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Person

Monifa Bandele

Location:

Brooklyn, New York
Occupation:

Nonprofit Executive

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Monifa Bandele is a left-of-center activist and nonprofit executive who is as of early 2022 the interim executive director of the Time’s Up Foundation and its lobbying arm Time’s Up Now, a left-of-center women’s advocacy and anti-sexual-harassment group formed in 2018 as part of the #MeToo movement. Bandele was previously the chief operating officer of the organization and became the interim head of the group in September 2021, when her predecessor Tina Tchen was ousted after allegations that Tchen had helped to suppress sexual harassment claims against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D). Bandele was previously a senior advisor at MomsRising, a left-of-center advocacy group. 1 2

Along with Makani Themba, Bandele was selected as an interim co-executive director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, a funding collective for the Black Lives Matter movement that has been plagued by controversies related to its finances and financial disclosures, having been at some points marked as delinquent in several state corporate filings. In early 2022, it was reported that despite the announcement, Themba and Bandele never started working at the organization, leaving questions about who was running it. 3 4

Background

Monifa Bandele attended Spellman College and from 2011 to 2021 was a senior vice president for left-leaning grassroots advocacy group MomsRising. She is a longtime activist in the Black Lives Matter movement and has written extensively taking far-left stances on criminal justice, policing, and economic issues. 5

In 2020, she joined Time’s Up Foundation and Time’s Up Now as chief operating officer. She was named the interim CEO in September 2021 after allegations that CEO Tina Tchen had aided staffers of disgraced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) in suppressing credible allegations of sexual assault and harassment and silencing alleged victims. 6 7

Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation

In May 2021, Monifa Bandele was announced as having been selected, along with Makani Themba, as an interim co-executive director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, a funding collective for the Black Lives Matter movement that that has been plagued by controversies related to its finances and financial disclosures, having been at some points marked as delinquent in several state corporate filings. Themba and Bandele were selected to lead the organization after Patrisse Cullors stepped down from her leadership role after scrutiny of her $3 million in property purchases. 8 9

In early 2022, it was reported that Themba and Bandele never began their roles at the organization. They later released a statement that they “were not able to come to an agreement with the acting Leadership Council about our scope and work authority,” leaving questions about who controlled the organization and the reported tens of millions in donations to it. 10 11

References

  1. Editorial. “The Black Lives Matter Scam.” Washington Examiner. January 31, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/equality-not-elitism/the-black-lives-matter-scam
  2. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM accounting gimmick further delays disclosure of its $60M bankroll.” Washington Examiner. February 16, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blm-accounting-gimmick-further-delays-disclosure-of-its-60m-bankroll
  3. Editorial. “The Black Lives Matter Scam.” Washington Examiner. January 31, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/equality-not-elitism/the-black-lives-matter-scam
  4. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM accounting gimmick further delays disclosure of its $60M bankroll.” Washington Examiner. February 16, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blm-accounting-gimmick-further-delays-disclosure-of-its-60m-bankroll
  5. “Monifa Bandele.” Moms Rising. Accessed February 20, 2022. https://www.momsrising.org/blog/users/monifa-bandele
  6. Wagmeister, Elizabeth; Aurthur, Kate. “Time’s Up Names Monifa Bandele Interim CEO After Tina Tchen’s Departure.” Variety. August 27, 2021. Accessed February 20, 2022. https://variety.com/2021/film/news/times-up-monifa-mandele-interim-ceo-tina-tchen-departure-1235050766/
  7. “A Message from TIME’S UP Interim President & CEO Monifa Bandele.” Time’s Up Foundation. September 17, 2021. Accessed February 20, 2022. https://timesupfoundation.org/interim-president-and-ceo-monifa-bandele/
  8. Editorial. “The Black Lives Matter Scam.” Washington Examiner. January 31, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/equality-not-elitism/the-black-lives-matter-scam
  9. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM accounting gimmick further delays disclosure of its $60M bankroll.” Washington Examiner. February 16, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blm-accounting-gimmick-further-delays-disclosure-of-its-60m-bankroll
  10. Editorial. “The Black Lives Matter Scam.” Washington Examiner. January 31, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/equality-not-elitism/the-black-lives-matter-scam
  11. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM accounting gimmick further delays disclosure of its $60M bankroll.” Washington Examiner. February 16, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blm-accounting-gimmick-further-delays-disclosure-of-its-60m-bankroll
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