Corporations don’t care if BLM is wasting their money — they were just buying PR
Never let a good tragedy go to waste — because there’s too much money to be made.
After the tragic death of George Floyd, the organization of Black Lives Matter took the forefront of supposed racial advocacy and reckoning. To believe that black lives mattered, we were supposed to blindly support any organization that feigned supporting these efforts.
Now, two years after Floyd’s death, we are finally asking questions about an organization that had more name recognition in one year than any marketing firm could have ever dreamed of.
On Tuesday, Black Lives Matter Global Foundation’s 990 Tax Form was made public and we were able to get a glimpse into their finances as a 501(c)3 non-profit. From purchasing homes for millions of dollars to paying family members exorbitant amounts of money for arbitrary services, we are left wondering if this organization did the same thing they claim to want to stop, which is exploitation.
In an emotionally vulnerable state, our citizens were sold the idea of providing monetary forgiveness to remedy the ills of the past and present made against black people. For money is power and sacrificing a bit of money would be akin to sacrificing a bit of your power (or privilege) for black people.
Black Lives Matter was not only an avenue for the average person to subside their manifested guilt but also a great way for corporate America to appear on the side of righteousness.
In the midst of the pandemic, state governments shut down small businesses and forced unemployment on some of the working class, while massive corporations like Amazon were able to not only remain open but also earn record profits. As Americans were asking questions about why the government was favoring corporate conglomerates over Main Street, money from corporate philanthropy started pouring into Black Lives Matter to help improve their image.
Black Lives Matter brought in around $90 million in donations, and I assure you, that $90 million wasn’t majority $20 donations from people like your empathetic neighbor or guilt-riddled co-worker. Corporations worldwide looked at Black Lives Matter as a place to provide their racial peace offering to improve their public relations. Whether it be Amazon, Microsoft, Dropbox, and a myriad of other corporations who donated, they all had press releases prepared to let the public know about how they are doing “their part” in a time of heightened racial tensions.
Black Lives Matter was corporate America’s favorite funnel for racial philanthropy and, despite the dubious ways Black Lives Matter seems to be spending their money, none of these corporations regret their purchase. It was never truly about providing funding for change but providing the illusion of supporting change with the added benefit of a tax write-off.
I highly doubt Jeff Bezos read Black Lives Matters’ mission statement about advocating for the abolishment of the nuclear family, police, and prisons before shelling out hundreds of thousands to an organization with an extreme vision. It was a public relations gift horse that they had no intention of looking in the mouth.
Adam Coleman is the author of “Black Victim To Black Victor” and founder of Wrong Speak Publishing.
