A coalition of Black Lives Matter chapters has filed a lawsuit against the BLM Global Network Foundation, a non-profit organization that grew out of the protest movement, accusing the foundation of defrauding the local activist groups.
The complaint was filed on Thursday by BLM Grassroots, an entity made up of 26 BLM chapters in the US, UK and Canada.
The local organizers allege that the foundation, which has been a clearinghouse for donations to support BLM over the years, has fundraised off the work of the chapters, but mismanaged the funds and had shut local chapters out of decision making.
The grassroots group, which includes BLM chapters in Los Angeles, Michigan, Atlanta and Boston, also alleges that the foundation, which runs blacklivesmatter.com, has locked them out of the main BLM social media accounts.
And it alleges that the foundation isn’t abiding by a plan laid out by the BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors when she resigned last year to wind down the foundation and transition resources to BLM Grassroots.
“The assets that we built, the financial resources, the social media platforms and the name ‘Black Lives Matter’ have been taken from us and are under the control of consultants,” said Dr Melina Abdullah, the director of BLM Grassroots and a co-founder of the BLM Los Angeles chapter. She spoke at a press conference alongside activists including Dr Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated “Central Park Five”, and families of people killed by police, including Stephon Clark, Grechario Mack, and Mely Corado.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles superior court, seeks damages and restitution as well as a temporary restraining order to block the foundation from using the BLM accounts and website. The complaint names the foundation and Shalomyah Bowers, a consultant whose firm was paid $2m by the foundation in fiscal year 2020. A current foundation board member, he has also served as board secretary and principal officer, and the suit accuses him of “unjust enrichment”.
The BLM foundation responded to the lawsuit with a lengthy statement on Thursday afternoon, calling the allegations “harmful, divisive, and false”.
The foundation’s three-person board, which includes Bowers, said it was false to suggest there was a plan to transition all the foundation’s assets to the grassroots group. It said a new social media policy was implemented to make access more equitable by requiring people to send content before it is posted, and said BLM Grassroots could still submit content. It rejected claims the foundation had been making decisions unilaterally, and it accused BLM Grassroots of trying to seize control of the foundation’s assets.
The case comes nine years after the birth of the BLM hashtag and movement following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin. BLM was central to organizing efforts in Ferguson, Missouri, the following year, and since then BLM groups across the country have supported families of people killed by police, organized mass demonstrations, fought for police accountability and led “defund the police” campaigns.
And it follows several years of tensions between local BLM groups and the national foundation, with contunuing debates about the vision, tactics and structure of the movement.
The foundation was launched in 2017 by Cullors, as an administrative organization to provide funds for local groups, the suit says. Cullors announced in May 2021 that she was stepping down, after rightwing media coverage of her real estate purchases and scrutiny from some within the movement about the foundation’s operations.
Cullors named two organizers to serve as interim senior executives, but the two organizers tapped to be leaders announced months later that they had never started because they were unable to reach an agreement about the scope of their positions.
According to the suit, Bowers, who had been handling the administration of the foundation under Cullors, took control of the operation, shutting out BLM Grassroots.
“We’re asking for accountability,” said Angela Austin, who serves as director of operations and policy for BLM Grassroots and is a co-founder of BLM Michigan. She said the local chapter hadn’t been able to access social media accounts after the killing of Patrick Lyoya in Grand Rapids, and that her group had received no commitment for continuing funding from the foundation. “It’s crushing.”
“We’re fighting for the soul of Black Lives Matter,” added Abdullah. “Black Lives Matter belongs to the people who birthed and built it.”
Cullors did not respond to an inquiry on Thursday. Bowers referred to the foundation’s statement when reached for comment, and added in an email that he had posted content about Lyoya on behalf of the BLM Grassroots organizers.
Jacob Blake Sr, whose son was shot by Kenosha police and left paralyzed, has worked with Abdullah and the grassroots group to support other families, and said he hoped the foundation and Bowers would relinquish control: “It’s a slap in the face again to Black and brown people that we have to suffer people in our own movement raising and taking over funds that were for the advancement of Black and brown people. It’s unfathomable.”
Blake and Bianca Austin, the aunt of Breonna Taylor, whose killing helped spark the 2020 uprisings, have traveled the country supporting other victims with their group, Families United. The two said they asked Bowers and the foundation for funding support for a van, but never heard back.
“It’s hurtful and just sad for everybody,” Bianca Austin said. “There’s already this negative narrative out there about ‘Black Lives Matter’ the organization versus ‘Black Lives Matter’ the movement. It’s crushing to people really in this movement … But we’ll get through this.”
