There's a lot of white folks being like, 'We just got to put the money.''. It reported receiving $90 million in donations last year, the most it had ever raised in a year. Her brother, Paul Cullors, received more than $840,000 for providing security services to the foundation. It would have been great if I had coordinated, not just me, but if a bunch of us have coordinated, 'Hey, all these black-led organizations got a bunch of money. That investment is expected to become an endowment to ensure the foundation's work continues in the future, organizers say. Real-estate purchases have been a problem for the BLMGNF outside of the U.S. as well. Bowers was named as one of three members of BLM's board of directors earlier this month. 'When resources came in, when opportunities came in, (the foundation) alone would be the ones to decide who was going to take advantage of them, without having to take any consideration of the other organizers whose work was giving them the access to these resources and opportunities in the first place,' said Ndgo, who organized a group of chapters that confronted the foundation over issues of transparency and accountability. Additionally, the Post claims that in recent years, Cullors, a self-described Marxist, paid $510,000 for a three-bedroom home in Inglewood, California. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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That was a lot of white guilt money. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. Its an example of how Cullors acted as both the head of BLMGNF and cultivated a lucrative public profile at the same time; when she quit the organization, she said it was to focus on media deals shed signed with a book publisher and Warner Bros. (A lawyer for Cullors declined to comment on the record.). Hundreds of people violently detained during a protest in the Bronx could receive $21,500 each. Bowers actions led the foundation into investigations by the Internal Revenue Service and various state attorneys general, blazing a path of irreparable harm to BLM in less than eighteen months, the suit claims. Our demands continue to go ignored. Im some weeks out now from a lot of the noise, so I have more perspective, right? & restitution for all of the harms from slavery, and for all of the wealth built on stolen . All rights reserved. According to public records, the property was . I think they are doing what a lawyer in this situation would advise them to do, which is be as open as you possibly can be and be as accurate as you possibly can be, said Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who specializes in nonprofits. The post BLM founder Patrisse Cullors $1.4M home draws criticism, call for investigation appeared first on TheGrio. When Cullors revealed the windfall of donations last year, local chapter organizers and families of police brutality victims reacted angrily. Themba cited disagreements with the organization in a September Twitter post. Its a waste of resources, he said. ', Cullorshad said previously that her sister, mother, and brother were employed with BLM, D'Zhane Parker, left, Cicley Gay, center, and Shalomyah Bowers pose for a portrait on Friday, May 13, 2022, in Atlanta. On the secure-messaging platform Signal, in a text chat named BLM Security Hub, around two dozen participants from BLMGNF, Bowers Consulting, Janaya and Patrisse Consulting, and various other organizations and companies commingle. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. All were purchased in 2020 following the success of the foundation's fundraising campaign, She also owns the above home, valued at $1.4million, which is located in scenic Topanga Canyon. 'And I think what's been hard is feeling like there isn't room and space for that.'. Shalomyah Bowers was called in the court filing as a rogue administrator, a middle man turned usurper who siphoned contributions to the nonprofit activist group to use as a personal piggy bank, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast, Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Upcoming Events. The group's former leader Patrisse Cullors is seen above, The filing shows that the group's lobbying spending was devoted in part to 'lobby member[s] of Congress to vote in favor of impeachment.' While tax-exempt non-profits like the BLMGNF are not prohibited from some lobbying, IRS rules prohibit them from devoting a 'substantial' part of their activities to influencing legislation. The documents show that about $26 million was used on grants to organizations, local chapters, and families. The latest financial disclosures come after Cullors had already come under fire for receiving a $120,000 payment - 'consulting fees' - by BLM. BLMGNF raised over $90 million in 2020 alone, according to aFebruary 2021 financial reportpublished by the nonprofit. The leader of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has been accused by former colleagues of stealing more than $10 million in donations from the organization for personal use, according to a lawsuit filed in court this week. Black folks have waited over 400 yearsto be seen, to be heard, to live in a world where their lives are fundamentally valued, the report stated. Right-wing board to clamp down on woke ideology in cartoons. Newly released tax filings reveal that BLM paid a company owned by Damon Turner (left), the father of co-founder Patrisse Cullors' (right) child, nearly $970,000 to help 'produce live events' and provide other 'creative services.' BLMGNF, which received more than $90 million in the wake of George Floyds death in 2020, represents the national BLM movement. Why arent you spending it on policy or, you know, other strategies that an organization might take to address the core issues around Black Lives Matter?. This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. But it was the 2014 death of Michael Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, that made the slogan 'Black lives matter' a rallying cry for progressives and a favorite target of derision for conservatives. The USA must go from the current 330 million to 220 million by the year 2040. Bowers is a close associate of BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors, who resigned from BLMGNF in May 2021 after allegations she misused millions of dollars in donation money. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. (Francine Orr/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images), BLM facing scrutiny after tax documents allege donations were given to family members, investigated by the Internal Revenue Service. We are an institution, the foundation boasted. Cullors, who was serving as BLM'sexecutive director at the time, has repeatedly denied claims that she took money from BLM for personal matters and stated all purchases and transactions made were legitimate. The filing shows that the group's lobbying spending was devoted in part to 'lobby member[s] of Congress to vote in favor of impeachment.'