When Michael Brown Jr. was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, we witnessed the first major race riots in decades. The city burned, literally, as multiple nights of violent demonstrations captivated the nation. Seven years later, the father of man whose death launched Black Lives Matter wonders where the massive fundraising money they’ve accumulated is going.
According to The Blaze:
The father of Michael Brown Jr., whose death sparked nationwide protest in 2014, is accusing the Black Lives Matter movement of abandoning Ferguson activists and demanding $20 million for community improvement projects. Michael Brown Sr. released a joint statement with Tory Russell, the director of the International Black Freedom Alliance (IBFA), on Tuesday demanding some of the millions raised by BLM be handed over to activists in Ferguson, Missouri, where 18-year-old Brown Jr. was killed.
“Thousands of other youth activists in their 20s and 30s have been out in the streets protesting for months and months, and years and years. Still forgotten,” Russell said in a video released on Twitter.
Today our co-founder, #Ferguson frontline organizer @VanguardTNT alongside #MikeBrown's father demands 20 million from #BlackLivesMatter in order to continue the work they and other have been doing since the uprising since 2014. pic.twitter.com/4rDA28ZKnB
— TheIBFA (@THEIBFA) March 2, 2021
“We’re asking that Black Lives Matter leadership funds $20 million for Ferguson organizers, organizations and community foundations to do the work,” he added.
The timing of their demands is not random. Last week, our EIC posted a story and podcast about the massive fundraising Black Lives Matter did in 2020 and noted that the money has not really been used to advance their primary stated goal of ending systemic racism they claim exists in law enforcement. With a single-year haul of over $90 million, Black Lives Matter was poised to push their agenda forward. Instead, it seems the money is being funneled in other directions.
On the latest episode of Conservative News Briefs, JD broke down the demands of the Ferguson group, noting that even though he doesn’t agree with their agenda he understands why they would be asking the larger Black Lives Matter organization about the money. There likely wouldn’t really be an organization without the death of Michael Brown Jr, at least not with the scope and scale it has today.
Without directly accusing them, JD also speculated that the way they’re distributing the money seems awfully fishy. If they were helping out Black-owned businesses as they claim they have been, there would be plenty of press. Instead, there’s none. Just one check for $10,000 sent to a local business to help them make it through their troubles would be national news, yet so far we have seen no examples of this happening. Ask Michael Brown Sr asks, “Where is all that money going?”
What is Black Lives Matter doing with all the money they’re accumulating if not helping their local chapters and Black-owned businesses to advance? They seem to be fundraising for the sake of fundraising. All talk, all woke.
Watch the full video on Locals.