That reflects a wish to address problems of race and economic inequality.Īll that is appealing if the movement is to be more effective than just a protest outfit. Early next year it hopes to launch a bank to push capital to black-owned firms and non-profit groups. The idea is to confront the way African-Americans live, not only their repression and deaths.īLM leaders plan, for example, to campaign for more funding for the Postal Service, a big employer of middle-class African-Americans. It has long focused largely on police violence, mass incarceration and other criminal-justice woes. That reflects new ambition, what Ms Cullors has called “a totalising and unprecedented transition” for BLM. In October a BLM political-action committee was launched, to “bring the power of our movement from the streets to the ballot box”. Leaders of the foundation were hoping to meet members of Mr Biden’s transition team this week. For example, it is pressing Congress to pass legislation, known as the Breathe Act, that would order a big increase in federal spending on public housing. The foundation is also moving away from doing mostly on-the-ground work. That is because the foundation will control funds, dishing them out to officially recognised BLM city chapters through another new body called BLM Grassroots. In taking responsibility, as she says, for the “onus of our successes and failures”, she appears to be claiming leadership of the once leaderless movement. Ms Cullors has stood up as the boss of BLM’s Global Network Foundation, which she calls the “umbrella organisation” for the whole movement. A leading figure talks of “incredible financial growth and capacity”, and a huge surge in “the number of folks who want to throw down with us”, meaning long-term partners.Īnother change, the restructuring of BLM, could turn out to be just as significant: power is to be centralised. Exact sums received will be known when the central body overseeing BLM spending publishes its finances (confusingly it relies on another entity, a “fiscal sponsor”, the Tides Foundation, to oversee its books).
Donations to BLM-related causes since May were $10.6bn. Vastly larger promises and sums followed as employee and corporate donors, as well as rich individuals, joined the gift-giving. Within a month of the protests, BLM’s national network had to scramble to offer a first round of $6.5m in grants-far more than ever before-to city chapters, gay-rights groups and others.
Ms McKnight saw donations flood in from people in America, Europe, Japan and Brazil. That’s enough to keep operating for another five years, he says joyfully. Thanks to online donations, within a couple of months his almost-broke outfit went from $8,000 in the bank to nearly $650,000. The example of Niko Georgiades of Unicorn Riot, a non-profit, left-leaning media firm that posted early footage of protests in Minneapolis, is instructive. Start with the great fire-hose of money pointed at BLM groups and sympathisers. Better focus and organisation were needed. Black people, she wrote in September, had “paid dearly” for these shortcomings. Patrisse Cullors (pictured), one of BLM’s three co-founders, bluntly blamed her movement’s “half-drawn blueprints and road maps that led to untenable ends”, as well as its lack of funds and vision. But critics say that proved messy, bureaucratic, slow-moving and ineffective. BLM boasted of its grass-roots organising and decentralised, leaderless structure. Local chapters were passionate, but focused mostly on holding rallies in response to violent incidents by police. Ms Ndgo, who is critical of national leaders, says it had become “a shambles”. Several activists say the national part of their movement had lost its way. His cabinet will be home to many non-white faces.ĭoes this amount to a new wave for the civil-rights movement? BLM looked bereft before the summer.
Blm finances full#
That matters, says the incoming president, to “make sure that our armed forces reflect and promote the full diversity of our nation”. If the retired four-star general is confirmed, he would be the first African-American to preside over the Pentagon. This week he picked Lloyd Austin as defence secretary. His choice of Kamala Harris, who is part African-American, as his running-mate proved popular.
Joe Biden has concluded that more African-Americans must be seen in prominent jobs.
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