female cop’s hand and batting it away after the officer apparently tried to move on a woman who was with Newsome." According to CBS, "Newsome was slapped with three summonses for disorderly conduct in the wake of the caught-on-camera saga."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newsome, Hawk Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American people Activists from New York City African-American activists American anti-racism activists Paralegals 21st-century Baptists Activists from the Bronx