BLM doesn't want you to know what they stand for - or what they do with your donation

The Black Lives Matter organization (not to be confused with the idea that black lives matter) recently removed a page from their website that outlined the beliefs of the group. The page, titled "What We Believe," set forth a number of Marxist and radical LGBTQ tenets that could hardly be deemed relevant to their generally perceived goal of combating racism and uplifting the black community.

"We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk" read one line from the deleted page. "We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement" read another. The webpage also adjured the public to free ourselves "from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking." Fellow organizers are referred to as "comrades," a nod toward communism that is not coincidental given that BLM's founders self-describe themselves as "trained Marxists."

Apparently too many people were actually reading the webpage, too many bloggers and news shows were noticing the lack of relevance to the struggle of the black community to be freed of racist oppression. Such frank expression of the organization's true goals was possibly suspected of slowing down donations, which had been flowing in immense amounts in the weeks following black George Floyd's death in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer.

This is not the first time BLM has deleted webpages that exposed too much of the group's actual philosophy. In the summer of 2016, shortly after the group's inception, they had published lengthy essays regarding all manner of topics about which they were concerned. One page detailed a highly imaginative description of Israel, one which immediately roused even the most left-wing, progressive Jewish organizations to protest. BLM's page stated, "Israel is an apartheid state with over 50 laws on the books that sanction discrimination against the Palestinian people" and "Israeli soldiers also regularly arrest and detain Palestinians as young as 4 years old without due process." Possibly BLM visited some white supremacist websites to come up with some of these old canards. In addition, BLM charged the United States with complicity in the "genocide" taking places against the Palestinians.

The webpage regarding Israel was removed.

As BLM has grown more sophisticated in the art of parting well-intentioned white liberals from their money, their website has shifted and sanitized in order to grease the process.

Before long, the organization will undoubtedly remove their "About" page, which still clings to some of the group's more radical beliefs. Here, BLM claims blacks are "systematically targeted for demise." BLM's stated mission is to "eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes." Is this truly a laudable goal when the facts prove that far more blacks are harmed by other blacks in poverty-stricken communities than are harmed by a handful of rogue police officers who might happen to be white? BLM has remained utterly silent regarding the surge in shootings in Chicago and New York City and the deaths caused by black-on-black crime. They remained silent when some of their adherents killed an 8-year-old girl in Atlanta during a protest.

Less is more for BLM.

In asking for donations, BLM simply states, "We appreciate your support of the movement and our ongoing fight to end State-sanctioned violence, liberate Black people, and end white supremacy forever."

Nowhere, anywhere, on the site is there any further information regarding where or how your money is to be used. Yet corporations including Microsoft, Amazon, Nabisco, Airbnb and others have given in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to the organization. One would imagine that if BLM were using this windfall to support black businesses or fund scholarships, they would be bragging about that on their website - but such information is not published.

As with their deleted pages regarding their generally unpalatable beliefs, they would rather you imagine the best than ever learn the truth.

Text of BLM's deleted webpage below:

https://blacklivesmatter.com/what-we-believe/

What We Believe

Four years ago, what is now known as the Black Lives Matter Global Network began to organize. It started out as a chapter-based, member-led organization whose mission was to build local power and to intervene when violence was inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.

In the years since, we've committed to struggling together and to imagining and creating a world free of anti-Blackness, where every Black person has the social, economic, and political power to thrive.

Black Lives Matter began as a call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. Our intention from the very beginning was to connect Black people from all over the world who have a shared desire for justice to act together in their communities. The impetus for that commitment was, and still is, the rampant and deliberate violence inflicted on us by the state.

Enraged by the death of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent acquittal of his killer, George Zimmerman, and inspired by the 31-day takeover of the Florida State Capitol by POWER U and the Dream Defenders, we took to the streets. A year later, we set out together on the Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride to Ferguson, in search of justice for Mike Brown and all of those who have been torn apart by state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. Forever changed, we returned home and began building the infrastructure for the Black Lives Matter Global Network, which, even in its infancy, has become a political home for many.

Ferguson helped to catalyze a movement to which we've all helped give life. Organizers who call this network home have ousted anti-Black politicians, won critical legislation to benefit Black lives, and changed the terms of the debate on Blackness around the world. Through movement and relationship building, we have also helped catalyze other movements and shifted culture with an eye toward the dangerous impacts of anti-Blackness.

These are the results of our collective efforts.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network is as powerful as it is because of our membership, our partners, our supporters, our staff, and you. Our continued commitment to liberation for all Black people means we are continuing the work of our ancestors and fighting for our collective freedom because it is our duty.

Every day, we recommit to healing ourselves and each other, and to co-creating alongside comrades, allies, and family a culture where each person feels seen, heard, and supported.

We acknowledge, respect, and celebrate differences and commonalities.

We work vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people.

We intentionally build and nurture a beloved community that is bonded together through a beautiful struggle that is restorative, not depleting.

We are unapologetically Black in our positioning. In affirming that Black Lives Matter, we need not qualify our position. To love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a prerequisite for wanting the same for others.

We see ourselves as part of the global Black family, and we are aware of the different ways we are impacted or privileged as Black people who exist in different parts of the world.

We are guided by the fact that all Black lives matter, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status, or location.

We make space for transgender brothers and sisters to participate and lead.

We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.

We build a space that affirms Black women and is free from sexism, misogyny, and environments in which men are centered.

We practice empathy. We engage comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their contexts.

We make our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to fully participate with their children. We dismantle the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work "double shifts" so that they can mother in private even as they participate in public justice work.

We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and "villages" that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.

We foster a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise).

We cultivate an intergenerational and communal network free from ageism. We believe that all people, regardless of age, show up with the capacity to lead and learn.

We embody and practice justice, liberation, and peace in our engagements with one another.