We don’t hear as much from the fine folks at Black Lives Matter as we used to, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been busy little bees!
Over the weekend, we told you about HuffPost’s scoop on Black Lives Matter’s recent purchase of $6 million mansion — with all that money coming from donations. But it appears that New York Magazine actually beat HuffPost to the punch:
In January, I wrote that my piece on the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation was one of the hardest I'd done. This one has been heartbreaking. As organizers have fallen homeless, I uncovered a $6 million property purchased with BLMGNF funds. 1/ https://t.co/KUh6sCmTQh
— Sean Kevin Campbell (@Sean_Kev) April 4, 2022
More from Sean Kevin Campbell’s piece:
On March 30, I asked the organization questions about the house, which is known internally as “Campus.” Afterward, leaders circulated an internal strategy memo with possible responses, ranging from “Can we kill the story?” to “Our angle — needs to be to deflate ownership of the property.” The memo includes bullet points explaining that “Campus is part of cultural arm of the org — potentially as an ‘influencer house,’ where abolition+ based content is produced by artists & creatives.” Another bullet is headed “Accounting/990 modifications” and reads in part: “need to first make sure it’s legally okay to use as we plan to use it.” The memo also describes the property as a “safehouse” for leaders whose safety has been threatened. The two notions — that the house is simultaneously a confidential refuge and a place for broadcasting to the widest possible audience — are somewhat in tension. The memo notes: “Holes in security story: Use in public YT videos.”
In an emailed statement on April 1, Shalomyah Bowers, a BLMGNF board member, said that the organization bought Campus “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.
Bowers also said in the statement that BLMGNF had “always planned” to disclose the house in legal filings this May, that it does not serve as anyone’s personal residence, and that purchasing property via private LLCs is customary in real estate as a way of protecting assets from litigation and liability. The statement did not address why, if the house was primarily intended to be a creative space, relatively little content has been produced there over the course of 17 months.
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Well, needless to say, Black Lives Matter has a bit of a mess on their hands. So they’ve dispensed their cleanup crew on Twitter to reassure all their supporters that they take these allegations very, very seriously.
There have been a lot of questions surrounding recent reports about the purchase of Creator’s House in California. https://t.co/PcXeHIIF1M
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
Here’s the editor’s note that NewsOne appended to their April 1 piece about the “Black Joy Creators” Fellowship and Creator House:
Awkward.
More from Black Lives Matter’s Twitter feed:
Despite past efforts, BLMGNF recognizes that there is more work to do to increase transparency and ensure transitions in leadership are clear.
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
We know narratives like this cause harm to organizers doing brilliant work across the country and these reports do not reflect the totality of the movement. We apologize for the distress this has caused to our supporters and those who work in service of Black liberation daily.
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
We also recognize the confusion recent inflammatory and speculative articles have caused.
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
Hilarious.
We are redoubling our efforts to provide clarity about BLMGNF’s work. In the coming weeks, we will unveil new initiatives to increase transparency and accountability, and to continue reshaping what radical philanthropy looks like for Black people.
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
It would seem that, according to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, what radical philanthropy looks like for Black people is lining BLM leadership’s own pockets. That certainly is a radical approach to philanthropy!
BLMGNF is working diligently to increase operations transparency, including an internal audit, tightening compliance operations, and creating a new board to help steer the organization to its next evolution.
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
Black creativity is necessary and vital to Black survival. BLM has always held that tradition sacred, partnering with artists of every kind since our founding.
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
That’s why Creator’s House was purchased – to provide a space for Black folks to share their gifts with the world and hone their craft as they see fit, under the conditions that work best for them and outside systems of oppression in creative industries.
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
Over the last several months, BLMGNF has provided $3 million dollars in direct support to families struggling to navigate the impacts of COVID. https://t.co/nuaPN8H0UG
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
We have granted out over $25 million dollars to Black-led frontline orgs around the world. https://t.co/j1Pxfe7mSD
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
The organization provided investments to orgs run by families impacted by police violence. https://t.co/Lx1gWCkokB
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
We worked with BLM Grassroots to collect 60k signatures in support of #AndrewJoseph to end qualified immunity https://t.co/rOJuahrufF
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
and we’ve worked to build support among policymakers for federal legislation like the BREATHE Act + the People’s Response Act. https://t.co/jeFMMbIdcK
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
We demanded a full investigation, after the attempted coup on Jan. 6, into the ties between white supremacy and the Capitol Police, law enforcement, and the militaryhttps://t.co/WeAE9LGRaN
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
And this year, to celebrate Black Futures Month, we held ‘UPLIFT,’ a free concert series that our community could attend in person to celebrate and uplift Black joy & creativity. https://t.co/ceMhG8t9p1
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
We are embracing this moment as an opportunity for accountability, healing, truth-telling, and transparency. We understand the necessity of working intentionally to rebuild trust so we can continue forging a new path that sustains Black people for generations.
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 11, 2022
Oh, they’d better find a way to rebuild trust. Because those Creator’s Lamborghinis aren’t gonna pay for themselves!
LOL here we go https://t.co/23QEzH0d88
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) April 11, 2022
https://t.co/WZhpeDJXjU pic.twitter.com/8FE6NTDV41
— Max Q ⚡ (@Randy_Shannon) April 11, 2022
This is a very bold strategy from Black Lives Matter. Let’s see if it pays off for them!
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