*The father of Michael Brown Jr. has joined forces with other activists from Ferguson, Missouri, to demand $20 million from Black Lives Matter.
The request comes after the organization revealed it raised over $90 million last year. Brown Jr. was fatally shot by a white police officer in August 2014. The Black Lives Matter movement gained national attention following the protests over the teenager’s death. The group received renewed attention in 2020 after the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, who was gunned down by white supremacists.
“Where is all that money going?” Brown Sr. asked in a Tuesday press release from The International Black Freedom Alliance, Blavity reports.
The IBFA wrote that they want the money “to continue the work they and other[s] have been doing since the uprising since 2014.”
READ MORE: Ex-Ferguson Cop Who Shot Michael Brown Won’t be Charged Following New Investigation
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’re not asking for a handout, but for the funding to keep the movement strong where it began,” said Tory Russell, an activist and co-founder of the IBFA in a video that was released to social media (see above).
Russell also noted that Brown has only received $500 from groups affiliated with Black Lives Matter.
“Why hasn’t my family’s foundation received any assistance from the movement?” Brown asked in the statement. “How could you leave the families who are helping the community without any funding?”
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation reportedly gave $21.7 million in grants to BLM chapters and organizations led by Black people, per a report from the Associated Press.
“They will utilize this funding for multiple years to re-establish community efforts, provide mutual aid and programs for the Black community as well as establish a community center in honor of Mike Brown Jr. to serve the community,” the IBFA said in a statement. “The center will be a hub for where activism and community empowerment merge for the greater good of the St. Louis area. Money will be given to other families affected by police brutality like slain activist Darren Seals and Josh Williams who is currently incarcerated on what they believe are trumped up charges.”
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