BYP100 is a nonprofit organization that campaigns for far-left policy on racial issues. It is the advocacy arm of the Black Youth Project, a left-of-center publishing site that discusses issues and provides resources related to young African Americans.

BYP100 advocates for left-of-center policies, including abolishing the police and prisons. BYP100 has claimed that police forces and prisons are responsible for perpetuating alleged systemic racism in America. The organization has also supported left-of-center feminist and LGBT movements related to African Americans. ¹

Background

BYP100 originated from the Black Youth Project, a 2004 research project led by Cathy Cohen, former chair of the political science department at the University of Chicago. The project studied how African Americans tried to improve their lives in the United States and eventually became a hub for African-American activism. In 2013, BYP100 received a $350,000 grant from the Open Society Foundations that allowed its new leader, Cohen’s student Charlene Carruthers, to turn BYP100 into an independent activist organization. ²

BYP100 has grown to become an advocacy group that focuses on using feminism and empowering the LGBT community to promote activism surrounding issues related to African Americans. ³ The group advocates for abolishing the police and the prison system, raising the minimum wage, and repealing any laws that do not create equal outcomes between different races. ⁴

BYP100 operates through local chapters in over 10 cities and claims to have several hundred members. ⁵

Activities

On Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday in 2016, Chicago BYP100 members imitated a funeral procession and delivered coffins to African-American city council members in protest, arguing that they had supported policies harmful to African-American people. The Chicago BYP100 chapter has also barred non-African American individuals from accessing certain events in order to allow for “black mourning.” ⁶

BYP100 has advocated against any legislation that provides protections for police officers or other law enforcement officials. The organization has argued that police officers cannot be victims of hate crimes based on their occupation and has claimed that anyone who wears a police uniform is as aggressive and guilty as those accused of murdering African Amercans while on duty. ⁷

She Safe, We Safe

She Safe, We Safe is a campaign led by BYP100 that protests violence against African-American women and members of the LGBT community. The campaign advocates for alternative methods of intervening with violence without using police officers, claiming that police contribute to the violence by maintaining the alleged patriarchy in society. ⁸

Financials

From 2016 to 2018, BYP100 reported $645,253 in revenue and $581,467 in expenses. ⁹

In 2013, BYP100 received a $350,000 grant from the Open Society Foundations, the philanthropic network of liberal billionaire George Soros, as initial funding. ¹⁰

In 2020, BYP100 received a grant worth over “six figures” from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ¹¹

People

Cathy Cohen is the founder of BYP100 and the Black Youth Project. Cohen is the former director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture at the University of Chicago. Cohen formerly sat as a board member of various LGBT groups. Cohen has been an active member of several left-progressive organizations including Black AIDS Mobilization (BAM!), the Black Radical Congress, African American Women in Defense of Ourselves, and Ella’s Daughters. Cohen currently sits on the board of the Arcus Foundation. ¹²

Charlene Carruthers is the founding national director of BYP100. She is a doctoral student of African American Studies at Northwestern University and has published a book titled Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements. ¹³

1. “BYP100’s Agenda to Build Black Futures.” Agendatobuild. BYP100. Accessed June 14, 2021. https://www.agendatobuildblackfutures.com/.
2. Holiday, Darryl. “Chicago’s New Black Power.” Chicago Magazine, February 22, 2016. https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2016/black-leaders/.
3. Allen, Danielle, and Cathy Cohen. “The New Civil Rights Movement Doesn’t Need an MLK.” The Washington Post. WP Company, April 10, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-new-civil-rights-movement/2015/04/10/e43d2caa-d8bb-11e4-ba28-f2a685dc7f89_story.html.
4. Holiday, Darryl. “Chicago’s New Black Power.” Chicago Magazine, February 22, 2016. https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2016/black-leaders/.
5. Holiday, Darryl. “Chicago’s New Black Power.” Chicago Magazine, February 22, 2016. https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2016/black-leaders/.
6. Holiday, Darryl. “Chicago’s New Black Power.” Chicago Magazine, February 22, 2016. https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2016/black-leaders/.
7. “The Bluest Lie of Crime and Punishment.” BYP100, March 6, 2018. https://www.byp100.org/post/environmental-challenges-over-the-next-decade.
8. “HOME.” She Safe, We Safe. Accessed June 14, 2021. https://www.shesafewesafe.org/.
9. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Black Youth Project 100 NFP. 2016 to 2018. Lines 12-18.
10. Holiday, Darryl. “Chicago’s New Black Power.” Chicago Magazine, February 22, 2016. https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2016/black-leaders/.
11. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. “BLACK LIVES MATTER 2020 IMPACT REPORT.” Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, 2021. https://blacklivesmatter.com/2020-impact-report/.
12. “About Cathy J. Cohen.” Black Youth Project, 2020. Accessed July 7, 2020. http://blackyouthproject.com/about-us/cathy-j-cohen/.
13. Carruthers, Charlene. Charlene Carruthers. Accessed June 14, 2021. https://www.charlenecarruthers.com/shortbio/.