BLM $6 Million Home Scandal Draws Angry Reactions: Full Details

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was one of the largest that the United States and the world have ever seen and has come under fire after the discovery of a $6 million Southern California home being bought using funds from the organization's donations.

A video last June, recorded by three leaders of the social justice movement, Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Melina Abdullah, showed them outside the "secretly bought" home. At the time, they marked the first anniversary of George Floyd's murder.

BLM $6 Million Home

Cullors previously said that she was weeks removed from being in "survival mode" after an exclusive report in April last year that revealed the purchase of four high-end U.S. homes worth $3.2 million. She said that the criticisms were directed at them because the movement was winning and that they were threatening the establishment and white supremacy.

However, what Cullors and her colleagues did not reveal were the details of the upscale home that was behind them in the video. The property is a 6,500-square-foot spread that had more than six bedrooms and bathrooms, fireplaces, a pool, and parking for more than 20 vehicles, as per the New York Post.

The purchase of the large home was not reported and BLM leadership was hoping to keep its existence a secret from the public. However, documents, emails, and other communications regarding the home's purchase and day-to-day operation suggest that it was handled with care and secrecy.

The situation suggests that some of the money donated to the social justice movement may have been used by BLM leaders personally. On Mar. 30, the organization was questioned regarding the house, prompting a reply from Shalomyah Bowers in an email statement.

According to the New York Magazine, the BLMGNF board member said that the organization purchased the home with the intention of making it serve as housing and studio space for recipients of the Black Joy Creators Fellowship. The group announced the fellowship, which they said provided recording resources and dedicated space for Black creatives, the next morning.

Internal Memo

An internal memo from the BLM movement read that they tried to angle the purchase of the home to hide their true intentions. It read, "our angle - needs to be to deflate ownership of the property. Another suggestion included a question, "can we kill the story?"

The same memo allegedly included bullet points about the Campus, such as how it is used by the "cultural arm" of the organization and could be used as an influencer house and a safe house. Furthermore, the memo reportedly acknowledged that there were holes in what is called the "security story," because the house would be used for publicly available YouTube videos.

An activist based in Ferguson, Missouri, said in an interview that the purchase of the home was a waste of resources. They had reportedly been trying to raise enough money to build a community center in Ferguson and had been asking for help from the BLMGNF in the form of financial contributions, Fox News reported.

Tags

Black Lives Matter, Home, Reactions