The truth has prevailed! I want to take a moment and update you on the status of a high-profile lawsuit that you likely have heard about.
On Wednesday an impartial and thoughtful Black judge dismissed a lawsuit full of falsehoods that was filed against us last year from a local organization.
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The judge dismissed all allegations about our board member Shalomyah Bowers “siphoning” $10 million. It was not true.
- The judge dismissed all allegations of fraud or abuse of power by any of our board members. It was not true.
- The judge dismissed all allegations that we misused donations from the public. It was not true.
In dismissing the lawsuit, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Bowic said that “the allegations are so confusing and unintelligible it cannot even be determined what Plaintiff (Black Lives Matter Grassroots/Melina Abdullah) is alleging.”
Throughout the entirety of this lawsuit, we've seen two starkly different versions of abolitionist values on display. Ours has been anchored in love, humanity, and care.
We have stayed true to our principles, philanthropic duties, and organizational focus despite countless blatant fabrications, misrepresentations, and innuendos of misdeeds lodged against us.
We are pleased that this deeply unfortunate moment in our history is over. The lawsuit, the smear campaign, the name-calling, and the dehumanization our organization and its board members have been subjected to has caused unfathomable division and destruction to the Black Lives Matter mission and movement.
But as we approach the 10-year anniversary of Black Lives Matter this year, we want you to know that we are still focused on the work — despite this distraction — because there are still Black lives on the line and Black joy to be claimed. There's still so much work to be done.
We will continue trying to end systems of policing, prisons, and all punishment paradigms in order to build a new world anchored in care and dignity of all Black people. And we will continue grounding our work in the abundant Black wisdom of those who have come before us.
Nobody's free until everybody's free.
John, we couldn't have gotten this far or done any of this work without you. Thank you for your time reading this message, for your support, and as always, for your love and solidarity.
Cicley Gay
Board Chair
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation
