Center for Black Power is a left-of-center activist group affiliated with Black Lives Matter Los Angeles chapter (BLMLA), serving as a venue for its events as well as for the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole. ^{1 2}

Center for Black Power is located in the Leimert Park District of Los Angeles, California next to where BLMLA was founded. ³ In a November 2022 newsletter from BLMLA, it wrote that its monthly meeting would be held at Center for Black Power where it will “be talking about strategizing around our continued fight to force racist, disgraced City Councilman Kevin De Leon to resign and gearing up for Black Xmas.” ⁴

Background

Center for Black Power is a Los Angeles, California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that hosts events affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement. ^{5 6} In the fiscal year covering July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, it received $800,000 worth of grants from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. ⁷

Events

In September 2022, Center for Black Power hosted a conference in Leimert Park in Los Angeles for the 26 chartered chapters of Black Lives Matter. It was held to allow chapter representatives to host a public forum. It is reported that the leaders discussed updates for the plans of the movement, and Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation co-founder Patrisse Cullors stated the movement is following a transition plan she left following her resignation from the foundation. ⁸

In April 2023, Black Lives Matter’s Los Angeles chapter held an event in support of People’s Budget, a far-left activist group that has drafted its own budget proposal for the City of Los Angeles which would almost entirely defund the Los Angeles Police Department and which the Los Angeles Times described as “chock full of progressive priorities.” Mayor Karen Bass (D) attended the event and defended her budget. ^{9 10 11}

The People’s Budget proposal included reappropriating funds from the police department for social services and so-called “amenities” for ethnic minority communities. ¹²

1. Castillo, Megan. “Weekly Email 11/6-11/13/2022.” BLMLA, November 18, 2022. https://www.blmla.org/newsfeed/2022/11/17/weekly-email-116-11132022.
2. “Black PR Wire, Inc..” (BPRW) Black Lives Matter Grassroots (BLMGR) Joined by Justice Families, Community Organizations, Allies, and Celebs Announce New Strategy to Restore The Soul of the Movement. Accessed June 10, 2023. https://blackprwire.com/press-releases/black-lives-matter-grassroots-blmgr-joined-by-justice-families-community-organizations-allies-and-celebs-announce-new-strategy-to-restore-the-soul-of-the-movement.
3. Qualified immunity for the negligent treatment of Andrew Joseph. Accessed June 10, 2023. https://www.laprogressive.com/racism/qualified-immunity-for-the-negligent-treatment-of-andrew-joseph.
4. Castillo, Megan. “Weekly Email 11/6-11/13/2022.” BLMLA, November 18, 2022. https://www.blmla.org/newsfeed/2022/11/17/weekly-email-116-11132022.
5. “Black PR Wire, Inc..” (BPRW) Black Lives Matter Grassroots (BLMGR) Joined by Justice Families, Community Organizations, Allies, and Celebs Announce New Strategy to Restore The Soul of the Movement. Accessed June 10, 2023. https://blackprwire.com/press-releases/black-lives-matter-grassroots-blmgr-joined-by-justice-families-community-organizations-allies-and-celebs-announce-new-strategy-to-restore-the-soul-of-the-movement.
6. “Saturday Community Events & Workshops: 09.24.2022.” Reimagine. Accessed June 10, 2023. https://letsreimagine.org/117579/saturday-community-events-workshops.
7. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. 2022. Schedule I. Available at: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2023/05/BLMGNF-2021-Form-990.pdf
8. “Black PR Wire, Inc..” (BPRW) Black Lives Matter Grassroots (BLMGR) Joined by Justice Families, Community Organizations, Allies, and Celebs Announce New Strategy to Restore The Soul of the Movement. Accessed June 10, 2023. https://blackprwire.com/press-releases/black-lives-matter-grassroots-blmgr-joined-by-justice-families-community-organizations-allies-and-celebs-announce-new-strategy-to-restore-the-soul-of-the-movement.
9. #BlackLivesMatter-LA. Twitter, April 22, 2023. https://twitter.com/BLMLA/status/1649904752145182721.
10. Denkman, Libby. “’People’s City Council’ Raises More Than $1 Million For Protester Legal Aid, Equipment And More.” LAist. June 1, 2020. Accessed June 10, 2023. https://laist.com/news/peoples-city-council-raises-more-than-1-million-for-protester-legal-aid-equipment-and-more
11. “Column: If Not Cops or Guns, What Will It Take to Make Us Feel Safe? L.A. Has a New Answer.” Los Angeles Times, May 1, 2023. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-01/public-safety-polarization-crime-violence-guns-policing.
12. “Column: If Not Cops or Guns, What Will It Take to Make Us Feel Safe? L.A. Has a New Answer.” Los Angeles Times, May 1, 2023. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-01/public-safety-polarization-crime-violence-guns-policing.