BLM Leader Quits After He “Learned the Ugly Truth” About the Organization

A former Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist who now serves as executive director of the Minnesota Parent Union revealed he “learned the ugly truth” about BLM, including that the radical group has little concern for rebuilding black families and even less for improving education for black children.

In a video published Wednesday by TakeCharge, a Minnesota-based, black-led movement that rejects Critical Race Theory (CRT) and woke culture, Rashad Turner described how he became a founder of BLM in St. Paul, but came to realize, after only a year on the inside of the organization, that caring for black lives, black children, and black families was the least of the radical group’s concerns.

Born in Minneapolis in 1985, Turner said in the video that, when he was two-years-old, his father was shot and killed. He explained further about his upbringing:

My mother wasn’t able to take care of me, so I was raised by my grandparents. They told me that if I was going to change my life for the better, education was the answer. So, I worked hard in school. I got into Hamline University, and earned a college degree, the first in my family. Then I went on to earn a master’s in education from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. I am living proof that no matter your start in life, quality education is a pathway to success.

Turner said he hoped for the same success he had achieved for other children in his community, and thought BLM would be the answer, but soon found out the “ugly truth”:

In 2015 I was a founder of Black Lives Matter in St. Paul. I believed the organization stood for exactly what the name implies, black lives do matter. However, after a year on the inside, I learned they have little concern for rebuilding black families, and they cared even less about improving the quality of education for students in Minneapolis. That was made clear when they publicly denounced charter schools, alongside the teachers’ union. I was an insider in Black Lives Matter, and I learned the ugly truth: the moratorium on charter schools does not support rebuilding the black family, but it does create barriers to a better education for black children.

Turner said he created the St. Paul chapter of Black Lives Matter in 2015 because he wanted to help the youth in his community and believed that the organization stood for its namesake. He goes on to say that as an insider, he found that the organization had little to do with what it said it was fighting for.

"However, after a year on the inside, I learned they had little concern for rebuilding black families, and they cared even less about improving the quality of education for students in Minneapolis. That was made clear when they publicly denounced charter schools alongside the teachers union," said Turner. "I was an insider in Black Lives Matter. And I learned the ugly truth. The moratorium on charter schools does not support rebuilding the black family. But it does create barriers to a better education for black children. I resigned from Black Lives Matter after a year and a half. But I didn’t quit working to improve black lives and access to a great education."

Turner left the organization to serve as the president and executive director of Minneapolis Parent Union, which looks to help kids move to successful schools and set them up for future success.

"It's hard work, and we're up against forces that don't want us to succeed. But success is possible," said Turner. "Just look at me and the hundreds of children and families we've helped to pursue a great education, break the chains of poverty and lead a life of success."