PragerU: A Father’s Questions For Black Lives Matter

In the latest video from PragerU, Dan Collins, a self-described “typical, Main Street American” with a large, multiracial family, asks the organization behind the Black Lives Matter movement some difficult questions. 

“I’m the proud father of thirteen children,” Collins explains (video below). “Eight are white and five, adopted, are black.”

“My family is my greatest joy, and my life is dedicated to their well-being and happiness,” Collins emphasizes. However, amid the current racial unrest, Collins states, he “genuinely doesn’t know how best to support my black children through this tumultuous and painful period in our history.”

“Some say I should get involved with the Black Lives Matter movement, while others say I should avoid it at all costs,” he says. “To help me figure this out, I have some questions for the Black Lives Matter Global Network.”

Before posing these questions, Collins provides some additional context, including a peaceful BLM demonstration in his hometown of La Mesa, California, which turned violent as protesters began rioting, looting, and setting fires.

“The next day, I took my 14-year-old black son downtown to help with the clean-up,” Collins recalls. “As we walked past the charred remains of Chase Bank, I noticed the letters ‘BLM’ graffitied onto a wall amid the rubble. It was unsettling — as if Black Lives Matter was claiming credit for the bank’s destruction.”

“I didn’t want to believe that,” Collins admits. “Just as any parent who has adopted and biological children, I love them all the same. Obviously, I never want to see any of them wrongly accused, mistreated, or targeted because of their skin color.”

Collins explains the source of his conflict and confusion. While he would “happily support any peaceful movement that helps to secure racial justice and equality,” he also recognizes the “need for law and order,” without which “no community can survive, let alone thrive.”

With this in mind, Collins asks the question, “Is it possible for my family to support the Black Lives Matter movement while also supporting the police?” After searching the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation website for answers, Collins came away with more questions.

He asks how Black Lives Matter hopes to actually achieve their mission “to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on black communities by the state and vigilantes.” He also asks for their definition of “white supremacy,” of “local power,” and what they mean by “state” and “vigilantes.”  Finally, he asks how the movement proposes to “intervene in violence inflicted on black communities.”

“Honestly,” Collins says, “I can’t tell whether you intend to pursue your mission through peaceful or violent methods.” 

Collins also highlights Black Lives Matter’s description of “the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure” they hope to “disrupt.” “That language has been quietly removed,” Collins notes. “Does that mean that you no longer hold that view? Or was it just the expedient thing to do?”

After reaching out to his local Black Lives Matter chapter, as well as its regional and national headquarters, he received no response. “So,” Collins explains, “I began doing my own research.”

This resulted in discovering an interview with one of the movement’s founders, Patrice Cullers, who declared, “We are trained Marxists,” who are “super-versed on ideological theories.”

“Which theories are those?” Collins asks. “Is Black Lives Matter a Marxist-inspired organization? Marx advocated for the ‘forcible overthrow’ of our civilization. Is that what BLM wants also?”

“Do you believe in and support the Constitution? Do you honor the flag, or do you view it as a symbol of oppression? Do you believe that people should be primarily judged by the content of their character or the color of their skin? Do you support or condemn destruction of personal and private property of others? Do you believe in the defacing and destruction of statues, monuments, and other public property? Do you believe that police departments need to be reformed, or to be defunded, or to be eliminated altogether?”

“I am one of countless Americans who want answers,” Collins states. “But I can’t seem to get any.”

Collins points out that the Black Lives Matter organization has raised millions of dollars, but that “no one seems to know” what is being done with that money, or even whether they are “using the money in some way to help black communities.”

“Speaking as a father and as a typical American,” Collins then addresses the movement directly. “I humbly propose that you use some of that money to help black people who have been harmed by the destruction that has accompanied BLM protests. I’m thinking of the many black business owners whose shops were destroyed by riots in your name. I’m thinking of the family of David Dorn, the black retired police captain who was shot and killed while trying to protect a friend’s pawn shop from looters.”

“With all my heart, I believe that black lives matter,” says Collins. “I would like to support Black Lives Matter, the organization, in an effort to support my black children. But it’s hard to do so if I don’t know your beliefs and goals.”

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