Activists do have disagreements over where resources should be directed, and how it should be done. Johnson quietly led a campaign during 2016, questioning the allocation of resources. Intra-movement tension spilled over into a meeting that Black Lives Matter leaders held in Charlotte in August of last year. According to one source in attendance, people talked about how well-known, accomplished local leaders had spoken of being homeless, or close to it. There were at least four people at the national convening talking openly about being [personally] housing insecure, the source said.

Its not clear what kind of resources and money truly exist inside the movement. Funding for activism is often difficult; fundraising (even in the age of crowdsourcing) can require intense, dedicated work (meetings, travel, pitches, compromises), tailored to foundations or donors, who operate on their own timetables.

Matthews raised, in her statement to BuzzFeed News, the difficulties and constraints of a large movement with many needs. We cant speak for other [Movement for Black Lives] organizations, but for [Black Lives Matter], like every organization trying to scale up responsibly, we are experimenting and learning as we go, she wrote. Its hard to please everyone, and we have had to make some hard decisions as we learn not unlike most new organizations.

Millions of people across the globe are drawn to the mission and vision of Black Lives Matter, and were proud to build with them toward a future where we can all thrive, she wrote. And to reach that goal, and earn some real wins along the way, we must make some strategic decisions about how to allocate our resources. Unfortunately, movements arent equipped to pay every person, activist, and organizer who shows an interest, and that makes some people unhappy, but we do our best to resource people in a variety of ways and as often as we can.

She noted that organizers have been paid in the past to do work, dating back to the 1960s and SNCC, but that most people dont commit to community organizing for the money we do it to survive. Matthews also said, "Yes, many of the organizations within [the Movement for Black Lives] are stretched thin. For many reasons, we dont always have enough resources to the things we need to do, but where we lack in resources, we are rich in imagination. Despite the unfair scrutiny and unsafe working conditions, we are still able to fight back against the anti-black racism and state-sanctioned violence thats killing us.

Still, local activists felt there was a disparity from their point of view, some people were famous, being featured in magazines. Even being more known isnt necessarily a solution.

It gets exhausting asking for stuff, said Daunasia Yancey, the founder of Black Lives Matter Boston, whose group had a much-publicized confrontation with Hillary Clinton, then a candidate, in nearby New Hampshire.

Yanceys local profile in Boston grew quickly. In January 2015, she was the cover subject of Boston Magazine. Yancey said she turned down an offer to be funded by a small family foundation based in the Boston suburbs. Cullors encouraged her to accept it, but her team expressed misgivings. My biggest regret is buying into the idea if youre getting paid for work its not good, she said. Yancey didnt have a job; Black Lives Matter Boston was her job. She said members of her team had two or, in some cases, three jobs.

Back in Boston, Yancey has brought her activism to a halt. If I dont have a place to live, we dont have a chapter, she told BuzzFeed News.

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What Happened To Black Lives Matter? - BuzzFeed News