By Mecca Fowler
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed here are those of the authors. View more opinion on ScoonTV.
Last week, Kanye West set the media ablaze at his Paris fashion show when he was pictured wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt alongside conservative commentator Candace Owens. Many were quick to condemn him as soon as they saw the image. Later, he put up a message on Instagram that said that Black Lives Matter was a scam and that it was over. There was a lot less attention paid to that part of the stunt.
What is lost on these people is that they are playing right into the narrative. By condemning Kanye, they show that his cultural relevance is very prevalent and that they are afraid of other people thinking the same. If he was not culturally relevant, they would brush off the antic. Secondly, condemning West without also addressing Black Lives Matter shows that they are hypocritical frauds, which was probably one of West’s intentions.
Furthermore, West is right about Black Lives Matter, so the media shouldn’t condemn him for that. He isn’t the first or the last person to call them out.
Firstly, Black Lives Matter is in the business of exploiting and profiting from the deaths of black people. Secondly, there has been ample evidence compiled over the years that the Black Lives Matter organization is fraudulent in several ways. Lastly, there have not been any substantial changes to the material conditions of black people in America since the organization was conceived.
Black Lives Matter should have never been a thing. It has been a fraud since its inception. It started in the aftermath of George Zimmerman’s acquittal after killing Trayvon Martin. Darren Seals, a prominent activist in Ferguson, Missouri in the aftermath of the Mike Brown shooting, was vocal about calling the organization out. In one recorded rant about the organization, Seals said, “Cops ain’t stop killing here since Mike Brown died. And what Black Lives Matter doing about it? They just collecting checks. I ain’t heard of them paying for no funerals. I ain’t heard of them starting no programs for the youth, building no centers, nothing.”
In 2018, grant writer and fundraiser Marley K wrote about Black Lives Matter’s shoddy funding situation and how the organization’s lack of transparency gave her pause as someone who professionally fundraises.
In January 2019, Ashley Brown, a former Black Lives Matter member, compiled a Twitter thread on how the organization was defrauding local chapters.
Then, in 2020, several local Black Lives Matter chapters wrote an open letter calling for accountability from the organization over the installment of Patrisse Cullors as executive director against their will. They also called for financial transparency. The following year, as more news broke about Cullors purchasing million-dollar mansions with little transparency on how BLM donations were used, she resigned.
Tamir Rice and Richard Risher were two young black men fatally shot by cops. Samaria Rice and Lisa Simpson are their mothers respectively. In March 2021, the two mothers wrote an open letter criticizing the Black Lives Matters organization stating that they needed to “stop monopolizing and capitalizing our fight for justice and human rights.” Simpson even accused Black Lives Matter of fundraising on behalf of her son by saying that funds were needed to bury him, 19 days after he was already buried.
That same month, Michael Brown’s father said the organization did not provide enough aid to local activist groups in Ferguson after Brown’s killing by Ferguson police. “We’re not begging for a handout, we’re coming for what we deserve,” he said in response to news about the organization receiving $90 million in donations in 2020.
In April 2021, Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mother, blasted a chapter of the organization in a Facebook post. “I have never personally dealt with BLM Louisville and personally have found them to be fraud, Attica Scott another fraud.”
Melina Abdullah, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter LA, went on Roland Martin’s show to condemn West’s actions and offered to “educate him.” Although Martin brought up people saying Black Lives Matter is a scam, Abdullah did not chime in on that part. Coincidentally, Abdullah herself and 26 BLM chapters filed a lawsuit last month alleging that the BLM global organization took $10 million in donations for personal use.
Ironically, many of the opinion pieces and news articles in the top Google searches about Kanye’s stunt do not address his claim about BLM being a scam. They mostly denounce his actions, give a back history of his mental health and previous shortcomings, and add him wearing the “White Lives Matter” shirt to that list. This further proves the media’s hypocrisy. Whatever your feelings are, West’s shirt should not be more controversial than the atrocity of the Black Lives Matter organization. Ye’s stunt shows how Black Lives Matter is infallible in the eyes of the media.
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