The leaders of Black Lives Matter (BLM) allegedly used $6 million in donations to buy a luxury California mansion, as more questions are raised about how the anti-racism group manages its finances.
The 6,500 sq ft home has more than half a dozen bedrooms and bathrooms, multiple fireplaces, a soundstage, a pool and parking for more than 20 cars.
BLM officials tried to keep its existence a secret, a report has claimed.
When pressed on the purpose of the opulent house – known as “the campus” – an internal note was circulated exploring ways to “kill the story”, the New York Magazine reported.
The memo, obtained by the magazine, included a number of bullet points explaining that the property could be described as part of the cultural arm of the organisation.
Another suggestion that it should be described as a “safehouse” for leaders whose safety has been threatened was dismissed, after one person pointed out that leaders had filmed videos of themselves sitting on the terrace drinking champagne and posted them on YouTube.
BLM ‘always planned’ to disclose house
The property was bought by Dyane Pascall two weeks after BLM received $66.5 million from its fiscal sponsor in October 2020.
Mr Pascall is the financial manager for Janaya and Patrisse Consulting, a company operated by Patrisse Cullors, the BLM co-founder, and her spouse, Janaya Khan, New York Magazine reported.
Within a week of the purchase, ownership was then transferred to a company in Delaware, ensuring the property’s owner would not be disclosed, the outlet claimed.
Both Dyane Pascall and BLM have been contacted for comment.
Despite disclosing that BLM received $90 million in donations in 2020 and that it still had $60 million in hand, the property was reportedly never mentioned – despite the fact it was bought for $6 million in cash that year with money that had been donated to the group.
In an emailed statement to the New York Magazine on April 1, Shalomyah Bowers, a BLM Global Network Foundation board member, said that the organisation bought “the campus” property “with the intention for it to serve as housing and studio space for recipients of the Black Joy Creators Fellowship”.
The fellowship, which “provides recording resources and dedicated space for Black creatives to launch content online and in real life focused on abolition, healing justice, urban agriculture and food justice, pop culture, activism, and politics”, was announced the following morning.
Mr Bowers also said in the statement that the BLM Global Network Foundation had “always planned” to disclose the house in legal filings this May and that it does not serve as anyone’s personal residence. She also said that purchasing property via private limited liability companies is customary in real estate as a way of protecting assets from litigation and liability.
BLM has faced intense scrutiny for its financial management.
