NEW YORK -- Cherish Patton recalled springing into action when a friend sent her a message that a New York City police officer had grabbed a petite protester by her hood and had flung her to the pavement.Patton, who has organized several Black Lives Matter protests, posted a plea on social media for help identifying the officer. She also called her friend for details on the protester, who had been whisked to the emergency room. "Oh, it's Michelle," her friend told her."Wait, white Michelle who I argued with for three years? White Michelle?" asked an astonished, and confused, Patton, who is Black. The hurt protester was a former classmate, Michelle Moran, 18, whose conservative commentary on politics and social issues had made Patton, 18, cringe in high school in Manhattan.George Floyd's death in police custody in Minneapolis pushed anguished Black people into the streets, as had happened countless times after police killings of Black people. But this time, t...
