A short, but wide-ranging, 2015 interview with Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors revealed that many of those within the movement, including Cullors, consider themselves to be “trained Marxists.”
In a moment of discussion regarding the lack of ideological direction within the movement, Cullors argued that the movement does “have an ideological frame.”
“Myself and Alicia [Garza] in particular are trained organizers,” Cullors said in an interview with the Real News Network. “We are trained Marxists. We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories.”
“We don’t necessarily want to be the vanguard of this movement,” Cullors continued. “I think we’ve tried to put out a political frame that’s about centering who we think are the most vulnerable amongst the black community, to really fight for all of our lives.”
Cullors went on to say in 2015 that she believed “we have some clear direction around where we want to take this movement,” adding at the time that she did not believe “it’s going to fizzle out.”
The question regarding a larger ideological presence within the Black Lives Matter movement was asked of Cullors in response to criticism from Jalil Abdul Muntaqim, a prisoner who, along with two others, was convicted of killing two police officers in Harlem in 1971.
Muntaqim, who has received little support from many members within the movement, said he believed the movement would fizzle out.
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