when George Floyd was killed almost 4 months ago, & we started seeing @BlackVisionsMN and @reclaimtheblock on list after list of who to donate to to support protestors “on the ground”, a lot of us were confused/concerned for several reasons #BlackVisionsCallOut #RECLAIMWHOSEBLOCK

1. neither org had real presence on the ground

2. they seemed to be the same org w/ the same core members: just different names & donation links

3. the only “work” that could be clearly linked to BLVC were some Black Joy Sunday gatherings #BlackVisionsCallOut #RECLAIMWHOSEBLOCK

the second one is where a lot of us started to have concerns. when local organizers asked who to contact to get in touch with @reclaimtheblock, they were directed to core members from @BlackVisionsMN. so why the different donation links? #BlackVisionsCallOut #RECLAIMWHOSEBLOCK

& why did RTB create a separate website AFTER George Floyd was killed? to folks outside of MN, it looks like these two orgs are separate but working together towards police abolition. but even the seasoned organizers were confused #BlackVisionsCallOut #RECLAIMWHOSEBLOCK

so one org (pretending to be two), is suddenly being posted everywhere, by hella celebrities, to fund work none of us knew they were doing? to the tune of $30 MILLION DOLLARS?? that number is accurate as of like 2.5 months ago btw. #BlackVisionsCallOut #RECLAIMWHOSEBLOCK

AND THEN, Black youth, who were actually on the front lines, getting tear gassed, hit with rubber bullets, scared of white supremacists, reached out to BLVC to ask for funds to buy protective equipment. how do yall think they responded? #BlackVisionsCallOut #RECLAIMWHOSEBLOCK

to shorten it down for you, the response was essentially “quit pocketwatching”. there’s a lot more. they’ve used their identities as shields from accountability while not paying the queer/trans Black youth who work for them. #BlackVisionsCallOut #RECLAIMWHOSEBLOCK

they tell community members they can’t be transparent because they don’t want to become targets but gladly accept the cover story of major magazines and interviews with Trevor Noah etc. #BlackVisionsCallOut #RECLAIMWHOSEBLOCK

most ppl chose silence b/c
1. we hoped they could be called in

2. we didn’t want questions around their shady behavior to affect everyone else getting funding.

but the Mpls community hasn’t seen the majority of the money BLVC is hoarding #BlackVisionsCallOut #RECLAIMWHOSEBLOCK

they refused to listen to us over the last 4 months (really 6 yours but that’s a whole other thread), so maybe public pressure will do something. go @ them and ask them where $30 million dollars went... #BlackVisionsCallOut #RECLAIMWHOSEBLOCK