Time for Decisions on Movement Decision-Making

On May 14, tensions inside the St. Louis movement for justice reached a critical stage. Some younger protesters felt that more established organizations were hoarding money that should be going toward basic needs. They were successful in demanding that checks be written to seventeen people personally, and the account designed to meet joint needs was emptied. This piece was written in an attempt to understand and contribute to the healthy debate that has followed.     –John Chasnoff

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In the wake of the internal controversy surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement in St. Louis, many have called for a re-thinking of the financial structures governing our dispersal of money. I completely agree that we need a broad-based black-led democratic process around money and around sorting out issues. I also think MIssourian Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE) and the Organization for Black Struggle (OBS) have gotten a bum…