Michael Rushford
Investigative reporter Andrew Kerr’s piece in yesterday’s Washington Examiner exposes the corruption backstage of Black Lives Matter (BLM), the nation’s most influential social justice group. BLM was based in 2013 by black activists Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, in response to the acquittal of Hispanic neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman after the deadly taking pictures of black teenager Trayvon Martin in self protection. The motion gained nationwide publicity after the August 9, 2014 taking pictures dying of black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. BLM instantly launched protests which became a number of weeks of riots, with companies looted and set on fireplace. The St. Louis Chief Monetary Officer estimated a complete price at $20 million. Months later a grand jury and the Obama Justice Division concluded that the taking pictures was in self protection. By the Could 25, 2020 dying of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the group had amassed a number of million in contributions and had a worldwide community of chapters and associates. Inside 5 days of Floyd’s dying BLM coordinated protests occurred, virtually concurrently, in 2,000 cities in 60 international locations. Most of the protests, particularly in over 200 U.S. cities, devolved into riots with authorities buildings and companies burned, cops, bystanders and reporters attacked, and widespread looting and violence. Ultimately the “largely peaceable” protests took 25 lives and value at the least $1 billion in injury. So how did BLM get the cash to finance these protests and the place did it go?
In line with the Examiner story, BLM didn’t turn into a legit charitable group till December of 2020, when it obtained tax-exempt standing. Prior that that, its funding was funneled by two extremely liberal California charities, the Thousand Currents Basis and the Tides Basis. The Thousand Currents Basis is funded by the MacCarther, Packard and Kellogg Foundations, and Nicholas Pritzker’s Libra Basis amongst others. The Tides Basis receives its funding from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the Atlantic Advocacy Fund, The Ford Basis and the California Endowment, all giant scale donors to progressive causes. In 2020 alone, BLM obtained transfers totaling $66.5 million from the Thousand Currents Basis. Final Could BLM co-founder Patrice Cullors introduced that she was leaving the group to pursue different pursuits. Cullors had been had been receiving a wage of $20,000 a month since 2019 and had expensed some $26,000 for conferences at a luxurious Malibu resort that yr. She was additionally being investigated for $3.2 million in private actual property purchases allegedly made with BLM funds. On the time of her departure Cullors appointed two activists, Monica Themba and Monifa Bandele to guide BLM, however 4 months later each revealed that they’d by no means accepted the job.
The investigator reported that BLM claimed closing out 2020 with $60 million in its checking account. The one remaining management of the group are board members Shalomyah Bowers and Raymond Howard, neither of whom would return phone calls. The investigator really went to the Los Angeles workplace recognized in BLM tax filings because the place the place its monetary information are held, and realized from a safety guard that there was by no means a BLM workplace at that location. The group has but to file a tax return for 2020 and no one can say the place the $60 million BLM mentioned it had in January 2020 really is.
To sum up; Black Lives Matter obtained contributions of some quantity past $70 million from companies together with Goal, Fb, Walmart, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Sq., Etsy, Levis, Hole, Nike, MacDonalds, Wendys, Coca-Cola, Peloton and liberal billionaires, laundered by two California Foundations. The return on this funding was a yr of riots, at the least $1 billion in property injury, 25 deaths, a historic enhance in crime and violence nationally, the partial destruction of dozens of cities, all of which had a major and disproportionate unfavourable impression on the lives African People. Exterior of the small group leaders and consultants who lined their pockets with the largesse of silly company leaders trying to validate their racial advantage, precisely who has benefited from Black Lives Matter?
