The Black Lives Matter movement, which resurfaced after several police misconduct scandals, soon descended into violence, riots, chaos, and destruction across the country. What began as protests against police brutality became riots which decimated small businesses, spurred looting of any type of business, and led to fires burning people’s hard-earned work and dreams.

As much as BLM advocates and supporters try to portray the movement as a peaceful, goal-oriented advocacy campaign, the destruction left in the wake of BLM riots expose its underlying violent and destructive motivations. Based on emerging reports and data, the riots cost at least half a billion dollars in damages to small businesses.

BLM destruction breakdown:

• Atlanta: In the Buckhead area, between $10-$15 million in damages not counting looting losses.
• Minneapolis: 400 businesses damaged, costing an estimated $500 million.
• Louisville: Initial estimates are in the several millions of dollars.

In total, Black Lives Matter-inspired rioting cost American businesses and communities at least $510 million after several weeks’ worth of rioting. Historically, half of small businesses typically fail after the first year, but the coronavirus pandemic also crippled local and small businesses across the country. The riots and resulting destruction were a significant economic setback for those communities, especially in minority and poorer neighborhoods.

In one case, a dental clinic owner watched through security cameras footage of rioters destroying $5,000 worth of dental chairs and $1,500 surgical tools and the business was set on fire. The police and fire departments could not reach the building until six hours later, but by then, the Chicago Lake family Dental clinic “was in ruins,” as the Star-Tribune reported. He told the newspaper that it will cost about $1 million to rebuild his businesses. The newspaper estimated that the majority of affected businesses were new businesses or immigrant-owned businesses, which may not have property insurance and could shut down.

In Atlanta’s Buckhead area, businesses estimated that rioters’ damages could range between $10-$15 million, which did not include the cost of looting. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said an official estimate will take several weeks as insurance claims are reported and processed.

Louisville, Kentucky was also affected by riots and looting and has yet to compile an initial estimate of the riots’ damages and looting costs to its businesses. The Louisville Courier Journal noted that it was a double-whammy for businesses which struggled during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Black Lives Matter movement’s failure to present a united front against property damage, rioting, looting, setting fires, assaulting and threatening private citizens exposed its inability to sustain meaningful or lasting change in the name of civil rights.