BLM Leaders Facing Backlash Over Spending Controversy

Serious questions are being raised about how one of the largest Black Lives Matter groups is spending the nearly $100 million it raised in the past year.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is facing tough questions over how it spends its money.

Some background: In 2020, the BLM Foundation raised $90 million, allegedly to help fight for racial justice, create economic opportunity or support the families of “victims” of police violence. [There are a handful of other organizations with similar names and this article is not about those other groups.]

But where did the money go?

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

"I have never personally dealt with BLM Louisville, and personally have found them to be fraud,” Breonna Taylor’s mom, Tamika Palmer, wrote on Facebook recently, as reported by the Washington Examiner.

“A review of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation's financial documents found the group raised nearly $100 million in 2020,” Washington Examiner Joseph Simonson wrote. He said “less than $40 million was spent in the last year.”

The families of Michael Brown and Breonna Taylor — two of the iconic victims in the BLM movement — are questioning the funding of the movement, with Taylor’s family calling the Louisville, Kentucky BLM branch a “fraud.” https://t.co/I7GLx3YxTX

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) April 20, 2021

The Black Lives Matter group shared some of its financial details with the Associated Press in February.

“We want to uplift Black joy and liberation, not just Black death. We want to see Black communities thriving, not just surviving,” the group told the AP.

“This marks the first time in the movement’s nearly eight-year history that BLM leaders have revealed a detailed look at their finances,” the AP reported.

“That growth also caused longstanding tensions to boil over between some of the movement’s grassroots organizers and national leaders,” the AP reported, and said the grassroots activists “went public last fall with grievances about financial transparency, decision-making and accountability.”

BLM exploits black families!https://t.co/VtBzYMyAfj

— David J Harris Jr (@DavidJHarrisJr) April 20, 2021

“The foundation said it committed $21.7 million in grant funding to official and unofficial BLM chapters, as well as 30 Black-led local organizations,” the AP reported.

“It ended 2020 with a balance of more than $60 million, after spending nearly a quarter of its assets on the grant funds and other charitable giving,” the news organization said.

Should BLM Foundation give back donations? Do you think Black Lives Matter actually helps black people? Share your thoughts below!

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