There is no question that there are a lot of misguided individuals out there that greatly admire the current black liberation movement, that of Black Lives Matter (BLM), but should they? Unfortunately, within Black Lives Matter there is a vast undercurrent of disrespect toward women within the organization.
One of the most prominent examples would be that of one Charles Wade, and you will be TOTALLY SHOCKED to learn just what he was charged with in 2016 as the Ferguson protests (read: riots) were in full swing.
Yes, Charles Wade, who was not only a prominent Black Lives Matter organizer, but also a co-founder of the Hush group and Operation Help, was an individual who was charged with sex trafficking at a Howard Johnson Inn in College Park, Maryland on April 25, 2016. BLM is definitely full of sketchy people, to say the least. According to the Daily Caller, Wade was residing in the room as well when he was allegedly pimping out the 17-year-old girl.
They arrested Mr. Wade and held him on seven counts of felony human trafficking and prostitution. BLM bailed him out shortly after his arrest, and he noted that in a statement he released on Twitter the Wednesday after he was arrested.
His arrest came as the part of a sting operation where an undercover officer responded to an ad that Mr. Wade had placed regarding a 23-year-old woman on backpage.com, which was a website that has become well-known for prostitutes and sex offenders, according to the Daily Caller.
However, there was one small problem with Wade claiming that this was a 23-year-old girl. The sad fact of the matter was this: no, she wasn’t 23; she was just 17. Interestingly enough, this girl also kept calling Mr. Wade her manager.
According to the girl, Mr. Wade did indeed know that she was a minor, but he wasn’t worried about it because she was going to turn 18 in about five months. She also told investigators that she would give all of the money she was making to Mr. Wade.
Mr. Wade told reporters that he has been unfairly arrested because he was “too trusting” of the female tenant. He said he was only temporarily housing the girl because of his Hush or Operation Help charity. Mr. Wade also claimed that the girl had actually told him that she was 20 years old.
He claims that he was only arrested because he signed and paid for the room and also provided the identification for the room. He said that she acted alone in conducting her illegal activities there, and that she was also arrested for solicitation and prostitution.
“Her family tells that she has had a long history of doing things like this,” Mr. Wade. “She will run off and act like this. I really am not sure otherwise, but all I know is I’m not a pimp. I would never do something like that.”
When he posted his statement on Twitter, he blamed “conservative trolls” for “smearing” his name all over social media. He said that they have been having a field day over all of this and he’s ready for it to stop.
Just a couple of days after he had been arrested, he said, “For the last two or three days, a bunch of ‘trolls’ have been baiting and baiting the conservative news outlets to try to get them to keep reporting on my arrest.
They are actively trying to engage in all kinds of vindictive things.” He also wrote some extra comments on Twitter, such as the following: “I am confident that I will be fully cleared of all of these charges that I have been accused of.”
Was he guilty of this? Well, it’s hard to say, but it is just a little bit troubling that he was crowdsourcing a center for children and youth near Ferguson. Moreover, he was invited by the Obama administration to come to the White House for a private movie screening with other Black Lives Matter activists. He said he didn’t attend, but still, this doesn’t exactly garner trust in the previous administration, now does it. EGAD!
Indeed, if this was the only instance of an individual being involved in Black Lives Matter who was accused of a crime that was degrading to others it would be troubling enough. However, black liberation movements, both past and present, have been rife with instances where their members have been accused of unseemly activities.
For example, Javier Tra Dunn was another individual who has been widely put on a pedestal by BLM because he was heavily involved in the Alton Sterling protests in Baton Rouge. However, the man was also indicted later on by a grand jury on the charges that he sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl.
Moreover, just a few months ago, there was a group of Black Lives Matter supporters who attacked a white girl and threw her in a dumpster. After she climbed out, they continued to follow and harass her. Although one of the men would later apologize, he made a joke out of it.
And this is just the Black Lives Matter movement. Besides BLM, the Black Panthers have had literally countless violent individuals in their history. It seems to me that these black liberation movements have some serious explaining to do and they need to seriously start practicing what they preach.