The Racial Justice Movement’s Corruption & Failure

• Racial justice movement leaders are running a con, using billions of dollars in resources while producing few tangible results

• National BLM organizations misused tens of millions of dollars

• BLM-endorsed policies led to a spike in murders due to reduced policing

The story

Prominent figures and organizations associated with the racial justice movement that swept the nation after George Floyd’s death are being exposed for corruption, organizational mismanagement, and social fallout from their ideas.

Massive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracies posited as the antidote to institutional racism were revealed to be nothing more than an expensive, ineffective waste of resources.

Black Lives Matter (BLM) leaders have been accused of corruption, and its organizations are in chaos. How to be an Antiracist author Ibram X. Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research laid off over half its staff and has been described by former employees as secretive and poorly organized.

The failure of the racial justice movement's leadership is overshadowed by the even greater failure of its ideas. The movement’s demand that police withdraw from some of America’s most dangerous, predominately black neighborhoods had fatal consequences. And the American people are seeing the movement for what it is — a grift predicated on lies and power politics.

In the press

Right-leaning media is in a frenzy, uncovering scandals in the movement’s leadership — like BLM having allegedly stolen over $10 million from donors. The group also spent $6 million purchasing a California mansion, and ended 2023 $8.5 million in debt after paying out millions to companies with close ties to leaders.

Left-leaning outlets have been critical of Black Lives Matters’ incredible financial mismanagement, as well. However, their tone is sympathetic, arguing that Kendi and BLM leaders were woefully unprepared for their prescribed roles.

Republican legislators have introduced dozens of bills at state and federal levels to restrict or ban DEI initiatives — mostly in universities and K-12 schools — while Democrats in Congress criticize attempts to reign in DEI. Congressman Robert Garcia (D-CA) compares anti-DEI measures to the Red Scare.

Exposing the movement

Top level DEI administrators can reap six-figure salaries. Their offices employ dozens — sometimes hundreds — of employees, costing tens of millions of dollars per institution. Research finds that the presence of DEI offices has no impact on student satisfaction, and universities are wasting tuition dollars, virtue signaling to the public, and creating an environment of ideological conformity.

Despite pushback, the corporate world remains committed to the multi-billion dollar DEI industry. And despite overwhelming evidence that DEI training is extremely expensive and ineffective, corporate leaders continue to implement training for optics.

In academia, Ibram X. Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research is experiencing a host of problems. Kendi gained popularity during the George Floyd protests and was granted a research center by Boston University. Employees have complained that Kendi is paranoid, secretive, micromanaging, and perceives any criticism as racism.

Staff members were asked to perform jobs they were not hired for, the center’s finances were incredibly disorganized, and Kendi refused help from the university, which he accused of being overbearing.

To date, the center has produced little research — none significant or groundbreaking. It faces fundraising difficulties, massive layoffs, and poor public image.

Black Lives Matter organizations suffer similar problems. Significant infighting occurs between local BLM chapters and two national organizations, BLM Global Network Foundation and its shadowy offshoot, BLM Grassroots.

BLM Global received an endowment of roughly $80 million in 2020. By June 2023, that endowment was $29 million. While tens of millions were donated to activist causes, BLM Global purchased two mansions in 2020-21 totaling $14 million. The head of BLM Global, Patrisse Cullors, paid family members hundreds of thousands and, in some cases, millions of dollars for vague services like “consulting” and “criminal justice reform.”

BLM Grassroots received $8.7 million from progressive dark-money juggernaut Tides Foundation at the request of its leader, Melina Abdullah, but reported $0 from Tides on its income tax return. Sources within BLM Grassroots said Abdullah kept the finances secret so she could spend the money herself, including on expensive vacations.

While BLM leaders abused funds, Lisa Simpson — mother of 18-year-old Richard Risher who was shot by the police — was never given the $5,000 promised by BLM for her son’s funeral.

The corruption and incompetence of the racial justice movement’s leaders pales in comparison to the loss suffered as a result of its ideas. Following George Floyd’s murder, police reduced proactive policing in response to BLM protests and riots — a phenomenon known as the “Ferguson Effect” which is abundantly documented.

Consequently, the U.S. experienced a nearly 30% increase in homicide between 2019-20. During that period, the number of black Americans murdered jumped from 7,484 annually to 9,941.

Why it matters

American tax dollars and donations funded a movement led by frauds, pseudo-intellectuals, and con artists. Money designated for BLM, Antiracist research, and the enormous DEI industry that permeates academia and the corporate world could have been directed to causes which demonstrably help reduce racial inequality. Instead, those funds fueled a movement that took advantage of Americans who were outraged at perceived racial injustices.

The movement was always predicated on Marxist notions of power which sought to pit people against each other based on skin color — not to laud people based on accomplishments or character. The downfall of BLM and the racial movement’s leaders is an example of how bad ideas can propagate for a time, but ultimately fail to endure.