The co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement is under scrutiny for a string of recent high-end home purchases.
Patrisse Khan-Cullors, 37, has caught the attention of many after real estate website dirt.com shared that public records show Khan-Cullors recently purchased a home in Los Angeles for roughly $1.4 million. While the purchase itself isn't eyebrow-raising, the fact that this will be her fourth high-end home purchase in the past five years has had many wondering where the money is coming from and whether or not an investigation into her finances and the finances of the BLM organization are warranted.
Khan-Cullors’ latest purchase is a short distance from Malibu and has scenic views overlooking Topanga Canyon. The home is 2,370 square feet and offers amenities including skylights and “soaring ceilings.” This LA purchase is one of four home purchases that amount to roughly$ 3.2 million dollars in properties around the US.
In 2016, Khan-Cullors purchased a home in Inglewood for just over half a million. That home is reportedly worth $800,000 today. In 2018, She purchased another home in South La for just under $600,000. And more recently in 2020, Khan-Cullors and her partner, Janaya Khan, purchased a custom Ranch on a sprawling 3.2 Acres in Conyers, Georgia. The ranch features a private airplane hangar with a studio apartment above it. There is also an aircraft runway on the property that is used to accommodate small airplanes. Additionally, the home features an indoor swimming pool and an “RV Shop” that can be used to repair mobile home vehicles or small airplanes. This property was purchased for roughly $415,000.
The first three homes were purchased under Khan-Cullors’ name. However, her most recent purchase was done so under the name of an LLC that Khan-Cullors controls, according to Dirt.com.
Khan-Cullors’ financials are at the center of the controversy as many are wondering whether or not funding raised by the movement is behind the string of home purchases. The movement which grew its roots in 2013 after the George Zimmerman trial rose to prominence after early founders including Khan-Cullors started the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. In 2018, Khan-Cullors published her memoir, “When They Call You a Terrorist.” Khan-Cullors has also signed a deal with Warner Brothers Television Group to create content that according to Khan-Cullors would be for "black voices who have been historically marginalized." In both deals, it is unclear how much compensation Khan-Cullors received.
The lavish home purchases have raised questions and concerns from some of her fellow activists. Hank Newsome, who heads the BLM New York Chapter, is pushing for an independent investigation into how the organization as a whole spends its money. Newsome shared, "If you go around calling yourself a socialist, you have to ask how much of her own personal money is going to charitable causes." He adds, "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."
The organization has been under the spotlight before because of its fundraising efforts and lack of transparency regarding where the fundraised money actually goes. Earlier this year, the organization, which identifies as a non-profit, announced that it took in $90 million in 2020. Many of these donations have come from big-name companies. Airbnb pledged that it would donate half a million to both the NAACP and the BLM organization. Beauty brand Glossier has also announced that it would donate funds to the organization. Other brands including 23andMe, Microsoft, Gatorade, Amazon, Doordash, and Unilever have also announced plans or have already donated money to the organization.
While the organization has been pretty opaque with where funding goes, the BLM foundation has expressed that it committed 21.7 million dollars in grants to both official and unofficial BLM chapters. In an interview with the Associated Press, Khan-Cullors expressed the “need to reinvest into Black communities.” She adds, “One of our biggest goals this year is taking the dollars we were able to raise in 2020 and building out the institution we’ve been trying to build for the last seven and a half years.”
Not all supporters are satisfied with this response, however. The family of Michael Brown, a black man shot and killed by a white police officer, along with other social justice activists from Ferguson, Missouri, are demanding $20 million from the organization after reports of the organization's massive donation take last year. Brown’s father Michael Brown Sr. shared in a press release, “Where is all that money going?” He adds, “How could you leave the families who are helping the community without any funding?” Brown Sr. and other activists explain that the $20 million would be used to build a community center that would benefit the community in honor of Brown’s death.
