Last week, the Washington Examiner reported that "no one appears to have been in charge at Black Lives Matter for months.  The address it lists on tax forms is wrong, and the charity's two board members won't say who controls BLM's millions."

The report also referred to "BLM's shocking lack of transparency surrounding its finances and operations," which "raises major legal and ethical red flags" according to "multiple charity experts."

Back in April 2021, the New York Post reported that BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors, then its executive director, had spent $3.2 million on various real estate properties across the U.S.

Last February, BLM had published an "impact report," which states that it closed out 2020 with $60 million in its bank accounts.  The outfit failed to file taxes for 2020, the year it raised millions after George Floyd's death.

Indiana's attorney general slammed BLM as a "scam" whose "house of cards may be falling" amid the growing legal attention.

The states of Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Virginia have all revoked BLM's charitable registration, while California and Washington are threatening to hold the nonprofit's officers personally liable for its lack of financial transparency.

So how did it all begin?

BLM used the business model pioneered by veteran race-hustler Al Sharpton.  Sharpton's functioned with the implicit message "support me or you are a racist," which also means "donate (to my charity) or you are a racist."

Sharpton used his charity to enrich himself and his family.  Sharpton was also a tax-dodger.  In 2016, Sharpton personally owed over $3 million in federal taxes. 

BLM also used ploys frequently adapted by Obama operatives that criticism of Obama's presidency was motivated by racism.  It was effective, causing Republicans and media personnel to hesitate to be critical of Obama, which enabled Obama to win a second term despite his myriad fiascos.

BLM began as a trend on social media that evolved into a slogan chanted by "protesters."  Next, they set the narrative that those who refused to say "Black Lives Matter" were racist.  Cowardly politicians and media folks submitted.

Then BLM convinced people in politics, showbiz, and business that they were the sole adjudicators in matters of race.

While BLM was founded in 2013 following Trayvon Martin's death and raised funds following the deaths of  Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, and Michael Brown, it was the death of George Floyd in 2020 that took BLM to new depths with widespread riots and looting across the country.

Celebrities posted photos of Floyd and logos of BLM on social media.  Corporate houses, including Big Tech firms such as Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft, supported BLM.

Google committed $12 million, Facebook and Amazon donated $10 million, and Apple pledged a whopping $100 million.  Walmart announced a contribution of $100 million, while Target announced $10 million and Home Depot announced $1 million.

Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie, Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Kate Beckinsale, and Ryan Reynolds donated handsomely to BLM.

Perhaps corporations and stars didn't know or care about BLM and weren't keen on parting with their money.  But the climate created was such that donating was the sole way to prove that they were the "good ones."  It was also like protection money to prevent the vandals from banging at their doors.  In addition to accepting donations, BLM also hawks merchandise on its website, which enables it to enhance its brand.

BLM never concedes any improvements in matters of race because that could make the group irrelevant and hamper fundraising, which is usually based on lies and overstatements.

BLM's branding strategy was clever, with sinister motives that caused its astronomical rise.  It had a terse and catchy slogan and virtue attached to its brand, which implicitly meant that those who didn't donate were immoral.

In a country such as the U.S., there will always be an instance of crime that can be magnified through the lens of race, which presents an opportunity for fundraising.  When activism becomes a profession, the cause has to be kept alive.

Despite the claims of being Marxist, the people running BLM conduct their business and enrich themselves like capitalists.  However, unlike capitalists, theirs is not a free market.  Their totalitarian "my way or the highway" proclivities are being used to establish a monopoly among donors for race issues.

Like most big multi-national corporations, BLM has offices in the U.K. and Canada, where more funds can be raised.

If this were just a scam that conned myriad wealthy corporations and celebrities, BLM could have been forgiven.

But their influence has been damaging to the social fabric of the U.S.

The rioting, looting, burning, and thefts by BLM thugs have caused losses of between $1 million to $2 million.  The vandals almost always targeted working-class localities and even hurt businesses run by black people.  The wealthy who had already paid their protection money were usually (but not always) spared.  Perhaps BLM knows that if its thugs were to riot in affluent localities, the police would be empowered to take severe action.

Much like their vandalism and rioting, these people's call to "defund the police" applies only to working-class localities.  The powerful in Washington are permitted to have ample police protection from protests.

The media are also culpable, since they frequently downplay the violence, describing it as protests.

When BLM rioters were arrested, Hollywood stars bailed them out.

Now that BLM has been caught committing fraud, expect it to play the race card again.  The media and its donors who should question it will remain silent.

So what is BLM's legacy?

The money these people raised could have been invested to improve the lives of non-white people.  If that had happened, the founders would have been pardoned for making some money on the side.

Instead, it appears that the only non-white people who benefited from BLM were the founders.

What makes it worse is the venom they spread.  In addition to causing loss of property and lives, BLM's toxic rhetoric may have permanently damaged the social fabric of the country.

Their relentless campaign may have convinced a section of black people that their country hates them.  This may cause some to stay away from education and hard work because they think systemic racism will prevent them from being successful, irrespective of their qualifications or talents.  Their prolonged despondency causes them to be destructive toward themselves and others.  They see their own countrymen as their persecutors merely because of their skin color.  The divide is permanent.

They are brainwashed to think every law enforcement official is an enemy.  Some day they may react badly, perhaps violently, to the most innocuous inquiry from a policeman, and in the worst case even end up with a bullet in their bodies. 

BLM turns up at the crime scene once again, using individual incidents to raise funds, and the ugly cycle continues.

Perhaps many among these disillusioned youths could have been the next great inventors, writers, teachers, and leaders, but now their lives are wasted.

What BLM has done is disgraceful.

Like vultures, these people have enriched themselves on the corpses of black men.  They must be stopped!

Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License.