Activist, self-described Marxist and Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors has denied the allegations that she has been using the organization's funds to amass her vast property empire. She said the accusations against her are "categorically untrue" and "incredibly dangerous."
Cullors, 37, co-founded the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGN) in 2013. She has recently fallen under intense scrutiny ever since the New York Post found out that she had gone on a "real estate buying binge." She has purchased at least four high-end homes in the country, worth a total of around $3.2 million, including a $1.4 million 2,370-square-foot property near Malibu, Los Angeles, which she purchased in March 2021. (Related: BLM co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors has purchased four lavish estates in wealthy White neighborhoods with her "social justice" reparations.)
Many fellow Black Lives Matter activists have been taken aback by these purchases. Hawk Newsome, the head of Black Lives Matter Greater New York City, which is an independent affiliate of Cullors' organization, has called for an "independent investigation" to figure out how the parent organization has been spending the money donated to it.
"If you go around calling yourself a socialist, you have to ask how much of her own personal money is going to charitable causes," said Newsome. "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 this movement."
Cullors' other properties include a 3.2 rural acre "custom ranch" in Georgia that she purchased with her spouse, Janaya Khan, in Jan. 2020 worth $415,000. This three-bedroom, two-bath property features a private airplane hangar and a 2,500-foot runway.
She also has a three-bedroom home in Inglewood, California, that she purchased in 2016 for $510,000. It is now worth nearly $800,000. The fourth home is a four-bedroom 1,725-square-foot home in South Los Angeles which she purchased for $590,000 but is now worth over $720,000.
Cullors and her spouse have also been spotted in the Bahamas looking for a fifth home in Albany, a luxury resort. The neighborhood is laid out on "600 oceanside acres," and the homes for sale in the area include a nearly 8,000-square-foot, six-bedroom townhouse with marina views.
Cullors says calls to investigate her wealth "racist and sexist"
On Thursday, April 15, Cullors appeared on Black News Tonight, where she was interviewed by prominent African American activist and author Marc Lamont Hill. While on the program, Cullors described the intense scrutiny she is now facing over her real estate purchases as "racist and sexist" attacks fueled by the "right-wing media."
Cullors has denied allegations that she has been taking money from BLMGN. The organization received over $90 million in donations in 2020 but has not released a full accounting of how that money was spent. The organization claims Cullors was paid $120,000 from 2013 to 2019 but has not received any payment since then.
"I have never taken a salary from the Black Lives Matter Global Networks Foundation," she said during her interview. "That's important, because what the right-wing media is trying to say is that the donations that people gave to Black Lives Matter went towards my spending. And that is categorically untrue and incredibly dangerous."
"So your income that you have used to make whatever purchases you have made have come from outside the company. Your income does not come from working directly with the BLMGN?" asked Hill.
"That's correct," answered Cullors. She explained that her income has come from her work as a college professor and a TV producer, as well as the money she has made from several book deals. "All of my income comes directly from the work that I do."
When questioned regarding her real estate purchases, Cullors denied looking for property in the Bahamas with her spouse. But she has confirmed that she owns four homes. She argued that she invested in these properties to help her better take care of her family members.
'The way that I live my life is in direct support of Black people, including my Black family members first and foremost," she tried to explain. "I have a child, I have a brother that has severe mental illness that I take care of. I support my mother, and I support many other family members of mine."
"My money is not my own – I see it as my family's money as well."
Cullors has not mentioned whether she has received a salary from any of the BLMGN's other sister organizations, including the network's for-profit branches.
Cullors went on to talk about how BLMGN distributes the millions it receives in donations to groups it believes are worthy and are fighting White supremacy, including $27 million earmarked to help "Black-led organizations" that are independent of BLMGN.
She ended the interview by talking about how she had to hire "security" following the negative backlash to her real estate empire. She has urged all members of her organization and movement to "band together" to fight back against criticism against her.
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