The Black Lives Matter Foundation, an organization not affiliated with the anti-racism movement and advocating for police unity, raised more than $ 4 million in protests in the United States. This is what the BuzzFeed edition found out.
It is reported that among the donors of the fund were large multinational companies Microsoft, Google and Apple. At the same time, some of the nearly 4.4 million dollars collected recently have been frozen before being credited to the account.
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The publication writes that the organization consists of only one person – the founder of the fund, 67-year-old music producer Robert Ray Barnes (Robert Ray Barnes). He registered the Black Lives Matter Foundation in May 2015 in the California city of Santa Clarita after speaking out against police brutality in 2014.
Barnes said the fund has nothing to do with the Black Lives Matter anti-racism movement. Moreover, the American calls his goal to establish interaction with the police. However, he believes that the slogan Black Lives Matter was stolen from him. Representatives of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, in turn, say they have never talked with Barnes, pointing to the illegal use of their name.
The producer allegedly planned to hold receptions with the participation of law enforcement officers and citizens, as well as print positive brochures on the work of the police. However, no traces of the organization of such events were found. It is known that in 2017 he received more than 300 thousand dollars and spent 89 thousand dollars. Of these, he paid 24 thousand dollars to himself as a salary.
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement in the United States that protests with the same slogan. Their participants demand systemic changes to combat racism. In addition, activists advocate reducing police spending and increasing funding for areas dominated by racial minorities.
Chief editor of the blog – Erika J. Wells .
