However, she spent time that same year with Nicolas Maduro, the socialist dictator of Venezuela, and praised his regime, saying, вЂњIn these last 17 years, we have witnessed the Bolivarian Revolution champion participatory democracy and construct a fair, transparent election system recognized as among the best in the world.вЂќ In 2019, several years into VenezuelaвЂ™s economic and humanitarian crises, MaduroвЂ™s re-election was challenged by Juan Gaiado, who was recognized by 150 nations, including the United States of America, as VenezuelaвЂ™s rightful leader. While Patrisse Cullors described herself and Alicia Garza as вЂњTrained MarxistsвЂќ in 2015, Tometi has not used the same term for herself. In June 2020, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation announced the establishment of a $12 million grant fund to support organizations fighting вЂњinstitutional racism.вЂќ This was in addition to a $6.5 million fund, administered through a вЂњFiscal Sponsor,вЂќ to support local Black Lives Matter chapters. By 2016, BLM had вЂњover 30 chapters both stateside and internationally.вЂќ Today, BLM lists 17 chapters, with 14 in the U.S. Д«y 2015, Black Lives Matter had 15 chapters across the United States. They described it as вЂњadaptive and decentralized with a set of guiding principles.вЂќ Their goal, according to Garza, was вЂњto support the development of new Black leaders as well as create a network where Black people feel empowered to determine our destinies in our communities.

ДЄfter the Ferguson Freedom Ride, Tometi, Collurs and Garza began to build out the BLM network infrastructure.

After Michael Brown was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, Tometi, Cullors, and Garza organized a #BlackLivesMatter вЂњFreedom RideвЂќ to Ferguson. Tometi learned of it and helped them вЂњdevelop the broader social media platform.вЂќ Tometi helped create Tumblr and Twitter accounts and solicited content from supporters to populate those accounts. The phrase вЂњBlack Lives MatterвЂќ was initially coined by Garza and then used as a hashtag by Cullors. In 2013, Tometi co-founded the hashtag # BlackLivesMatter, along with two other activists вЂ“ Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza. In January 2019, Tometi stepped aside as the executive director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration. Tometi criticized of the Obama administrationвЂ™s immigration policies as insufficiently left-progressive and liberal expansionist. In 2013, Tometi became the executive director of BAJI. In 2011, Tometi joined the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) as the director of communications and national organizing. As Arizona passed SB 1070, which the New York Times called вЂњthe nationвЂ™s toughest bill on illegal immigration,вЂќ Tometi connected with and began working for the left wing activist group, Black Alliance for Just Immigration. Immigration ActivismДuring 2010, Tometi was the spokeswoman for the Puente Movement, a liberal expansionist immigration advocacy group. Over these years, she was also sometimes self-employed with her own public relations firm. In 2009, Tometi moved back into activism as an intern for the human rights organization Witness. ДЄfter graduating from the University of Arizona in 2005, Tometi worked briefly for a domestic violence shelter, then spent two years as a leasing agent and marketing manager at commercial real estate company Cowan Commercial. She also did volunteer work with domestic violence victims, eventually becoming a case manager for a domestic violence shelter. At the University of Arizona, Tometi volunteered with the ACLU, monitoring and reporting on civilian vigilante immigration enforcement. This spurred Tometi to become an immigration activist. When Tometi was 16, her family took in a friend whose mother had been deported. She has become a popular speaker and commentator on race-related issues, and has received numerous awards related to her activism. Tometi co-founded BLM in 2013, after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Opal Tometi is a civil rights activist and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Global Network Foundation activist organization.

Opal tometi