The mother of Breonna Taylor, who daughter was fatally shot in Louisville, Kentucky, last March after white plainclothes forced entry into her apartment, has branded Black Lives Matter in Louisville and a state lawmaker ‘a fraud’.
Tamika Palmer made the claims in a Facebook posting in which she also thanked her family, friends and the local community for supporting her family following the death of her 26-year-old daughter during a botched police drug raid last year.
She also lashed out at state Democrat Rep. Attica Scott, who has continued to push for legislation to ban ‘no-knock’ warrants in Kentucky.
Breonna Taylor’s mother called out Black Lives Matter Louisville and Kentucky Rep. Attica Scott, using the word ‘fraud’ to describe both in a Facebook post
Tamika Palmer gave credit to family, friends and local community activists for supporting her family in the year since her daughter’s death
Palmer also directed criticism at Black Lives Matter Louisville and state Rep. Attica Scott, a Democrat who has pushed for legislation to ban ‘no-knock’ warrants
‘I have never personally dealt with BLM Louisville and personally have found them to be fraud, Attica Scott another fraud,’ Palmer wrote.
She also criticized people who raised money on behalf of her daughter’s family without actually knowing either her or Taylor.
‘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, 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,’ Palmer said.
‘It’s amazing how many people have lost focus … I’m a say this before I go, I’m so sick of some of y’all and I was last anybody who needs it,’ she added.
Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was shot eight times by police as they served a no-knock warrant at her Louisville apartment on March 13, 2020, in the middle of the night. Her boyfriend Kenneth Walker (seen left) shot an officer in the leg believing they were being robbed
Taylor, a 26, was shot eight times by police as they served a no-knock warrant at her Louisville, Kentucky apartment on March 13, 2020, in the middle of the night
The three officers in the case – from left, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detectives Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove – have not been charged in the shooting despite protests
Mattingly, 48, was shot in the leg by Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who said he fired a single shot after fearing an intruder was breaking into the apartment
The officers involved in Taylor’s death, Detective Joshua Jaynes and Myles Cosgrove have not been charged in her death. Both were fired from the Louisville Police Department.
On the night of the incident, Louisville police officers executing a search warrant used a battering ram to enter the apartment where Taylor was inside with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.
Police were investigating two men they believed were selling drugs out of a house not far from Taylor’s home. A judge signed a warrant allowing a search because police said they believed one of the men had used the apartment to receive packages.
Walker later told the police he feared the loud banging at the door was Taylor’s ex-boyfriend trying to break in. After the police knocked the door off its hinges, Walker fired his gun once, striking Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the thigh. The police responded by firing several shots, striking Taylor five times.
Taylor received no medical attention for more than 20 minutes after she was struck, The Courier-Journal of Louisville reported, citing dispatch logs.
Last month, Palmer struck a more gracious tone over Black Lives Matter.
Last month, a year on from the deadly shooting, Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, told NBC of the painful anniversary, ‘I don’t even know the difference between the days anymore’
Last summer, amid national racial injustice protests triggered by the police killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day, Taylor’s name also became a rallying cry for those marching, demanding ‘Justice for Breonna’. A protest is pictures in September 2020
People gather in front of Louisville City Hall during a protest against the deaths of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police and George Floyd by Minneapolis police, in Louisville May 29, 2020
Speaking to NBC, Palmer said she was ‘eternally grateful’ for the Black Lives Matter protesters who had kept Taylor’s memory alive and demanded justice in her name.
‘There’s so many people who never even met her,’ Palmer tearfully began, ‘but they learned of her and they came to stand for her because what happened to her wasn’t right – I can never say thank you enough.’
But Palmer’s recent criticism of Black Lives Matter comes days after the group’s co-founder Patrisse Cullors faced criticism over her $3 million empire of four homes.
Cullors responded by saying it was ‘categorically untrue’ and ‘incredibly dangerous’ to suggest she may have used any of the organization’s funds to buy her homes.
The 37-year-old, who set up BLM with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi back in 2013, broke down in tears as she revealed she has ‘spent the last week with security’ after her homes were first pictured in the media.
Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors has responded to criticism over her property empire saying it is ‘categorically untrue’ and ‘incredibly dangerous’ to suggest she may have used any organization funds for her homes
She also tried to deflect criticism from some on the left who have questioned whether her ownership of four homes contradicts her ideology as a ‘trained Marxist’ as she said she has invested in the properties to provide for her family and sees her wealth ‘as my family’s money, as well.’
Her explanation comes after it emerged she has accrued four homes worth a combined total of around $3 million in recent years, sparking questions about her source of income.
Black Lives Matter raked in around $90 million in donations last year but does not release a full accounting of its spending. The organization said Cullors has been paid $120,000 since 2013 but has not received any payment since 2019.
