Mothers who have lost their black sons and daughters through unfortunate events have turned their backs against the Black Lives Matter movement and its co-founder, Patrisse Cullors.
Samaria Rice, mother of 12-year-old Tamir Rice who had passed away from police brutality, says that she doesn’t believe that Cullors is going anywhere. She comments, “It’s all a facade. She’s only saying that [quitting] to get the heat off her right now.”
Rice had been in touch with Cullors via email in order to reopen a federal investigation about her son’s case, dealing with his death back in 2014, but the pair never got to meet face-to-face. She adds that “They are benefiting off the blood of our loved ones, and they won’t even talk to us.”
Rice’s words are shared by another mother whose son fell as a victim of police brutality. Lisa Simpson, mother of Richard Risher, stands in solidarity with Rice’s mother.
Breonna Taylor’s mother comments that BLM has failed her as well. She states that she has “never personally dealt with BLM Louisville and personally have found them to be fraud.” Her daughter is also a victim of police brutality.
Simpson speaks of Cullors’ sudden departure from the depature, saying that she “doesn’t have to show her accountability. She can just take the money and run.” Simpson’s local BLM chapter raised over $5,000 for her son’s funeral, yet has not received a penny from Cullors’ help. She had first started the movement in order to raise money for their children, but gave nothing in return.
Rice and Simpson both say that they “never hired them to be the representatives in the fight for justice for our dead loved ones murdered by the police.”
The “activists” have events in their cities but have not even acknowledged them at all.
They “don’t want or need [them] parading in the streets accumulating donations, platforms, movie deals, etc, off of the death of [their] loved ones, while the families and communities are left clueless and broken.”
After BLM activists failed to help Simpson, she had set up the Richard Risher Foundation to raise funds herself. She also comments that she is “just a mother who lost my kid. I haven’t gotten any justice and I don’t even know what that looks like.”