generic Black Lives Matter Dismisses Critics of Multi-Million-Dollar Mansion Purchase: ‘Inflammatory and Speculative’
Black Lives Matter is refusing to apologize for using donor funds to buy a multi-million dollar mansion, instead opting to double down on the purchase in a Twitter thread on Monday.
Last week, New York Magazine reported that “…the California property was purchased for nearly $6 million in cash in October 2020 with money that had been donated to BLMGNF (Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation).”
“There have been a lot of questions surrounding recent reports about the purchase of Creator’s House in California,” acknowledged Black Lives Matter in its response.
“We also recognize the confusion recent inflammatory and speculative articles have caused,” continued the organization. “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.”
The thread went on to explain that the “Creator’s House” was acquired so as 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.”
Black Lives Matter also touted its donations to humanitarian causes, including to the Covid-19 Survival Fund for families, as well as “Black-led frontline orgs around the world.”
The advocacy group saw an influx of cash after George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis cops in 2020, but it has come under scrutiny for its use of those funds. For instance, BLM co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors, a self-proclaimed Marxist, has bought at least four houses for a total of around $3.2 million. She resigned as the group’s executive director shortly after the New York Post reported on acquisitions in April 2021.
In another example, BLMGNF, the most visible Black Lives Matter charity, funneled $6 million to a nonprofit founded by Khan-Cullors’s wife, Janaya Khan, to buy a 10,000-square-foot house in Toronto dedicated as a “transfeminist, queer affirming space politically aligned with supporting Black liberation work across Canada.”
For its lack of accountability and transparency, Maine, Connecticut, New Mexico, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia have all revoked BLMGNF’s charitable registration.
