Allegations of financial mismanagement among supposed leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM)—as well as questions surrounding the true character of the organization—continue to unfold following a recent New York Magazine report revealing the group purchased a $6 million luxury home in southern California with money that had been donated to the BLMGNF (Black Lives Matter Global Network Fund, the official title of the only actual national organization). Patrisse Cullors speaking in Tottenham, north London as part of the Ferguson Solidarity Tour, January 2015.
According to the report, BLMGNF bought the 6,500 square-foot property, complete with seven bedrooms and bathrooms, a sound stage and music studio, a pool, and parking for almost 20 cars, in October 2020, to serve as a “safehouse” and headquarters for BLM leadership to create social media content. Last June, three BLM leaders—Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Melina Abdullah—recorded a video outside the property while marking the first anniversary of George Floyd’s murder.
The report has further fueled questions about BLM’s finances barely a year after it released the first look into its finances. The foundation said it collected over $90 million in 2020 alone and committed $21.7 million in funding to various BLM chapters and grassroots organizations. With its operating budget set at $8.4 million, more than $60 million was unaccounted for.
BLM released an official statement defending the purchase of the mansion while simultaneously performing damage control, promising to “provide clarity” and to increase “transparency and accountability.”
“Despite past efforts, BLMGNF recognizes that there is more work to do to increase transparency and ensure transitions in leadership are clear,” said a tweet from the official BLM account. “We are redoubling our efforts to provide clarity about BLMGNF’s work. In the coming weeks, we will unveil new initiatives to increase transparency and accountability, and to continue reshaping what radical philanthropy looks like for Black people.”
BLM sought to justify the purchase of the California mansion, which they call the “Creator House,” by arguing that it was made to encourage “Black creativity” which is “necessary and vital to Black survival.”
“That’s why Creator’s House was purchased—to provide a space for Black folks to share their gifts with the world and hone their craft as they see fit, under the conditions that work best for them and outside systems of oppression in creative industries.”
Patrisse Cullors, co-founder and former executive director of BLMGNF, and Melina Abdullah, co-director of BLM Grassroots, spoke to reporters Monday in a closed roundtable discussion, according to NBC News, where the pair dismissed recent allegations as media attacks and “misinformation.” Cullors and Abdullah claimed that the purchase of the multimillion dollar property was out of concern for the leaders’ safety.
“Almost immediately upon closing, the attacks on me, and BLM, which also means Melina and others, escalated,” Cullors said. She also claimed that she stayed at the home for four nights while the FBI investigated a death threat against her. “So we did use the campus as a haven, as a safe place. That derailed an announcement strategy. Conditions changed, and that’s it.”
Chelsea Fuller, who moderated the discussion, said BLM’s current leadership declined to be part of the discussion and a spokesperson for the organization said that “the Foundation intends to do its own media in the near future.” Cullors officially stepped down as executive director a year ago and it is currently unclear who is in control of the organization and its tens of millions of dollars in donations.
The New York magazine exposé included telling details about the group’s efforts to cover up the actual property transaction. The $6 million house was bought in October 2020 by Dyane Pascall, the financial manager for an LLC operated by Cullors and her spouse, as well as for Trap Heals, a nonprofit run by Damon Turner, the father of Cullors’ only child.
The cash for the purchase came from $66.5 million that had just come in to BLMGNF from donor contributions. Pascall then quickly resold to a Delaware-based LLC, a maneuver that concealed the actual final owner of the property, who remains unidentified.
Last week’s revelations are just the most recent in a long line of allegations that expose the fraudulent nature of BLMGNF. Rather than being a genuine hub of expression for the mass opposition to police brutality, the group speaks for privileged sections of the middle class seeking to cash in on the promotion of racial politics to advance their own positions within the state and corporate America.
The Democratic Party and corporate media have incessantly promoted illusions in racial identity politics as part of an effort to promote racial divisions and obscure common class interests of all workers, including in the fight against police violence.
After the eruption of mass multi-racial protests against police violence triggered by George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, the Democratic Party and its pseudo-left allies worked to redirect popular opposition to police violence into racialist identity politics while promoting illusions that the police can be reformed.
In an article covering the numerous financial scandals of Black Lives Matter, the World Socialist Web Site explained the true character of the organization:
The facts that have emerged demonstrate that Black Lives Matter is largely a creation of the corporate media and the Democratic Party, not a genuine expression of insurgent popular opposition to the pervasive brutality and social inequality of American society. The revelations illustrate the venal and privileged social layers whose interests are expressed by the elevation of race, rather than class, as the essential dividing line in society.
