Black Lives Matter Co-Founder: We are ‘Trained Marxists’

Black Lives Matter is a Marxist organization, according to co-founder Patrisse Cullors. She proudly admits that their goals go way beyond simply addressing racism.

CULLORS: Um, I think that the criticism is helpful. I also think that it might–. I think of a lot of things.The first thing, I think, is that we actually do have an ideological frame. Myself and Alicia in particular are trained organizers. We are trained Marxists. We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories. And I think that what we really tried to do is build a movement that could be utilized by many, many black folk. We don’t necessarily want to be the vanguard of this movement. I think we’ve tried to put out a political frame that’s about centering who we think are the most vulnerable amongst the black community, to really fight for all of our lives.And I do think that we have some clear direction around where we want to take this movement. I don’t believe it’s going to fizzle out. It just gets stronger, and we see it, right. We’ve seen after Sandra Bland. We’re seeing it now with the interruption of the Netroots Nation presidential forum.What I do think, though, is folks–especially folks who have been trained in a particular way want to hear certain things from us, that we’re not sort of framing it in the same ways that maybe another generation have, has. But I think it’s important that people know that we are, the Black Lives Matter movement doesn’t just live online, although there’s many people who utilize it online. We’re in a different set of circumstances, a different generation that–social media may feel like it’s diluting the larger ideological frame. But I argue that it’s not.

BALL: No, I–that’s very well said, very well taken, understood. And you know, speaking from myself, it was just an intent or desire to encourage that it not fizzle out. So I’m glad to hear you saying that and I’m happy that there appears to be much more going on than some of us are aware of, particularly those who are, again, politically incarcerated as is Jalil Muntaqim.One last question if I could, real quick. There has been some controversy in some circles over the definition of black. Could you say a word or two about how you conceive the term black, and what you mean when you say Black Lives Matter?

CULLORS: Black to me is both about a race that’s been constructed, but it’s also a political statement. It’s a political framework. And I think it’s important as we are building out this movement for black liberation that we in the Black Lives Matter movement allow for necessary debate to come up around how we use the term, and who’s using the term, and when it’s used. And why it’s an important point to sort of build people together.And I think it’s specifically important when it comes to how the U.S. is very clever at turning other groups white, right, and making them white. And we’ve seen that throughout history when groups were not white and when the white power structure was threatened, they figured out a way to make groups white. And I think as we move forward we have to figure out political alignments that hold blackness as a broader framework than just sort of the skin we’re in, but as a political statement.

With this Communist insurgency openly admitted anyone assisting this group could be considered accomplices in committing treason.

BLM co-founder confirms what anyone who’s read their work knows: they’re proudly marxists. pic.twitter.com/vvUk5jTp7j

— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) June 18, 2020

Source: Democratic Underground