Bernard Kerik: Black Lives Matter’s roots are showing

Unlike so many other commentators and public officials, I have never been under any illusions as to the true nature of the “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) movement. 

Hiding behind an innocuous-sounding moral truism, BLM is an avowedly “revolutionary” group rooted in terrorist violence, unrepentant Marxism, latent racism and anti-Semitism, and committed to the “dismantling” of America as we know it. Ever since its emergence in 2014 and 2015, BLM’s primary target has been law enforcement officers like the brave men and women I served with throughout my career, a fact that has perhaps immunized me from the propaganda that portrays BLM as a legitimate organization concerned with justice—a lie that has successfully convinced hundreds of major corporations to ply BLM with millions of dollars in donations, mainly as an act of virtue signaling. 

Finally, however, people are beginning to wake up to the grim reality of what we’re really dealing with here. I was happy to relate the current state of play on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” recently. In case you missed it, here’s the recap: 

BLM was never a mainstream or moderate movement. From the very beginning, it trafficked in violent rhetoric about killing police officers, which the establishment Left either ignored or excused. We police officers, of course, knew that we were dealing with a genuine threat. 

The first cracks in BLM’s façade began to show in 2016, when the group couldn’t help but include anti-Semitic talking points about Jews committing “genocide” in Palestine as part of an ideological manifesto. It was widely condemned in the Jewish press at the time, but swept under the rug by the rest of the mainstream media.

Now, of course, we can all see the truth: BLM was founded and is to this day held together by communists. Last month, a video emerged, showing BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors describing herself and another co-founder as “trained Marxists.” 

It shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone familiar with BLM’s history and background. Cullors has long been open about her ties to communists —including terrorists— while the co-founder she referenced, Alicia Garza, has been equally open about her affinity for cop-killing communist Joanne “Assata Shakur” Chesimard. 

Then, we learned that BLM’s fundraising operation —the tax-exempt “charity” raking in millions in corporate guilt checks— is run in part by none other than Susan Rosenberg, the convicted “May 19th Communist Organization” terrorist. 

Rosenberg is free to raise millions for BLM only because President Bill Clinton, in the final hours of his presidency, commuted her 58-year sentence for hoarding weapons and explosives for a group that killed several police officers and civilians while engaging in a years-long campaign of bombings and armed robberies. 

I personally escorted Rosenberg to and from her trial in Newark, New Jersey in 1985, carrying my sidearm at all times. The extreme security was necessary because her terror cell was known for staging violent prison breaks. 

It should be clear by now that BLM’s leadership is driven by a dangerous ideology rooted in race hatred and committed to violent revolution. The group’s ugly side poked through yet again when BLM’s Toronto chapter founder posted a lengthy screed describing white people as “sub-human” and “recessive genetic defects.” Black people are superior, according to this BLM leader, because “melanin directly communicates with cosmic energy.”

Once again, astute observers could see this coming. Back in 2018, BLM darling Tamika Mallory landed in hot water over her unapologetic support for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, a man whose cult preaches that white people are not true humans but, rather, “devils” genetically “grafted” by a mad scientist named Yakoob. 

The evidence is out there and freely available—BLM is not run by well-meaning “social justice warriors”; it’s run by people who practice a racial brand of revolutionary communism.

Bernard Kerik is a former police commissioner and Department of Correction commissioner in New York City.