. The memo notes: Holes in security story: Use in public YT videos.. ", BLMGNF's board of directors denied the allegations in a lengthy statement posted to their website Thursday. According to the tax filing, Ms. Cullors also paid the organization back for charter travel, saying that she voluntarily reimbursed subsequent to year end. She also repaid the nonprofit for personal use of its real estate, which appeared to refer to a birthday party for her son held at the $6 million house. Newsomes organization, Black Lives Matter of Greater New York which he represents during television appearances and interviews is not affiliated with Black Lives Matter Global Network, which was co-founded by Cullors along with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi. The foundation ended its last fiscal year - from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 - with nearly $42 million in net assets. Black Lives Matter (BLM) moved millions of dollars to a charity in Canada run by the wife of co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors to purchase a mansion that used to be the headquarters of the. We were told that concerns about financial transparency and community accountability were rumours, not a big deal, and whispers from so-called counter-organizers., Tory Russell, a prominent activist in Ferguson, Missouri, said that he felt depressed whenhe learnedabout about the California property. Cullors, 37, has reportedly purchased four high-end homes for $3.2 million in the U.S. alone, per New York Post, including property in a Topanga Canyon in Los Angeles County for $1.4 million . And that didn't happen. The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation on Tuesday released a63-page Form 990, covering the fiscal year from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, at which point the group had$42 million in net assets. I was the victim of a heinous crime in my own home - and it gave me more than a 'flush' of anger! Jon Brown is a writer for Fox News Digital. Now hes returning to a shell-shocked industry. That couldn't be further from the truth. (Other videos from Cullorss personal YouTube channel also appear to match images of the houses interior shown in real-estate listings.) This 990 tells a story of weak nonprofit governance, he said. The maneuver ensured that the ultimate identity of the propertys new owner was not disclosed to the public. However, she argues that the decision not to receive an annual wage from BLM actually came from a place of good intention. We knew that it needed some repairs, and it needed fixing, and that it would need to be shared,' Cullors explained. Trump was impeached by the House for a second time onJanuary 13, 2021, a week before his term expired, on charges related to the US Capitol riot. Khan was not an officer of the account or officer of the company. The police had even pulled over his friend in a different car earlier, gave him a ticket for no insurance and license and let the guy that took my car come and get in . BLM revealed last February it raked in $90 million in 2020 from big corporations and individual donors after the police killing of George Floyd and the nationwide riots that followed. The. She serves in this role in a volunteer capacity and does not receive a salary or benefits. (Francine Orr/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images). "They found him suitable for release last time and nothing has changed," Berry said. While I was in it, I was in survival mode. She was referring to an April 2021 article in the New York Post that revealed her purchase of four homes for nearly $3 million. He serves with board chair Cicley Gay, a communications professional with more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, and 'DZhane Parker, a member of BLM's Los Angeles chapter whose work focuses on the impact of mass incarceration on families. The tax filing shows property worth $5.9 million, held by a Delaware company. The city threw out a Democratic mayor for the first time in decades. Soon after the report, local activists went public with complaints that they felt unsupported by BLMGNF despite their pleas for help. Two paid staff members would rarely be enough to manage a $90 million organization. It was bought with donations made to the Black Lives Matter Global . It means investing in black communities, trusting them with their dollars. In 2020, the BLM foundation ended with a balance of more than $60 million after committing $21.7 million in grant funding to both official and unofficial BLM chapters, in addition to 30 Black-led local organizations. Millions were. Black Lives Matter spent $1.2M lobbying Congress: Pushed for Trump's IMPEACHMENT over Jan. 6, tried to abolish the DEA and end life sentences, bombshell tax filings show. Brown We Love Our Sons & Daughters Foundation, and $200,000 to the Trayvon Martin Foundation. Documents, emails, and other communications Ive seen about the luxury propertys purchase and day-to-day operation suggest that it has been handled in ways that blur, or cross, boundaries between the charity and private companies owned by some of its leaders. Cullors now owns three properties in Los Angeles - including this one in the hills above the city. pic.twitter.com/E268EUpVo4. Cullors, who resigned from BLM last year after it was revealed she amassed a $3.2 million property portfolio, argues that her biggest mistake in regard to her financials was not drawing a salary from the foundation. We have, you know, all these conversations about equal pay for black women. After the transfer, Black Lives Matter leaders began using the house in various ways, including as a set for recording videos and staying overnight when they didnt feel safe at their own homes. Back in April 2021, Cullors uploaded a video to her personal YouTube channel titled I Try Baking a Family Recipe for the FIRST Time *INTENSE* the first in an intended series called Patrisse Tries, in which she would attempt unfamiliar tasks. In particular, her decision to buy a million-dollar home in the Topanga Canyon area drew scrutiny. A recent tax filing from the group shows that by the middle of last year, more than half of that money had been granted to smaller organizations or spent on consultants and real estate, leaving the foundation with $42 million in assets. 'We needed to get dollars out to grassroots organizations doing the work of abolition, doing the work that would shift the moral tide of this world towards one that does not have or believe in police, prisons, jails or violence,' he said. Nonprofit experts say that any apparent intermingling of resources among BLMGNF, Cullors, and outside entities might jeopardize the charitys tax-exempt status. Can you guess whats total rubbish and whats something an honest-to-God prince wrote in an actual book? She paid the foundation an additional $390 over her uses of the 6,500 square-foot Studio City property for two private events. The filing also shows that BLMGNF co-founder Patrisse Cullors was the group's only voting director for the period in question, and held no board meetings. One conversation from June 2021 after Cullors announced her resignation concerns her assistant confronting a man who had been found snooping around the premises. The BLM movement first emerged in 2013, after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. 'I've thought about this a lot because for the request to have BLM be fully transparent actually makes BLM more vulnerable and makes the people who are inside BLM more vulnerable. Employees of Apple, Google, and Microsoft have raised millions of dollars for the Black Lives Matter Foundation thinking it's the international racial justice movement seeking to end police brutality. That's a choice, bro. Both told the Washington Examiner that they never took the job. 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