BLM's 'lucrative shakedown' of corporate America

FPI / March 20, 2023

In what has been called "the most lucrative shakedown of corporate America in its history," from 2020 to the present companies and corporations pledged or contributed $82.9 billion to the Black Lives Matter movement and related causes.

In a Newsweek op-ed on March 14, the Claremont Institute's Center for the American Way of Life noted it had published "the most comprehensive database to date tracking corporate contributions and pledges" to BLM and related causes.

More than $123 million went directly to BLM parent organizations.

The report added: "These figures, while shocking, likely underrepresent the true magnitude of the shakedown as some companies failed to make known their contributions, and many BLM organizations remain unknown."

The "shakedown" began after the 2020 Black Lives Matter-fueled ransacking of some 200 American cities which resulted in some $2 billion in property damage and caused at least 25 deaths.

How is BLM using the money?

The report noted: "It is difficult to track, but some examples are likely demonstrative. The Global Network is investing tens of millions of dollars to support future operations, purchasing luxury real estate, engaging in nepotism, disbursing grants to dozens of BLM chapters and revolutionary organizations, and operating a PAC to 'elect progressive community leaders, activists, and working-class candidates fighting for Black liberation.' "

The local BLM chapters are "spending millions on activism and initiatives to defund police departments," the report added. "BLM At School is indoctrinating children around the country in critical race theory and queer theory, teaching them to hate themselves, their peers, and their country. And left-wing nonprofits are effecting wholesale societal change too radical for normal legislative avenues, constituting a form of shadow governance."

Banks, meanwhile, "are issuing billions of dollars in subprime loans 'to help end systemic racism,' and corporations are funding leftist bail funds that release violent rioters and criminals onto our streets and collaborating to create racialized, anti-meritocratic hiring schemes," the report said.

The report cited as examples JPMorgan Chase — "whose $30 billion 'Racial Equity Commitment' includes billions in targeted investments to 'close the racial wealth gap' — and Microsoft — "whose $244 million in pledges includes a $250,000 contribution to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a bail fund for BLM rioters."

The Center for the American Way of Life concluded:

"The greater takeaway from the database, however, is that the radical Left has the means — and willingness — to realize its policy preferences in ways that bypass the democratic political process. In fact, the BLM riots prove to the Left that it can and should do this again.

"There are several ways to address this threat, including reining in corporate "charitable" giving, reforming nonprofit law, and freeing companies from the clutch of ESG. Any of these will require action by regulators or Congress, both of which have proven spineless. But we should also ask ourselves why we grant subversives and revolutionaries license to run amok in our communities and drain resources from our economy. More importantly, why do we tolerate the bankrolling and facilitation of such activities by a major political party? These practices are neither prudent nor characteristic of a healthy society. Casting light on the issue is the first step toward fixing the problem, but the work has just begun."

Free Press International
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