UPDATED 5:00 PM PT – Thursday, March 4, 2021
The father of Michael Brown Jr. accused Black Lives Matter of abandoning the city where the movement first garnered national attention. In a statement Tuesday, Michael Brown Sr., along with other activists, demanded BLM provide millions of dollars for Ferguson, Missouri.
Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, the parents of slain teenager Michael Brown. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Activists said they want $20 million and noted they’re not looking for a handout, but for funding to keep the movement strong where it began. To date, Brown Sr. said he’s received around $500 from the organization.
Today our co-founder, #Ferguson frontline organizer @VanguardTNT alongside #MikeBrown’s father demands 20 million from #BlackLivesMatter in order to continue the work they and other have been doing since the uprising since 2014. pic.twitter.com/4rDA28ZKnB
— TheIBFA (@THEIBFA) March 2, 2021“We have groups like the Lost Voices and the Freedom Fighters here,” International Black Freedom Alliance Director Tory Russell said. “And the thousands of other youth activists in their 20s and 30s have been out in the streets protesting for months and months, and years and years. Still forgotten.”
FERGUSON, MO – AUGUST 17: Tear gas reigns down on a woman kneeling in the street with her hands in the air after a demonstration over the killing of teenager Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer on August 17, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Despite the Brown family’s continued call for peaceful demonstrations, violent protests have erupted nearly every night in Ferguson since his August 9, death. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
In 2014, the death of Michael Brown Jr. sparked violent protests in Ferguson and demonstrations across the country. In the meantime, reports said BLM took in more than $90 million last year, mostly in donations.
Original Story: Father of slain Ferguson teen demands $20M from BLM