Is BLM a Marxist Movement?
White opponents of the Black Lives Matter movement are trying to discredit the movement by calling attention to BLM's -- the organization’s -- Marxist connections, but these charges are simply a way to provide an excuse for dismissing the movement by labeling its core philosophy Marxist, an ideology most Americans reject.
* Wikipedia, 16th Street Baptist Church bombing [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Street_Baptist_Church_bombing].
* Politifact, July 21, 2020, Is Black Lives Matter a Marxist movement? [https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/jul/21/black-lives-matter-marxist-movement/]
* BLACK LIVES MATTER……. What We Believe
Formerly found at: https://blacklivesmatter.com/what-we-believe/
"Four years ago, what is now known as the Black Lives Matter Global Network began to organize.
It started out as a chapter-based, member-led organization whose mission was to build local
power and to intervene when violence was inflicted on Black communities by the state and
vigilantes. In the years since, we’ve committed to struggling together and to imagining and
creating a world free of anti-Blackness, where every Black person has the social, economic, and
political power to thrive.
Black Lives Matter began as a call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti
Black racism. Our intention from the very beginning was to connect Black people from all over
the world who have a shared desire for justice to act together in their communities. The impetus
for that commitment was, and still is, the rampant and deliberate violence inflicted on us by the
state. Enraged by the death of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent acquittal of his killer, George
Zimmerman, and inspired by the 31-day takeover of the Florida State Capitol by POWER U and
the Dream Defenders, we took to the streets. A year later, we set out together on the Black Lives
Matter Freedom Ride to Ferguson, in search of justice for Mike Brown and all of those who have
been torn apart by state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. Forever changed, we
returned home and began building the infrastructure for the Black Lives Matter Global Network,
which, even in its infancy, has become a political home for many.
Ferguson helped to catalyze a movement to which we’ve all helped give life. Organizers who call
this network home have ousted anti-Black politicians, won critical legislation to benefit Black
lives, and changed the terms of the debate on Blackness around the world. Through movement
and relationship building, we have also helped catalyze other movements and shifted culture
with an eye toward the dangerous impacts of anti-Blackness.
These are the results of our collective efforts.
The Black Lives Matter Global Network is as powerful as it is because of our membership, our
partners, our supporters, our staff, and you. Our continued commitment to liberation for all
Black people means we are continuing the work of our ancestors and fighting for our collective
freedom because it is our duty.
Every day, we recommit to healing ourselves and each other, and to co-creating alongside
comrades, allies, and family a culture where each person feels seen, heard, and supported.
We acknowledge, respect, and celebrate differences and commonalities.
We work vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people.We intentionally build and nurture a beloved community that is bonded together through a
beautiful struggle that is restorative, not depleting. We are unapologetically Black in our
positioning. In affirming that Black Lives Matter, we need not qualify our position. To love and
desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a prerequisite for wanting the same for others.
We see ourselves as part of the global Black family, and we are aware of the different ways we
are impacted or privileged as Black people who exist in different parts of the world.
We are guided by the fact that all Black lives matter, regardless of actual or perceived sexual
identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs
or disbeliefs, immigration status, or location.
We make space for transgender brothers and sisters to participate and lead.
We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black
trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by
trans-antagonistic violence.
We build a space that affirms Black women and is free from sexism, misogyny, and environments
in which men are centered.
We practice empathy. We engage comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with
their contexts.
We make our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to fully participate with their children.
We dismantle the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work “double shifts” so that they
can mother in private even as they participate in public justice work.
We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each
other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our
children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.
We foster a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing
ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the
world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise).
We cultivate an intergenerational and communal network free from ageism. We believe that all
people, regardless of age, show up with the capacity to lead and learn.
We embody and practice justice, liberation, and peace in our engagements with one another."
* Pew, October 7, 2014, Black vs white attitudes toward homosexuality [https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/07/blacks-are-lukewarm-to-gay-marriage-but-most-say-businesses-must-provide-wedding-services-to-gay-couples/]
" Our aggregated 2014 polling has found that about four-in-ten black Americans (42 %) support same-sex marriage, 11 percentage points below the comparable figure among whites (53%). Meanwhile, seven-in-ten African Americans (70%) say that homosexual behavior is a sin, compared with 47% of whites who say this, according to our new survey."
* JAIDS, December 1, 2010, Persistence of racial differences in attitudes toward homosexuality in the United States [https://journals.lww.com/jaids/Fulltext/2010/12010/Persistence_of_Racial_Differences_in_Attitudes.16.aspx]
"The proportion of African Americans who indicated that homosexuality was “always wrong” was 72.3% in 2008, largely unchanged since the 1970s. In contrast, among white respondents, this figure declined from 70.8% in 1973 to 51.6% in 2008, with most change occurring since the early 1990s. Participants who knew a gay person were less likely to have negative attitudes toward homosexuality (RR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.52–0.69)."
* Marxists murders: Since publishing earlier today, I have corrected my statement on the death toll of Marxism to say: "Marxist regimes murdered close to a hundred million people in the twentieth century." The number is 94 million, and they are people murdered by Marxist governments.
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