The Department of State under President Biden issued guidance to all “Diplomatic and Consular posts” encouraging displays of support for Black Lives Matter (BLM) in honor of the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death.
According to a leaked memo from an anonymous State department official, the department wrote that it “supports the use of the term ‘Black Lives Matter’ in messaging content” as well as in speeches and foreign diplomatic engagements on May 25 “and beyond.” This memo allows US diplomats to fly BLM flags outside of US embassies.
Similar to the BLM banner, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also previously authorized embassies to fly the LGBTQ pride flag from May 17 through the end of June in recognition of Pride Month celebrations, reversing a Trump-era policy.
BLM has been a controversial organization for the past year after being linked to several riots across the country. Insurance estimates showed that the organization has caused $2 billion in property damage over the past Summer. Multiple black civilians such as David Dorn and Patrick Underwood have also been killed at the hands of BLM rioters. BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors has also been under fire lately after having been caught buying multiple mansions all while BLM has yet to host any neighborhood cleanups or anything productive for black communities.