I
have found this year to be one of extreme distress for the Black
Liberation Movement. There were many warning bells going off that
apparently were only heard by the freedom dreamers. What we see is an
unrecognizable movement around us. How did we get here? Who have we
become? How do we get on track?
Robin
Kelley talks about the Black radical imagination in his seminal
contribution to our struggle, Freedom
Dreams.
Kelley examines the “emancipatory vision” of generations
who push our movements in new and radical directions. The vision has
been not just been put at bay as Kelley suggests. I believe the
accumulation of ancestral knowledge and contemporary lessons that
begs for our rigorous study and appreciation has been trampled on by
those seeking gratuitous fame on the backs of the Black working
class.
Our
movements have seen an awakening on many levels that must be summed
up, discussed and put into new transformative strategies for the next
period. I believe the answers to the above questions can be found in
the renewed commitment to building a strong and viable Black Left.
Black
folks have gone through some traumatizing shit since the Ferguson
Uprising in 2014. On top of the Dr. Joy DeGruy’s Post Traumatic
Slave Syndrome and Sean Ginwright’s Persistent Traumatic Stress
Syndrome, we had to endure the intensification of white supremacy
under the Trump regime. For those who thought that the national
media’s attention on the horrific murder of Mike Brown would
make it the last Black body to perish at the hands of white cops or
vigilantes, they were sadly mistaken. In 2020, the world witnessed
the slow and agonizing murder of George Floyd on prime-time
television. The incident propelled millions into street protests
around the world. The icing on the cake of oppression was a deadly
pandemic which aggressively sought out the most vulnerable
populations. COVID-19 devastated Black communities, exploiting the
conditions of poverty and health disparities worsened under
racialized capitalism.
People
of African descent across generations and diverse backgrounds watched
the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, knowing full well that
had Black protesters stormed the building, it would’ve been a
blood bath. Any protesters who survived would be facing more than
just felony obstruction laws.
Not
surprisingly, urban areas across the country experienced
record-breaking homicides rates. No surprise either that our
self-medication in response to these conditions resulted in a siege
of drug-related deaths. The cheap and powerful fentanyl is ravaging
our communities and taking no prisoners.
This
is our reality in America. And where is the Black Liberation Movement
during this overwhelming and relentless barrage of assaults against
the masses of our people? Gasping for political life and relevancy.
I
have never seen so much venom as I have in the last year by those
touting Black Lives Matter. Beat downs, call outs, cancel culture,
legal actions, character assassinations and cyberbullying have been
incessant. It’s the proverbial circular firing squad.
We
all have witnessed or been victims of some form of public shaming or
complete reputation annihilation. I know organizers suffering from
insomnia, anxiety attacks, depression and a host of other issues
affecting their overall health. Their ability to fully participate in
their self-transformation and movement-building have been severely
impaired.
With
all this time, energy and resources being weaponized against one
another, our enemies are gloating but our people are suffering. The
call for restorative justice amongst ourselves has been muted. The
Black lives in our own organizations don’t seem to matter.
The
Black Liberation Movement has been infected by the most negative
attributes of the nonprofit industrial complex, like individualism,
opportunism and careerism. We’ve made building our personal
brands more a priority than building strong organizations.
We’ve
been hit by the flood of money washing over our movement and creating
a swamp of political stagnation. It’s important to spend some
time talking about money because it has played such a divisive role
in our organizations and in our movement.
One
Struggle KC released a statement
back in the summer to explain how the group was grappling with how a
section of the Black-led collective took organizational funds to
start something new without group consensus. It is unclear whether
One Struggle can survive a hit like this so early in their
development but they are not alone as other movement groups attempt
to address crippling internal issues around resources and
personalities.
On
a bigger stage, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation garnered
national attention as they took in $90 million dollars over the last
year. Patrisse Cullors, the only founder of Black Lives Matter to be
connected with BLMGNF, was publicly raked over the coals for her use
of BLM funds to allegedly enrich her personal lifestyle. Co-founders
Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, who have distanced themselves from the
Foundation, are recipients of harsh criticisms because they continue
to accept speaking engagements in the name of Black Lives Matter.
BLM
Chapters lined up to condemn the BLMGNF and its BLM founders for
their cloak of secrecy and for their breach of principles. The
#BLM10Plus outlined their concerns in a statement
to the movement. Families of victims murdered by police also lined up
to accuse them of profiteering off the deaths of their loved ones.
Samaria Rice, the mother of Tamir Rice and Lisa Simpson, the mother
of Richard Risher, issued a joint statement that broadened the net of
condemnation past the foundation and its founders to include Black
attorneys Ben Crump, Lee Merritt as well as Tamika Mallory and Shaun
King.
Meanwhile,
in Ferguson, activists who helped propel a hashtag into a movement
are still bitter that people like DeRay Mckesson parachuted into the
media vortex, then launched his political career. Others became the
darlings of the cable news network. The people who were doing the
work in the St. Louis region before the murder of Mike Brown are
still doing the work, probably a bit more jaded. They’re also
wondering where their share of the wealth is that they helped to
create.
Shortly
after the beat down by the Left and the Right, Cullors resigned as
the Foundation’s Executive Director. There was an attempt -
although short-lived – to add credible leaders in our movement
in an effort to set up the infrastructure necessary for effective
operations and accountability. Makani Themba and Monifa Bandele, two
sistahs for whom I have the utmost respect, issued a statement that
they were backing off as senior executives because they were refused
the access and opportunity needed to seriously perform their duties.
Their
joint statement ends by saying “we are a strong and resilient
movement, and that the ecosystem of organizations fighting for Black
liberation is as strong as ever.” If all of these public
statements swirling around over money and fingers wagging over
political pimping are any indication of our movement’s strength
and resiliency, we are in deep trouble. We don’t need to stay
in place and wallow, we need to organize ourselves out of this swamp
we’re currently in.
Our
movement has experienced waves of new and younger activists often
socialized by the toxins of internalized oppression and corrupted by
neo-liberal tendencies. We have been unable to school them on
movement behavior and expectations so that they are of service to the
revolution.
The
fact is that organizations and movements experience growing pains.
The speed at which Black Lives Matter grew had all to do with the
material conditions of our people and the incredible power of social
media. Many contributed to that velocity, creating a new
consciousness in this country about police violence and generating
resources for which there was no agreed upon infrastructure for
collection or distribution. We had no trusted entity to take on that
prominent level of stewardship. This a matter of governance, not
divvying up money between those with the most access.
Opportunists
profiting off the movement is not new. These latest accusations of
movement misappropriation goes far beyond the BLMGNF. There is a
legion of blood-sucking characters who are cashing in on anything
Black-led and Black-dead. We must hold them accountable as
effectively and efficiently as we can while not losing sight of why
we are fighting and who the beneficiaries of our righteous struggles
are.
For
the freedom dreamers, it’s time to dive deep into the Black
radical imagination. The answers are there. We must respect the
values and organizing principles that bind us while we do this
important transformative work. It’s time to redirect our
fragmented energy into nurturing healthy relationships and bolstering
networks united around a shared revolutionary vision for a more just
and democratic society. A strategically focused and unapologetic
Black Left will get us there.