Meanwhile, much of the discussion of her homes has been banned on Twitter and Facebook.
Twitter on Monday locked out a black sportswriter who questioned why Cullors was stacking up properties including one in a mostly white neighborhood. Facebook this week also blocked users from sharing a DailyMail.com story that reported on the purchase of the homes.
She has also bought three other homes including this one in Georgia – altogether totaling around $3 million
It emerged last week that Cullors had bought this $1.4 million home in a white area of LA
Cullors told Lamont Hill people need to ‘see through the right-wing lies’ being pushed and doubled down that she is not paid by the BLM Global Network Foundation.
‘I have never taken a salary from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and that’s important because what the right-wing media is trying to say is the donations that people have made to Black Lives Matter went toward my spending and that is categorically untrue and incredibly dangerous,’ she said.
The 37-year-old told the presenter it was ‘correct’ that she had bought her homes with income not earned directly from BLM.
‘That’s correct. I’m a college professor first of all, I’m a TV producer and I have had two book deals…. and also have had a YouTube deal,’ she said.
‘So all of my income comes directly from the work that I do.’
Cullors went on to say that while she had never ‘never taken a salary from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’, she believes organizers should be paid a living wage for their work.
‘Organizers should get paid for the work that they do. They should get paid a living wage,’ she said.
Cullors set up BLM with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi back in 2013. She said she has ‘spent the last week with security’ after her homes were first pictured in the media
Cullors branded the focus on her homes and finances as ‘racist and sexist’ and said it was common in the black community for people to invest in properties to provide for their family members.
‘And the fact that the right-wing media is trying to create hysteria around my spending is, frankly, racist and sexist and I also want to say that many of us that end up investing in homes in the black community often invest in homes to take care of their family,’ she said.
‘You can talk to so many black people and black women particularly that take care of their families, take care of their loved ones especially when they’re in a position to.’
The homes she has bought ‘directly support the people that I love and care about’, she said, adding that she is not ‘renting them out in some Airbnb operation.’
When asked about this critique of a ‘potential contradiction’ between her ‘expressed politics’ and ‘lived practice’, Cullors said there was no contradiction as she is supporting her family and the black community.
‘I think that is critique that is wanting,’ she said.
‘The way that I live my life is a direct support to black people, including my black family members, first and foremost.
Black Lives Matter posted a statement about the ‘false and dangerous story’ on Tuesday saying Cullors had not been paid by BLM since 2019
‘For so many black folks who are able to invest in themselves and their communities they choose to invest in their family and that is what I have chosen to do.
‘I have a child, I have a brother who has a severe mental illness that I take care of, I support my mother, I support many other family members of mine and so I see my money as not my own. I see it as my family’s money, as well.’
Cullors said the scrutiny on her homes and finances was an attempt to discredit both her and the work of BLM.
‘The whole point of these articles and these attacks against me are to discredit me, but also to discredit the movement,’ she said.
‘We have to stay focused on white supremacy,’ she added as she urged people to ‘see through the right-wing lies.’
On Thursday, Facebook also stopped users from sharing articles by DailyMail.com and the New York Post about Cullors’ homes.
Users that wanted to share links to the DailyMail.com were met with a message that said it ‘couldn’t be shared.’
‘This content was removed for violating our privacy and personal information policy,’ a Facebook spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
BLM was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed 17-year-old black man Trayvon Martin.
Cullors’ co-founders have left, and last summer Cullors assumed leadership of the Black Lives Matter Global Network – the national group that oversees the local chapters of the loosely-arranged movement.
Facebook censors DailyMail.com story on BLM co-founder’s multi-million dollar LA property empire
Facebook has stopped users from sharing articles by DailyMail.com about a BLM founder Patrisse Cullors’ multi-million dollar property empire while users were allowed to share it from other outlets.
Users that wanted to share links to the DailyMail.com were met with a message that said it ‘couldn’t be shared.’
‘This content was removed for violating our privacy and personal information policy,’ a Facebook spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
However, other outlets, such as Black Enterprise, a media company that covers black-owned businesses, was allowed to be shared by Facebook users.
An error message shows that the DailyMail.com article cannot be shared on Facebook
Readers of the NY Post on Facebook were also blocked from sharing a story about Cullors’ multi-million-dollar property holdings.
The Facebook spokesperson claimed that the article ‘shared multiple details which could identify the residence of one of the BLM founders, in violation of her privacy rights.
‘As per our Community Standards: We do not allow people to post personal or confidential information about yourself or of others,’ the spokesperson said.
‘We remove content that shares, offers or solicits personally identifiable information or other private information that could lead to physical or financial harm, including financial, residential, and medical information, as well as private information obtained from illegal sources.’
The social media giant noted: ‘We also provide people ways to report imagery that they believe to be in violation of their privacy rights.’
