The mother of Breonna Taylor, one of the leading martyrs of the Black Lives Matter movement, has branded the Louisville, Kentucky, BLM chapter as a “fraud” and accused opportunistic activists of exploiting her name for profit.
“I have never personally dealt with BLM Louisville and personally have found them to be fraud,” Tamika Palmer said on Wednesday in a since-deleted Facebook post. She added that “I've watched y'all raise money on behalf of Breonna's family who has never done a damn thing for us – nor have we needed it or asked, so talk about fraud.”
Breonna Taylor’s Mom. She, I fully support. BLM does not care abt black people. Only their pockets. pic.twitter.com/85ei4e4VQs
The 26-year-old Taylor, a black emergency room technician who worked at two Louisville hospitals, was shot and killed by plainclothes police in March 2020 as they tried to serve a so-called “no-knock” warrant at her apartment as part of a drug investigation. Her death inspired the passage of ‘Breonna's Law’ – banning no-knock raids in which police burst into a home unannounced – not only in Louisville, but also in other cities and states across the US.
Along with the death of George Floyd last May in the custody of Minneapolis police, Taylor's case also helped inspire a wave of BLM protests across the nation, including many that turned ugly with arson, looting and violence. Protesters called on people to “say her name,” championing Taylor as a symbol of allegedly racist killings of black people by police.
Palmer's Facebook rant suggests that some of the activism has been opportunistic and self-serving. “I could walk in a room full of people who claim to be here for Breonna's family who don't even know who I am..,” she said.
I'm so sick of some of y'all… I'm done with this s**t. Enough is enough.
Palmer also singled out Kentucky state Representative Attica Scott (D-Kentucky) as a “fraud.” Scott hasn't responded to the attack, but ironically, she criticized a Louisville policeman for getting a book deal on the Taylor case, saying “People love to profit off of black pain and tragedy. It sells.”
Stay focused, y’all. People love to profit off of Black pain and tragedy. It sells.https://t.co/cpa4nbjUNC
Palmer's post also came in the same week that BLM co-founder and avowed Marxist, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, came under fire when it was reported that she had purchased at least $3.2 million in homes in largely white neighborhoods. Khan-Cullors said in an interview with podcast host Marc Lamont Hill that she made her money from book and TV deals, speaking engagements and her work as a professor – not from BLM – and that her real estate binge didn't violate her Marxist principles because her family members are using the homes.
The BLM foundation reportedly received more than $90 million in donations last year. As for Palmer's point that her family didn't request or need BLM Louisville's support, she signed a $12 million settlement with the city of Louisville last September. The payout was among the largest on record in a wrongful death case involving alleged police misconduct.
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