The deadly force police regularly employ against the population is an inevitable result of a society riven with inequality and social contradictions. The victims of the police are of every race, ethnicity and gender—predominantly poor and working class. The fight against police brutality and racism can be won only through the abolition of the capitalist system and the struggle for socialism.Clio the cat, ? July 1997 - 1 May 2016 Kira the cat, ? ? 2010 - 3 August 2018 Jasper the Ruffian cat ? ? ? - 4 November 2021
Re: Black Lives Matter purchases $6 million property with donation money
Is BLMGNF really BLM in a real sense? They're just one organisation milking it aren't they - the 'movement' itself is much wider and made up of many independent/autonomous actions as I understand it - this lot who bought the house do not control it in a real sense - though they often just call themselves BLM and claim to speak for the whole movement (and own the web domain) - which leads some to think they do (like this article) - it obviously suits some to take them at their word so they can then dismiss the whole social movement based on dodgy actions of a few people. Bit rum to read the same arguments in wsws as they use on Fox News though - I would have though they'd like the 'abolish the police' bit but they didn't mention it (or would they just want a ML police instead? (or are they trots - I lose track)).
BLM Chapters Demand "Accountability" from Trio that Cashed in on the Movement
# 10 February 2022 Black Lives Matter Inland Empire, in an open letter, last week announced its departure from the cash-heavy Black Lives Global Network.
Lede: Questions about finances at the Black Lives Matter Global Foundation made headlines, but political impropriety is at the heart of the matter. Revolutionary politics would proscribe self-dealing and co-optation.
Yahne Ndgo, 23 February 2022
(quote) On January 31, 2022, New York magazine published an article by Sean Campbell, "The BLM Mystery: Where did the money go?" A core demand of the article is one that many have made for many years: Show me the money! People have questions. I have a lot of answers. I am a former, and still supportive organizer in a legacy chapter (my own term) of Black Lives Matter - BLM Philly. I represented the chapter in the national network - the place that BLM Global Foundation in its several formations curated. Up until my separation from the chapter in late 2021, BLMGN was the owner/manager/user of the primary website BlackLivesMatter.com, along with the social media and the newsletter. Those who claimed leadership of BLMGN managed its resources and received millions in donations with complete autonomy and no accountability to the hundreds of BLM organizers across the globe who gave them their street cred. However, what is most heinous is that this autonomy was never revealed to any of the organizers.
Over the many years since its inception, BLMGN brought organizers together from various chapters for retreats and held regular meetings that were generally no less than once per month to work through concerns and organize together. Concerns included political clarity, reaching consensus on priorities, transparency about money, and democratic decision making about campaigns, public discussion, and use of resources. Organizers worked in earnest to address these concerns, and to achieve the understood goal to empower the chapters of BLM to be an effective, collective revolutionary force. The chapters were composed of organizers on the ground in cities around the world. The "leaders" misled the organizers, asserting they were seeking to accomplish the same goals, insinuating that they were simply failing. Organizers are typically overwhelmed, and often take on responsibilities beyond their capacity. It's the nature of the work. So the community accepted and acted in faith that the problem was capacity and maybe a bit of ego, yet nothing nefarious. That was our mistake.
Not until July 2020, after an ultimatum in the form of a demand letter, were organizers finally positioned to collectively decide who would manage the funds and communications platforms that represented us, who would work with the fiscal sponsor, the process for driving ourselves forward in a way that aligned with the larger movement, and clarifying our politics so that there was harmony between the organization and organizers on the ground around the country. The story of this moment is, I think, among those most important to anyone attempting to understand the place BLM truly takes within the Black Liberation Movement, and any movements for equity, justice and freedom today.
I am glad people are asking questions about the money. However, the money, though the most sensational part, is actually the least important in my opinion. Money is important for resourcing the work of the movement, of the organizers and of communities, and to support the families of victims of police murder, and of state violence in it's many forms. However, more significant than the potential use of funds held in an organization is the potential influence of those who provide those funds. And more important than that, is the process of propaganda. (/quote) -- Cont'd at https://blackagendareport.com/hide-nothing-masses-insider-perspective-black-lives-matter-global-network-sham
on April 16, 2022, 10:09 pm