A parallel Black Lives Matter organisation has been registered in the UK by the British arm of the global anti-racist group in order to receive a £1.2 million crowdfunded donations legally. 

Black Liberation Movement UK was registered by activists as a community benefit society following criticism over the group’s secrecy as BLM UK had maintained an anonymous Twitter account and raised funds via a GoFundMe page for months.

A black musician, Dwayne Vincent, aka Megaman said in June that “we need to know the persons who is running this”, while others have questioned where the cash raised has gone.

BLM UK was registered on 14 September by Lisa Joanne Robinson, the director of a Nottingham-based social enterprise, academic Adam Elliot-Cooper, and Alexandra Wanjiku Kelbert, a PhD student with the purpose listed as a “national campaigning organisation which supports black African and black Caribbean communities in the UK”.

The group aims to “eliminate and counter the effects of institutional racism and discrimination in society” by supporting community groups and campaigners.

“To educate wider society about the structural disadvantages experienced by black African and black Caribbean communities and how these disadvantages can be overcome.”

The activists add in the registration document: “The work of the society will benefit the community at large. Creating a community which is fair and just and free from discrimination and racism for all its citizens benefits the whole community.

“The social, economic and political benefits of ensuring that all citizens in society are treated equally extend to the whole of society and not only those who are black.”

“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 documents say.  

Black Lives Matter created a wave of protests across the globe over summer following the murder of George Floyd in America by the police.