Has Black Lives Matter Made Good on its Promise to Us? | Opinion

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors was recently criticized for purchasing over $3 million dollars in real estate. Among others, Cullors has been called out by Black Lives Matter of Greater New York for her purchase of four high-end homes. Head of BLM of Greater New York, Hawk Newsome, is calling for an investigation into how Cullors is paid and how much she has donated to charity.

As someone who has attended and helped organize many BLM protests, I feel Cullors' behavior should be questioned. What makes her actions any different than a televangelist who promises you the Lord, just as long as you pay for their next G-5 plane? What makes her behavior different from the myriad of corporations that have used Black pain to enrich themselves?

In fact, many of these corporations use the Black Lives Matter banner like an ATM card. These days, supporting BLM is seen as being on the "right side of history." But what has actually changed? Nike has made billions in profits off of campaigns featuring Colin Kaepernick kneeling, and during Black History Month, but less than 10 percent of its 300 vice-presidents are Black. CitiGroup, which has tweeted in support of Black Lives Matter, donated over $200,000 in 2020 to members of Congress with an "F" rating from the NAACP. Michael Bloomberg, the father of New York City's unconstitutional and racist "stop and frisk" policy, released a memo to his employees drawing attention to the George Floyd video and other police killings of Black men. The list of corporations posting their cringey support of BLM goes on.

So here's my question: Is Black Lives Matter truly giving back to Blacks what it should? Has it made good on promises to us, or just provided a useful smokescreen for corporations to further exploit our pain and make money while doing so?

I ask this, not to downplay what Black Lives Matter founders Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Cullorshave done. BLM, however you may feel about it, has inarguablyopened a dialogue about the importance of Black bodies. It has drawn attention to injustices not only in America but all over the globe. When people in Europe have been influenced by an American cause, you know you've made an impact. When your rallying cry for social justice can be heard in Rio, Cape Town, and Tokyo, you've officially made your mark on history.

Unfortunately, money also matters. It speaks louder than influence, in many cases.

In 2020, BLM generated $90 million in donations, the AP reported. It's a staggering sum. And many are wondering where it's gone, like Michael Brown, Sr., the father of Michael Brown, killed in Ferguson, Missouri.

"Where is all that money going?" he asked in a press conference. "How could you leave the families who are helping the community without any funding?"

It's a good question, and a fair one. But increasingly, people calling out BLM are being silenced. Jason Whitlock was locked out of his Twitter account for pointing out that Patrisse Cullors has chosen to live in an extremely white neighborhood. "She had a lot of options on where to live," Whitlock tweeted. "She chose one of the whitest places in California. She'll have her pick of white cops and white people to complain about. That's a choice, bro."

He was then locked out of his account. And people who tried to share the New York Post article about her houses found they were unable to do so, even in a private messages.

For her part, Cullors called the questioning of her finances "terror"—which is weak at best, and lazy at worst. If her homes were about Black empowerment and redistribution of wealth, as Cullours argued, where are the receipts of her contribution to the wealth in the Black community? We need to ask for more accountability from the organization as a whole.

Unlike some, I believe it's okay to challenge our leaders, historical figures, and institutions if we disagree with something they do. It doesn't mean I'll stop marching, protesting, and demonstrating in the names of the fallen who only fell because they were considered less than.

So where do we go from here? Black Lives Matter leaders, start requesting receipts. Demand answers from representatives. Take a closer look at fundraising.

We're getting murdered live and in color every week—still. Cops are still getting off with slight repercussions.

Are you satisfied with where this money meant for us is going? Let's hold the organization accountable, because if not us, eventually the federal government will.

Alex Miller has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Independent, and is also featured in the anthologies "The Byline Bible" and "The Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook."

The views in this article are the writer's own.