"BLM has been co-opted"

Rashad Turner, founder of Black Lives Matter Saint Paul, quit the group this month because BLM national leaders don't care about black people.

His main issue was its call for a moratorium on new charter schools.

He told The 74, "Our public education system has people who are sometimes literally dying for the lack of educational opportunity. And when I think of charter schools in my community here in St. Paul and their benefit to students of color — low-income students — to call for a moratorium or an end to charter schools just lets me know that something funny is going on. I’ve kind of had feelings of trickery or different things going on that didn’t align with my beliefs or value system."

He also is not happy with the NAACP for opposing charter schools.

He said, "I think they throw out the propaganda and say, 'Well, this is going to eliminate the public schools.' News flash: charter schools are public schools."

A year ago, NPR ran a piece on him, "Rashad Turner Had Wanted To Be A Cop. He Founded A Black Lives Matter Chapter Instead."

He graduated from the police academy, but a job interview in Tulsa, Oklahoma, went so poorly that he reversed his course.

The story said, "Turner decided being a cop was not for him. He decided instead to help his community by becoming an activist. Turner founded the St. Paul chapter of Black Lives Matter in 2015, the same year police fatally shot 24-year-old Jamar Clark in Minneapolis.

"He hasn't regretted his decision."

A year later, though, he decided BLM was not for him.

In a video explaining this decision, he said, "In 2015 I was a founder of Black Lives Matter in St. Paul. I believed the organization stood for exactly what the name implies, black lives do matter. However, after a year on the inside, I learned they have little concern for rebuilding black families, and they cared even less about improving the quality of education for students in Minneapolis. That was made clear when they publicly denounced charter schools, alongside the teachers’ union. I was an insider in Black Lives Matter, and I learned the ugly truth: the moratorium on charter schools does not support rebuilding the black family, but it does create barriers to a better education for black children."

As with many people, he has not had an easy row to hoe. His father was shot and killed when Turner was 2.

He said in the video, "My mother wasn’t able to take care of me, so I was raised by my grandparents. They told me that if I was going to change my life for the better, education was the answer. So, I worked hard in school. I got into Hamline University, and earned a college degree, the first in my family. Then I went on to earn a master’s in education from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. I am living proof that no matter your start in life, quality education is a pathway to success."

In his interview with The 74, Turner said, "If you took some time to look beneath the surface, you’d see that the Black Lives Matter movement has been co-opted. It’s been hijacked by others. Now it’s all about money.

"Again, to think that Black Lives Matter Minneapolis could be out protesting with the teachers union, who spent one whole year demonizing black students — to think that you could get out there and protest with them — to me that just seems funny. And I don’t want to make assumptions, but something funny is going on.

"The Black Lives Matter movement in the public eye has had that appearance that 'Hey, you’re fighting for black bodies to stop being killed by police.' How the heck that leads to calling for a moratorium on new charter schools, I don’t have a clue.

"I think people are waking up to these things. I’m not going to say the ship is sinking; I’m just going to say that the movement has been hijacked. And in order for us to stop these things from happening, it takes bold action. It takes people willing to step up. I know people are going to criticize me. Someone asked earlier, 'Are they going to excommunicate you?' That’s not my concern. My concern is students and families."

I don't know what is best for the black community.

I don't know what is best for the white community either.

Frankly, we would be better off without a bunch of communities divided by color. I mean, Little Budapest in Cleveland served its purpose, but it no longer was needed once Hungarians assimilated and moved to Brook Park and other suburban enclaves.

I wish Turner luck. Charter schools hold a promise that public schools once had.