The techniques employed by activists associated with Black Lives Matter in Lawrence threaten to undermine the group’s credibility to the point that it cannot be taken seriously on the serious matters of justice and equality.

The profanity-laced tirade at Monday’s Lawrence school board meeting is the latest in a series of unproductive incidents that do the group’s mission more harm than good.

Caleb Stephens and Trinity Carpenter, self-described leaders of the local Black Lives Matter movement, were part of a takeover of Monday night’s meeting. The school board’s pleas to respect the board’s processes and follow the protocol for public comment were shouted down. Instead, one member of the group, Tasha Neal, informed the board, “we’re running this meeting right now,” and told board members not to interrupt.

Neal and others accosted board members with an approach that was threatening and aggressive, to the point that police were contacted. After listening for about 10 minutes, school board members voted to adjourn the meeting while the activists continued to yell at them. As board members got up to leave, Neal shouted, “We closed this mother-(expletive) down.”

Spectacles like Monday’s have become too common in the past year. The Lawrence City Commission and the University of Kansas have experienced similar meetings, in which individuals affiliated with Black Lives Matter seize control of the meetings, shout down any efforts at civil discourse and insist on respect, while refusing to demonstrate any respect toward the institutions and individuals that they are targeting.

And government isn’t the only target. Dozens of Lawrence businesses, churches and nonprofit organizations have been asked to write letters professing their solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Refusal to do so lands the business or organization on a boycott list maintained on the Lawrence Black Lives Matter Facebook page.

Nationally, Black Lives Matter is a movement born out of frustration with the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in 2012. In five years, the movement has expanded to tackle a broad array of social issues affecting black Americans including poverty, the criminal justice system, gender bias and discrimination based on sexual orientation.

It’s important to note that few cities have demonstrated a greater willingness to tackle such topics than Lawrence, a community founded by abolitionists on the principle that black lives do matter. One hundred fifty years later, Lawrence remains a community known for its pursuit of equality for all. Perhaps for that reason, local officials have, for the most part, provided Black Lives Matter members with multiple forums to air their grievances.

But enough is enough. The time has come for the City Commission, school board and other public bodies to stop allowing local Black Lives Matter activists to hijack public meetings. Maybe then, Black Lives Matter leaders will stop behaving like bullies and start advocating for equality and fairness.