The Black Lives Matter movement started to protest police brutality.
Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Under Fire For Luxury Home Purchases
Black Lives Matter (BLM) co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors has found herself under fire because of four homes she purchased in predominantly White neighborhoods, allegedly totaling $3.2 million.
“If you go around calling yourself a socialist, you have to ask how much of your personal money is going to charitable causes,” said Hawk Newsome, the leader of the Black Lives Matter movement in New York. “It’s really sad because it makes people doubt the validity of the movement and overlook the fact that it’s the people that carry the movement.”
Black Enterprise reported, “According to property reports referenced by NY Post, Khan-Cullers is accused of purchasing four high-end homes for $3.2 million in the US. She’s also said to be eyeing property in the Bahamas at an exclusive luxury beachfront resort outside Nassau where condos are priced between $5 million to $20 million.
“Khan-Cullors’ real estate binge was put on blast on Wednesday, April 7, after the outlet Dirt revealed that $1.4 million Topanga Canyon compound the BLM activist recently purchased. The 2,370-square-foot property reportedly features ‘soaring ceilings, skylights and plenty of windows’ and is just one of three homes Khan-Cullors owns in the Los Angeles area, public records show.”
The resort in the Bahamas boasts of A-list regulars like Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake.
Black Enterprise reported that in 2020, Khan-Cullors and her spouse Janaya Khan bought a “custom ranch” on over three acres of land in Conyers, Ga.
The Black Lives Matter co-founder also is said to have purchased a three-bedroom home in Inglewood, Calif. for $510,000 and a four-bedroom home in South Los Angeles for $590,000, which she purchased in 2018.
Black Enterprise reported, “Khan-Cullors co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi in 2013. BLM activists have been demanding $20 million from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, including Michael Brown, Sr., whose son Michael Brown, Jr. was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014.”
Brown, Sr. asked, “Why hasn’t my family’s foundation received any assistance from the movement?”
Community organizer Tony Russell said, “On behalf of many activists in the St. Louis area, I’m joined by Mike Brown, Sr., the father of Mike Brown, Jr. Today, we hold Black Lives Matter accountable.”
In a statement provided to Black Enterprise, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation said, “Patrisse Cullors is the Executive Director of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF). She serves in this role in a volunteer capacity and does not receive a salary or benefits. Patrisse has received a total of $120,000 since the organization’s inception in 2013, for duties such as serving as spokesperson and engaging in political education work. Patrisse did not receive any compensation after 2019.
“To be abundantly clear, as a registered 5013C, BLMGNF cannot and did not commit any organizational resources toward the purchase of personal property by any employee or volunteer. Any insinuation or assertion to the contrary is categorically false.
“Patrisse’s work for Black people over the years has made her and others who align with the fight for Black liberation targets of racist violence. The narratives being spread about Patrisse have been generated by right-wing forces intent on reducing the support and influence of a movement that is larger than any one organization. The right-wing offensive not only puts Patrisse, her child and her loved-ones in harm’s way, it also continues a tradition of terror by White supremacists against Black activists. All Black activists know the fear these malicious and serious actions are meant to instill: the fear of being silenced, the trauma of being targeted, the torture of feeling one’s family is exposed to danger just for speaking out against unjust systems. We have seen this tactic of terror time and again, but our movement will not be silenced.”
Social media giant Facebook recently blocked links to the New York Post article that describes Khan-Cullors’ real estate purchases because the articles included private information about the Black Lives Matter co-founder.
Journalists from Newsweek attempted to link to the New York Post article and could not do so on Facebook.
After attempting to link to the Post article, Facebook responded with the following statement: “Your post couldn’t be shared, because this link goes against our Community Standards. If you do think this doesn’t go against our Community Standards let us know.”
Speaking to Newsweek, a Facebook spokesperson said, “The content was removed for violating our privacy and personal information policy.”
According to Newsweek, “The policy forbids articles that share details that could identify a person’s financial and residential information, thus violating their privacy rights.”
Khan-Cullors labels herself as a “trained Marxist” and feminist, which has caused many to criticize her lavish home purchases.
In a nutshell, Marxism is an economic and political theory that seeks to eliminate economic classes in society.
For Marxists, everyone works together for the good of the collective, which eliminates the class struggles that remain so prevalent in many nations like America.
In an interview with The Real News Network, the Black Lives Matter co-founder said, “We are trained Marxists. We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories. And I think that what we really tried to do is build a movement that could be utilized by many, many Black folk.”
Activists of all races have often received criticism for money that is raised to support their movement, especially in comparison to some activists of the past.
Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. famously donated all of his financial rewards from winning the Nobel Peace Price back to the movement.
Furthermore, Nation of Islam leader lived in a parsonage in Queens, N.Y. while growing the Nation and its mission to help Black people, not profiting much from his celebrity.
