Black Lives Matter scrubbed a page on its website this week that disparaged the “Western-prescribed nuclear family structure,” prompting a former NFL lineman to blast critics who accused him of previously misinterpreting the organization’s incendiary message.
The group, whose co-founder Patrisse Cullors has described herself and fellow co-founder Alicia Garza as “trained Marxists,” removed a page titled “What We Believe” that included its public policy positions as well as describing itself as part of the “global Black family” — a change first reported Monday by the Washington Examiner.
“We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable,” the website formerly read.
The page, which was no longer available Thursday, also said BLM aimed to “dismantle the patriarchal practice” that leads to mothers having to work double shifts to make ends meet.
The site still has an “About Black Lives Matter” page that features a shorter list of goals, including a “world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise,” but it does not contain the anti-nuclear family language.
A central tenet of Marxism is the dismantling of the “nuclear family structure.” The language was removed days after a poll found support for the group dropped 12 percent this summer as some of its protests descended into looting and violence.
The change prompted former NFL lineman Marcellus Wiley to blast the group, saying his criticism of its mission statement back in June was misconstrued while reiterating that he’s a product of a tight-knit household.
Wiley, a 10-year league vet and co-host of FS1’s “Speak For Yourself,” shared a news story about the sudden change to BLM’s website as he took the group to task.
“Heard too many people tell that I was wrong for misinterpreting BLM’s mission statement and I took their words out of context,” Wiley tweeted. “You were saying?”
Wiley took a second shot at BLM a day later, accusing some of his critics of forgetting his roots.
“Seems some have forgotten I navigated from the bottom of this system,” Wiley, a 45-year-old native of Compton, California, tweeted to his 325,000 followers. “I planned & worked to succeed by any means, whether by using my brain or my body! Blessed to be an example of how important a nuclear family is to reaching your full potential. My experience is my expertise.”
A message seeking comment from BLM regarding its website change was not immediately returned Thursday.
Wiley had previously criticized BLM for its mission statement during a “Speak For Yourself” segment in June.
“I don’t know how many people really look into the mission statement of Black Lives Matter, but I did — and when you look into it, there’s a couple things that jump out to me, and I’m a black man,” Wiley said. “Two things: My family structure is so [vitally] important to me … Being a father and a husband — that’s my mission in life right now.
“How do I reconcile that … with this mission statement that says, ‘We dismantle the patriarchal practice. We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement,’” Wiley asked before sharing statistics showing the negative impact of single-parent homes versus two-parent households.
“So when I see that, as a mission statement for Black Lives Matter, it makes me scratch my head,” Wiley continued.