'Where is all that money going?' Michael Brown's father says Black Lives Matter abandoned Ferguson activists, demands $20 million

The father of Michael Brown Jr., whose death sparked nationwide protest in 2014, is accusing the Black Lives Matter movement of abandoning Ferguson activists and demanding $20 million for community improvement projects.

Michael Brown Sr. released a joint statement with Tory Russell, the director of the International Black Freedom Alliance (IBFA), on Tuesday demanding some of the millions raised by BLM be handed over to activists in Ferguson, Missouri, where 18-year-old Brown Jr. was killed.

"Thousands of other youth activists in their 20s and 30s have been out in the streets protesting for months and months, and years and years. Still forgotten," Russell said in a video released on Twitter.

"We're asking that Black Lives Matter leadership funds $20 million for Ferguson organizers, organizations and community foundations to do the work," he added.

The statement was in response to a report by the Associated Press that BLM had raised over $90 million in donations to fight systemic racism in 2020.

"We're not begging for a handout, we're coming for what we deserve," Russell said.

A separate statement voiced the concerns from Brown Sr. about the use of the millions donated to BLM.

"Where is all that money going? Who are they giving it to and what are they doing with it?" Brown Sr. asked.

"Why hasn't my family's foundation received any assistance from the movement?" he added. "How could you leave the families who are helping the community without any funding?"

Russell said the money they demanded would be used for community gardens, fellowships, stipends for internships, and annual commemorations of Brown Jr.

The death of Michael Brown Jr. because a nationwide cause for those who saw it as another example of a black male dying at the hands of the police. A grand jury decided against the indictment of Darren Wilson, the officer who shot and killed Brown Jr., who later resigned from the police force. The city of Ferguson settled a lawsuit by the Brown family with a payment of $1.5 million in 2017.

Here's a news video about the Ferguson protests:

Standoff in Ferguson After Death of Michael Brown | The New York Timeswww.youtube.com