Jivani: Judge Donald McLeod's exoneration has exposed the feebleness of Black Lives Matter's Marxist agenda

Black Lives Matter (BLM) has added another to its stack of recent losses. The self-described Marxist organization’s latest embarrassment comes from the Ontario Judicial Council (OJC), which on Wednesday dismissed a misconduct complaint against Judge Donald McLeod.

Activists and academics affiliated with BLM’s Toronto chapter have been targeting McLeod — a trailblazing Black Canadian judge from Toronto — for years. McLeod found his way into the far-left’s crosshairs because he dared advocate for Black communities without bowing to the regressive political agenda promoted by the likes of BLM.

This led to accusations that his work with community organizations such as the Federation of Black Canadians, which he helped found, made him an impartial arbiter. BLM-affiliated activists and academics also accused him of lying about his work serving Black communities, which led to accusations of perjury based on his statements in a previous disciplinary hearing.

McLeod’s detractors hoped to tarnish his reputation, so the OJC would see him as a liability. His detractors failed.

This week, the OJC issued its decision, dismissing the complaint that McLeod’s advocacy efforts damaged his standing as an impartial member of the Ontario court. “We are not satisfied (that McLeod’s transgressions) were such as to diminish public confidence in Justice McLeod’s ability to carry out the duties of his office or the administration of justice generally,” the OJC decision reads.

A year ago, BLM appeared to be a juggernaut that couldn’t be slowed down. Almost everybody wanted on the bandwagon. Those of us who refused to jump aboard were attacked by the group’s mainstream media cheerleaders for standing by our principles. But the unfortunate truth of BLM is becoming increasingly obvious to those paying attention: that bandwagon is headed nowhere good — and fast.

Last week, Patrisse Cullors, the executive director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, stepped down, after weeks of scandal. She admitted to hoarding millions of dollars of real estate, despite claiming to be a Marxist. The head of BLM’s New York chapter, Hawk Newsome, called for an investigation into Cullors’ finances.

This real estate drama followed months of questions about BLM’s finances. BLM’s global foundation reportedly raised tens of millions of dollars, but its local chapters claim to have received very little of that money.

A new study also exposed how BLM’s relationship with corporate America has produced few opportunities for Black working- and middle-class families. As reported by Bloomberg Businessweek, the startup Blendoor found corporations that made BLM-themed diversity pledges in the past year “had 20 per cent fewer Black employees on average than those that didn’t.”

BLM has given corporate America a way to virtue signal without actually hiring more Black people. Rest assured, though, that “chief diversity officer” is one of the fastest growing senior executive positions in the United States, so those at the top of corporate America continue to reap the rewards.

BLM has also taken a major loss in Minnesota, where George Floyd was tragically killed last year. One of the founders of the group’s St. Paul chapter, Rashad Turner, quit the organization after seeing its “ugly truth.”

“After a year on the inside,” Turner concluded, “I learned they had little concern for rebuilding Black families.” Turner also believes BLM is actively creating “barriers to a better education for Black children” by opposing school choice.

What a difference a year makes. In 2020, elite institutions propped up BLM activists as unelected “representatives” of Black communities, while embracing the organization’s far-left political agenda to score woke points. But the truth prevails, as occurred in the case of Judge Donald McLeod.

BLM will continue to crumble under the weight of its own bad ideas, and people will continue to see how little the far-left actually has to offer communities that are in need of a hand up.

Jamil Jivani

Senior Fellow at Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Jamil Jivani is an award-winning lawyer and author, who serves as the Government of Ontario’s first-ever advocate for Community Opportunities. He also leads a youth-focused research nonprofit, Road Home Research & Analysis, which is supported by the Pinball Clemens Foundation, and hosts a weekly radio show, “Tonight with Jamil Jivani” on Newstalk 1010.

Jivani: Judge Donald McLeod’s exoneration has exposed the feebleness of Black Lives Matter’s Marxist agenda

Jamil Jivani