September 4, 2020
Elle Woods, Research Analyst,
American Security Council Foundation
The Black Lives Matter movement was formed from a hashtag on social media protesting police brutality and racism. The original Marxist co-founders, other partners organizations, and some chapters use the Black Live Matter (BLM) name to propel a cultural revolution toward a socialist society, with a limited police role.
The American Security Council Foundation (ASCF) believes in the Constitutional right to peaceful protests. This article is to inform the reader that the Marxist co-founders and many of their partners want to change the American democratic institutions, using the BLM name. The danger of the Marxist ideology is the demands they want will propel us toward a socialist society. Socialism would mean the loss of free enterprise and individual rights.[1] Marxism ideology believes once socialism is in place, communism would follow.
Different ideologies desire a different outcome for America: BLM started with three women, using the hashtag, “Black Lives Matter,” to protests the death of Treyvon Martin in 2013.[2] The hashtag became a name brand for racial injustice and police brutality. However, these women are not new to organizing a movement. Two of the co-founding women who started the BLM hashtag are self-proclaimed Marxists, focused on transgender inequality, preach class warfare, oppose wealth inequality, support an end to Capitalism, and want to disrupt the fundamental family unit.[3] These co-founding women, partner organizations, and BLM Chapters have different grievances and desired outcomes.
The BLM Chapter in D.C., for example, makes some of the following demands:[4]
- Defund the police
- Legalize Prostitution
- No new jails
- Police free schools
- End cash bail
- End “Stop and Frisk”
The Movement for Black Lives Matter, a separate organization using the BLM brand name, current demands include, but are not limited to:[5]
- End to all jails, prisons, and immigration detention
- End the war on drugs
- End the war on Black trans, gender-nonconforming, and intersex people
- Demilitarize law enforcement
Each chapter, partner, or organization using the BLM name has its list of grievances and demands for change that do not always reflect the views of Americans protesting for BLM. For instance, “defunding the police” is heard frequently from many of these organizations, but a Pew Research study shows that most Americas disagree. The research concluded, 42% of Americans want funding to stay the same, 31% would increase funding, and only 25% would decrease spending on the police. Therefore 73% of Americans disagree with defunding law enforcement.[6] There is a small percent of Americans who would agree with all the demands of the co-founders, different Chapters, and partners of BLM, but their constant rhetoric and protests make it seem as if they speak for all BLM supporters. The ideologies that most Americans can agree with is holding police accountable for excessive force and stopping hate between different ethnicities. In contrast, the desired effect of the Marxist ideology is to change the existing American democratic institutions.
Opaque Financing:
Most donors are not aware of what program their money is used for when they chose to support BLM. As mentioned previously, BLM became famous in 2013 after the hashtag went viral. The actual BLM website refers to itself numerous times as the Black Lives Matter Global Network. The BLM Global Network was incorporated in 2018 in Maryland. Donors cannot make a tax-deductible donation directly to BLM nor the Black Lives Matter Global Network because they are not registered as non-profits. Act Blue Charities is the money processor that sends BLM contributions to The Tides Center. The Tides Center is tax-exempt and fiscally sponsors BLM. The Tides Center receives the tax-deductible donations from Act Blue Charities. Please note the Tides Center took over fiscal sponsorship of BLM from Thousand Currents in July 2020.[7]Bottom Line: If you want to donate to Black Lives Matter Global Network or BLM, the donation is earmarked to the organization that has two-founders who claim to be trained Marxist, focused on ending LGBTQ inequality, de-normalizing the family unit, ending the free market economy, and defunding the police.[8]
BLM uses a decentralized approach to their organizations and financing. A vast network of Black liberation movements around the world with differing agendas use the BLM name and receive funding from various individuals or foundations.[9] The separate BLM Chapters are required to be registered as a 501(c)3 or have a fiscal sponsor. There is no central leadership, allowing different Chapters demands to vary from Marxist leaning agendas to a humanitarian action group.
