The New York Post reported that Black Lives Matter leader, Shalomyah Bowers, purportedly siphoned more than $10 million of donors' money.

A lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court claims Bowers treated BLM foundation funds as his “personal piggy bank” and acted as a “rogue administrator” and a “middle man turned usurper.”

Bowers, who became head of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation in April, is accused of paying millions to his own Bowers Consulting Firm and diverting resources from a new group called Black Lives Matter Grassroots, Inc.

BLM Grassroots was founded in California in May by Walter Mosley, the lawyer who also drafted the lawsuit against Bowers. 

BLM Global Network Foundation paid the Bowers Consulting Firm $2,167,894 in 2021, per federal tax filings.

The lawsuit also claims that while BLM activists were on the street risking their lives, Bowers was in his cushy offices devising schemes of fraud and misrepresentation which broke the implied-in-fact contract between donors and BLM. 

While Bowers is claiming innocence, it would not be surprising if he did indeed profit from BLM. Despite their claims, BLM seems to me founded for solely pecuniary gains.

BLM is a perfect instance of how modern liberalism functions as an extremely lucrative business model.  BLM merely expanded on the extortion business model of veteran race hustler Al Sharpton, which is ‘give us your money else we’ll brand you racist,’ but did it on a much larger scale.  Al Sharpton must feel like a worn-out pair of shoes in the bottom drawer of a shoe case.

(Image by Betty Martin from Pixabay via Courthouse News)

“Black Lives Matter” began as a trend on social media, in 2013 following Trayvon Martin's death. Soon it evolved into a slogan used by ‘protestors’ across the US.

In the death of George Floyd in 2020, BLM saw their biggest opportunity to take the ‘movement’ to the next level and become the sole arbiters in matters of race.  In parallel, BLM carried out 'protests', which were actually riots all over America.

Dozens of people were killed and numerous others injured and thousands of businesses and properties, many minority-owned, were looted, torched, or otherwise vandalized. 

Axios revealed that the total insured property losses incurred during the riots are between $1 to $2 billion dollars. The actual number including losses of uninsured property must be considerably higher.

That must not have mattered to BLM.  For BLM, the riots were a promotional event that caused their coffers to be overflowing.

BLM was supported by the Democrats and their propagandists in the media because they could blame the riots on Trump and benefit from it politically. The Democrats, too, saw this as an opportunity to raise funds.

The noise created such a frenzy that anybody who was anybody began donating to BLM

Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie, Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Reynolds, etc. donated to BLM.

Some stars even bailed out BLM rioters who were taken into custody.

Big tech firms such as Google committed $12 million. Facebook and Amazon donated $10 million. Apple pledged $100 million, and so did Walmart. Target pledged $10 million while Home Depot announced  $1 million.

BLM didn’t make any verifiable promises; their goal was unstated, esoteric, and symbolic which ensured they could keep collecting without any oversight.

Rich donors didn't verify how their donations were spent. Their sole purpose of donating was to be regarded as among 'the good ones'. It was also like protection money to prevent BLM thugs from banging at their doors.

In the end, BLM managed to make $90m in just one year over the death of George Floyd.

Such was their brand recognition that BLM even began to sell merchandise. Those who couldn’t donate millions would parade around in BLM T-Shirts to prove their virtuousness.

So, what became of the money?

Last April, the NY Post reported that BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors, then BLM's executive director, spent $3.2 million on various real estate properties across the US.

There were also reports of transactions where BLM transferred money to a Canadian nonprofit managed by the wife of Cullors in order to buy a $3 million house. 

New York Magazine reported that in late 2020, BLM spent $6 million on a 6,500-square-feet Southern California mansion.

Although the property had originally been bought for $3.1million, it was transferred to the Delaware company for $5.8million. The reason for the disparity between these two figures is perfectly obvious.

Like most modern left-wingers, BLM claimed its mission is dismantling capitalism. But again, like most modern leftists, they have no qualms about enjoying the luxuries of free market capitalism.

Despite claiming to be a Marxist organization, BLM dodged its taxes.  It failed to file taxes for 2020 when it raised millions after George Floyd’s death. It also didn’t disclose its donations and expenditures, raising legal and ethical red flags.

The millions raised could have been invested in education,  training, hospitals, gyms, sports complexes, rehabilitation centers or to pay legal assistance for those in need.

But nothing of the kind occurred because the sole focus of BLM founders appears to be themselves.  BLM, despite their questionable use of donors’ money, will never face much antipathy from the public.  There are those who are still mortified to call them out publicly for the fear of being branded, racist.  There are some who are truly gullible who think the intentions of BLM are noble and the allegations are a result of White Supremacists' fabrications

So, what is BLM's Legacy?

Beyond abusing donated funds and causing destruction worth billions, the BLM movement has done great damage to the fabric of the nation.

They have diminished the significance of the terms such as ‘racist’. No longer is the allegation taken seriously; the beneficiaries of this are real racists such as Joe Biden.

Also, BLM via their propaganda must have convinced a section of African Americans that their country is systemically racist, hence persecution is inevitable irrespective of education or talent or hard work. Losses can be recouped and property can be rebuilt but the destruction of hope is usually permanent.

It breeds cynicism and pessimism that always has a deleterious effect on society.

All those who supported BLM perhaps out of fear are also to blame for this.

In the end, Shalomyah Bowers may well be just another parasite feeding off the gravy train, there will doubtlessly be more, and worse they are unlikely to be punished.