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Black Lives Matter UK has been recorded as an official organisation and has received £1.2 million in donations as the Black Liberation Movement UK, iNews reported.
BLM UK obtained legal status through the work of its anti-racism activists as a community benefit society.
Lisa Joanne Robinson, Adam Elliot-Cooper and Alexandra Wanjiku Kelbert registered Black Liberation Movement UK on 14 September, according to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) website.
British activists have gathered over £1 million in crowdfunded donations and worked to achieve legal status for BLM UK during the flurry of protests following the death of George Floyd in the United States.
BLM UK is registered as a “national campaigning organisation which supports black African and black Caribbean communities,” according to iNews. BLM UK’s official documents state the group’s mission is to “eliminate and counter the effects of institutional racism and discrimination in society.”
And, the documents state, “As well as direct political action, the society may also provide educational resources and training which will be made available to the benefit of the wider public, including government institutions.”
“The aim of this is to educate wider society about the structural disadvantages experienced by black African and black Caribbean communities and how these disadvantages can be overcome,” the documents say, according to iNews.
Some criticism has followed BLM UK over its secrecy. The group has run a secret Twitter account and GoFundMe for donations, and people have begged to know who is running the organisation and how BLM UK donations will be allotted, according to iNews.
Elliot-Cooper said Black Liberation Movement UK is BLM UK’s official new name, but said the group will continue protests and meetings under Black Lives Matter to remain a part of the larger BLM movement, The Guardian has confirmed.
“We remain committed and our politics hasn’t changed, and we remain in constant conversation and committed to the network of Black Lives Matter groups across the world,” Elliot-Cooper said.
The apparent choice to change the legal name and status of BLM UK was necessary because different versions of the Black Lives Matter name have already been registered.
While it is not clearly known how BLM UK intends to spend the donation money, the BLM UK registration document suggests the money will go toward grant funding for community groups, organising BLM campaigns and using educational resources to inform the masses about racism and discrimination that affect Black communities.
In order to receive over £1 million in donations from its GoFundMe, BLM UK had to register as a legal body, but the legality of the group also allows them to take political positions.
But BLM UK activists said they are not attempting to register the group as a new political party, The Guardian reported. On Monday the Electoral Commission published an application notice to register a UK-wide Black Lives Matter political party.
“BLM is proud to be a political organisation, but has no plans to set up a political party,” Lemara Francis explained on behalf of BLM UK, according to The Guardian.
BLM UK is getting ready to have new members join now that it has legal status, according to MSN.
“Once we have all the legal structures in place, which we’re just getting to that point now, we’re excited about holding public events in the future and, of course, inviting people to join,” Elliot-Cooper told MSN.
BLM UK’s website explains that the group stands as “non-political, non-partisan, non-violence.”
Though its legal status has changed, the mission of BLM UK remains the same, as stated on its website: “Those of all ethnicities and from all nations who believe in racial equality, are anti-racists, we stand together, we can choose to kneel together in peace and solidarity asserting black people are treated as equals to white people and is a human right to receive racial equality, social and criminal justice in the societies we live together, as full citizens of the country and as a united nation.”
Have you participated in the BLM UK movement? What would you like to see BLM UK do next? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.
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