Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

Revealed: What ‘Black Lives Matter’ really stands for

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Anyone worth listening to agrees that black lives matter. But what does the organisation ‘Black Lives Matter’ stand for? Worryingly, for the 34,000 Brits who have topped up BLM UK’s coffers with over £1million in recent weeks, finding out is no easy task.

Despite being inundated with donations, BLM UK does not appear to have its own website and is not a registered charity. What’s more, the group is resisting calls for it to become one. So why won’t it? ‘A charity structure would not allow us the freedom and flexibility to do our political work in the ways we wish to do them,’ according to BLM UK. What then is that political work? Here are 11 things that BLM UK advocates that might make some supporters think twice about backing the organisation:

1. BLM wants to ‘dismantle capitalism’

    This objective might come as a shock to many of those who have donated to the BLM cause. It might come as a particular surprise to Premier League footballers like Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne, whose shirt at Monday’s game against Burnley was emblazoned with the organisation’s slogan. De Bruyne is City’s top earner and is paid £350,000 a week. It is unlikely he would fare as well without capitalism.

    2. BLM says climate change is ‘racist’

    BLM’s attempt to blockade Heathrow and London City airports in 2016 was greeted with widespread bemusement. Why was ‘Black Lives Matter’ trying to stop people going on holiday? The answer: ‘Climate crisis is a racist crisis,’ the group said on its Twitter feed. ‘Black people are the first to die, not the first to fly, in this racist climate crisis,’ it added.

    3. BLM wants to abolish prisons

    ‘Prisons and detention centres should be abolished,’ BLM UK has said. It seems likely that Britain’s 80,000 prisoners would approve, but do the thousands who have donated to BLM also back this policy? And what should happen to those convicted of violent crimes like murder if there are no prisons?

    4.

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