The Movement for Black Lives, a partner of BLM Global Network, also uses Act Blue Charities to filter money to their fiscal sponsor, the Alliance for Global Justice. From the points mentioned above, the Movement for Black Lives wants to change to our American democratic institutions.[10] In previous years (2015-2019), significant charities donated to BLM directly through their fiscal sponsor, who at the time was Thousand Currents. These include the Novo Foundation (funded by Warren Buffett), W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Borealis Philanthropy.[11] Other major donors include the Ford Foundation, Airbnb, Cisco, Democracy Alliance (George Soros supported.[12] Today large companies and charities tend to donate to social justice movements that affiliate with BLM. Among them are Target, Home Depot, H&M, Gap, Nike, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola. Many of whom donate to the NAACP. The NAACP also uses Act Blue to process money[13] to fiscal sponsors or non-profits. The wealth gap between elites and the working class is something Marxists commonly speak of ending; however, they are willing to accept donations from the elite sources listed.
Recommendations:
Terrorist organizations use fear as coercion to recruit and promote their agenda. BLM activists use rioting, looting, burning, and using brutality toward civilians and police to instill fear. Some BLM activists also use the “Cancel Culture” trend as a way of publicly shaming others in society who do not get in line with their Cultural Revolution.[14]
In conclusion, the American public should be aware of the agenda of the original Marxist co-founders of BLM, the particular BLM Chapter’s demands, as well as their partners and affiliates. Many companies and foundations are giving to social justice affiliates that support the BLM Marxist movement. They use fear tactics to encourage a “group think” mentality that everyone must go along with the BLM or face targeting. They use local grievances to recruit activists. The original Marxist co-founders, other BLM affiliates, share the same desire for fundamental change to Western institutions, particularly, free economies and individual rights. Americans need to be aware of the BLM or social justice organizations they are supporting and their ultimate end game.
The American Security Council Foundation condemns all forms of racism. We fully support the Constitutional rights of all Americans to protest peacefully.
If you would like to donate to ASCF to allow us to continue our mission of Peace Through Strength, click here
[1] The Epoch Times (August 19, 2020) https://www.theepochtimes.com/socialism-an-education-in-the-obvious_3466180.html
[2] Justice.gov (February 24, 2015) https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-officials-close-investigation-death-trayvon-martin
[3] PolitiFact. (June 21, 2020) “Is Black Lives Matter a Marxist Movement?” https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/jul/21/black-lives-matter-marxist-movement/
[4] NPR (June 9, 2020) https://www.npr.org/local/305/2020/06/09/872859084/here-s-what-black-lives-matter-d-c-is-calling-for-and-where-the-city-stands
[5] Movement for Black Lives website: 2020 Policy Platform. https://m4bl.org/policy-platforms/
[6] Pew Research. (July 9, 2020) https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/07/09/majority-of-public-favors-giving-civilians-the-power-to-sue-police-officers-for-misconduct/ [7] The Gateway Pundit (July 28th, 2020) https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/breaking-exclusive-early-july-blm-contributions-moved-tides-center-george-soros-linked-entity/
[8] Real Clear Politics (June 21, 2020) The Various Faces of Black Lives Matter. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/06/21/the_various_faces_of_black_lives_matter.html#!
[9] ACLU. (July 13, 2018) “How Black Lives Matter Changed the Way Americans Fight for Freedom” https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/how-black-lives-matter-changed-way-americans-fight
[10] Real Clear Politics (June 21, 2020) The Various Faces of Black Lives Matter https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/06/21/the_various_faces_of_black_lives_matter.html#!
[11] Real Clear Politics (June 21, 2020) The Various Faces of Black Lives Matter https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/06/21/the_various_faces_of_black_lives_matter.html#!
[12] Breitbart (June 11, 2020) https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/06/11/the-complex-funding-and-ideology-of-black-lives-matter/
[13] cnet online. (June 14, 2020) https://www.cnet.com/how-to/companies-donating-black-lives-matter/
[14] Real Clear Politics (July 15, 2020) “Cancel Culture is Real”https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/07/15/cancel_culture_is_real.html