The Black Lives Matter activist who went viral for stealing a Confederate flag was just murdered

A prominent Black Lives Matter activist was just gunned down in New Orleans, Louisiana, joining a depressingly long list of black activists who were taken from us before their time.

Muhiyidin Moye, also known as Muhiyidin d’Baha, was riding his bike home at 1 AM when he was shot in the leg by an unknown assailant. He was forced to ride five blocks on an injured leg to get to a hospital before succumbing to his wounds.

Moye made headlines around the country for leaping over a barricade to snatch away a Confederate flag from a militant racist during a protest in Charleston, South Carolina.

Police have ruled his death a homicide and are currently investigating.

Muhiyidin was well known for his love for his community and for his determined efforts to break down the social alienation that keeps communities fractured and at odds with each other.

“We can insulate ourselves from a lot of the tumultuousness and a lot of the happenstance that is happening at those levels right now by becoming stronger at our neighborhood level, at our community level, becoming stronger at our city level. And then we can really look after individuals and look after people, and that’s a little bit different than just winning talking points or changing public opinion so we can get someone into office” d’Baha once said to the Charleston City Paper

“He was a consummate social justice activist. He was a man that was driven by the spirit of community” remembers North Charleston mayoral candidate Thomas Dixon.

We hope the police will get to the bottom of this brutal murder as quickly as possible – and if it was politically motivated, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Donate to the GoFundMe for his funeral service here.

Natalie Dickinson

Natalie is a staff writer for the Washington Press. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2010 and has been freelance blogging and writing for progressive outlets ever since.