Patrice Cullors, the “Marxist” co-founder of Black Lives Matter (BLM), is coming under scrutiny, yet again, for a lavish home she purchased while serving as executive director of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF).
According to New York Magazine, Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Melina Abdullah purchased a 6,500 square foot mansion in Los Angeles for “$6 million in cash in October 2020 with money that had been donated to BLMGNF.” As the real estate listing details, the home has “more than half a dozen bedrooms and bathrooms, several fireplaces, a soundstage, a pool and bungalow, and parking for more than 20 cars.”
When pressed to defend the purchase, Cullors issued the following statement via Instagram:
New York Magazine is a despicable abuse of a platform that’s intended to provide truthful information to the public. Journalism is supposed to mitigate harm and inform our communities. That fact that a reputable publication would allow a reporter, with a proven and very public bias against me and other Black leaders, to write a piece filled with misinformation, innuendo and incendiary opinions, is disheartening and unacceptable. To clarify again, the property the reporter addressed was purchased in 2020 as a space where those within the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) and broader movement community could work, create content, host meetings and foster creativity. Although I cannot speak to how BLMGNF uses the property currently as I left the organization last year in May, it was purchased to be a safe space for Black people in the community. The reason it wasn’t announced prior is not nefarious as the headline infers, the property needed repairs and renovation. I do not own the property, have never lived there and made that clear to the reporter. I want to be clear: While I will always see myself as a part of the BLM community, I am no longer in leadership and I am not a part of any decision-making processes within the foundation. I have never misappropriated funds, and it pains me that so many people have accepted that narrative without the presence of tangible truth or facts. Nevertheless, this will soon be made clear upon the release of the BLM 990s. To those within our movement and others who have looked to me for leadership, I’m sorry you have consistently had to engage with this kind of hateful and erroneous content. I admittedly have not always responded and I know my silence has contributed to doubt. I apologize if it has caused you harm of any kind. But I’m asking you all to understand the enormous pressure and fear that comes with living under the constant threat of white supremacist terror and real threats on my life and those of people I love. But I’m no longer letting fear hold me back from calling out these attacks.
So, it seems that Cullors, like most socialists in high places, prefers to live in the lap of luxury while spouting socialist rhetoric that she refuses to live by. Hopefully, the American people are finally waking up to the reality that socialism benefits those in places of power while shafting everyone else.
PHOTO: BLM Banner. Photo by Daniel Lobo. CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication.
Chris Talgo ([email protected]) is the editorial director and a research fellow at The Heartland Institute, as well as a researcher and contributing editor at StoppingSocialism.com.
