The father of a Black man killed in Ferguson, Missouri, by police is now demanding money from Black Lives Matter after the organization disclosed it had raised over $90 million last year.
Michael Brown was fatally shot in Aug. 2014 after reportedly getting into an altercation with a cop after the officer stopped him and another man as they were walking along a street. Race had been a focal point in the incident involving the unarmed Brown and the white police officer.
Piaget Crenshaw said she was sitting in her home when she witnessed the shooting. She captured video of the aftermath, including images of Brown’s body lying in the middle of the street.
Crenshaw said Brown was running away from police and then turned around. She said that was when Brown was shot.
Police provided a different narrative, saying Brown struggled with the officer and reached for his weapon.
The shooting sparked riots in the following days in the St. Louis suburb.
Other activists from Ferguson are joining Brown’s dad, Michael Brown Sr., in his demands, according to the New York Post.
“Where is all that money going?” Brown Sr. asked in a statement from the International Black Freedom Alliance.
Brown and the others want $20 million from the group to help their community, the Post said.
They claim the shooting helped propel the BLM movement.
“We’re not asking for a handout, but for the funding to keep the movement strong where it began,” said Tory Russell, a Ferguson activist and co-founder of the International Black Freedom Alliance.
The demand came after the BLM foundation revealed that it had raised $90 million last year, much of it after the May 2020 death of George Floyd.
The New York Post reports:
The father of Michael Brown and other activists from Ferguson, Missouri, are demanding financial support from Black Lives Matter after the organization revealed it raised over $90 million last year.
Michael Brown Sr., whose son was fatally shot by a white police officer in August 2014, along with the other activists who helped propel the movement, want $20 million from the group to help their community.
“Where is all that money going?” Brown Sr. asked in a Tuesday press release from the International Black Freedom Alliance.
“How could you leave the families who are helping the community without any funding?”
The police shooting of Michael Brown sparked months of unrest in Ferguson and helped solidify the national Black Lives Matter movement.
“We’re not asking for a handout, but for the funding to keep the movement strong where it began,” said Tory Russell, a Ferguson activist and co-founder of the International Black Freedom Alliance.
The funds in Ferguson would be used in part to build a community center in honor of Michael Brown, the press release said.
Last month the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation shared its funding numbers in an impact report first provided to the Associated Press.
