McAlester-based Miller “Bo” Newman has been involved in nationwide demonstrations – but he said he never thought he would see what happened in Washington on Wednesday when a mob stormed the US Capitol.
“What I saw yesterday was sick – I’ll put it as it is,” Newman said on Thursday.
“Especially the destruction,” said Newman. “I didn’t like that at all.”
Newman, a lifelong Democrat, is president of the Pittsburg County Chapter of the NAACP and served as director of the NAACP in Oklahoma for two years. He also served for years as president of UAW Local 1558, the union that represents the McAlester facility currently known as Spirit AeroSystems, when the facility was formerly known as North American, Rockwell and Boeing.
“I served among all three,” he said.
Newman was both a civil rights activist and labor union leader, and was involved in demonstrations from California to DC, including the second Million Man March in Washington.
This is just one of the many demonstrations he has been involved in. Newman said he demonstrated for civil rights, electoral rights, and labor and workers rights.
“Wherever we met we had a march,” he said.
Newman has even picketed at the Dallas airport and at a location in Palm Springs, California dealing with labor issues, along with the numerous civil rights and electoral rights demonstrations he has attended.
These demonstrations were nothing more than what he saw unleashed in Washington on Wednesday.
“They have always been peaceful,” Newman said of the demonstrations in which he was involved. “We have always tried to stay within the realm of the law.”
He is confused about the vandalism in some of the House and Senate offices in the country’s Capitol that were empty at the time of the break-in because the legislature was in session or had already been evacuated.
“It was very uncomfortable,” Newman said of the destruction. “You could look in and see that nobody is there.”
He disagrees with those who claim the election was stolen from President Donald Trump. Both Oklahoma and Pittsburg Counties voted heavily for Trump during the November 3rd general election.
“I really couldn’t understand anyone in Oklahoma who said they stole an election,” Newman said. “I’ve never heard of anyone steal an election in Oklahoma.”
He knows from experience that it is not always easy to stay cool during a demonstration.
“Your rights stop at the end of my nose,” he said.
Newman has learned to ignore mockery and be called names during some of the demonstrations he has participated in, and has helped others give directions on what to do.
“I tell everyone to stay connected and not run away,” he said, referring to instructions on how to stay together. “The thing is, some tactics you learn in the military can play an important role in survival when you get into a confrontation.”
Newman hopes some of his fellow Americans will learn something from the events in Washington on Wednesday.
“It should be an awakening for the people,” he said. “That deal yesterday – it was unimaginable.”
Contact James Beaty at [email protected].
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