--- description: The co-founder of Black Lives Matter Chicago blasts the President's meeting with veteran civil rights leaders and young activists title: Black Lives Matter Activist: White House Meeting a Sham image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5b9bea6ba39b397/69887e34a988ca53ac6b6a6d/510719838.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Black Lives Matter Activist Snubs White House Invite by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 18, 2016 5:36 PM CUT  US President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference following a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the Sunnylands estate on February 16, 2016 in Rancho Mirage, California. MANDEL NGAN—AFP/Getty Images US President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference following a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the Sunnylands estate on February 16, 2016 in Rancho Mirage, California. MANDEL NGAN—AFP/Getty ImagesMANDEL NGAN—AFP/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 18, 2016 5:36 PM CUT The co-founder of Black Lives Matter Chicago has rejected an invitation from the White House to sit down for a meeting with President Barack Obama and a group of veteran Civil Rights leaders. The White House billed the meeting as a[ first-of-its kind gathering](http://time.com/4228135/president-obama-black-lives-matter-civil-rights-meeting/ "undefined") of veteran leaders, young activists, and the leader of the free world. But in an op-ed for [Truth-Out.org ](http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/34889-black-struggle-is-not-a-sound-bite-why-i-refused-to-meet-with-president-obama "undefined")that was also shared with TIME via email[,](http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/34889-black-struggle-is-not-a-sound-bite-why-i-refused-to-meet-with-president-obama "undefined") invitee Aislinn Pulley calls the meeting a “sham” and says it would do a disservice to her greater goals as an activist to participate. “As a radical, Black organizer, living and working in a city that is now widely recognized as a symbol of corruption and police violence,” she writes, “I do not feel that a handshake with the president is the best way for me to honor Black History Month or the Black freedom fighters whose labor laid the groundwork for the historic moment we are living in.” Pulley is one of over a dozen people who were invited to the White House for Thursday’s meeting, including activist Deray McKesson, President of NAACP Legal Defense Fund Sherrilyn Ifill, student leader of the Concerned 1950 movement at the University of Missouri Deshaunya Ware, and Congressman John Lewis of Georgia. The meeting coincides with the White House’s Black History Month reception, which aides say is merely coincidental; both events had been planned in advance but they weren’t necessarily planned in tandem. On Thursday, the activist‚ who has led protests against police brutality and other issues through Black Lives Matter Chicago since Ferguson, suggested the meeting would be little more than a photo-opp for the president. She writes: --- > “” --- She concluded by writing that the federal government cannot be counted on to bring about the change she’s calling for in America. “We assert that true revolutionary and systemic change will ultimately only be brought forth by ordinary working people, students and youth – organizing, marching and taking power from the corrupt elites.” The White House has not yet responded to Pulley’s letter. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4229329/black-lives-matter-activist-snubs-white-house-invite/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4229329/black-lives-matter-activist-snubs-white-house-invite/"},"headline":"Black Lives Matter Activist Snubs White House Invite","datePublished":"2016-02-18T17:36:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:11:47.220Z","description":"\"What was arranged was basically a photo opportunity and a 90-second sound bite for the president.\"","url":"https://time.com/4229329/black-lives-matter-activist-snubs-white-house-invite/","keywords":["White House","Barack Obama","Obama","Black History Month","Civil Rights"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5b9bea6ba39b397/69887e34a988ca53ac6b6a6d/510719838.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5b9bea6ba39b397/69887e34a988ca53ac6b6a6d/510719838.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-ASEAN-DIPLOMACY-OBAMA-politics","caption":"US-ASEAN-DIPLOMACY-OBAMA-politics","creditText":"MANDEL NGAN—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4229329/black-lives-matter-activist-snubs-white-house-invite/","name":"Black Lives Matter Activist Snubs White House Invite"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Black Lives Matter Co-Founder: No Endorsement For 2016","description":"Alicia Garza told the Associated Press Black Lives Matter will continue protesting and advocating for social issues rather than endorse a 2016 presidential candidate.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/gsYoy8U6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-19T17:05:39.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gsYoy8U6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4229329/black-lives-matter-activist-snubs-white-house-invite/","duration":"PT1M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4229329/black-lives-matter-activist-snubs-white-house-invite/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```