Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors is being slammed after the news of her reportedly putting up a $35,000 fence and electric gate around her $1.4 million home in Los Angeles became public. The 37-year-old Cullors had purchased the 2,380 square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bath home in March, leading to speculations of misappropriation of funds of the BLM Foundation.
Dailymail quoted a neighbour of Cullors who had told that the wooden fence Cullors was erecting around the property and other exterior improvements cost at least $35,000. It is said that the setup included an electronic gate at the driveway portion, a walk up door, and call box, and other safety measures like cameras.
Cullors Steps Down
Cullors resigned from the post of executive director of the Black Lives Matter organization on May 27, 2021. She was receiving flak after it was revealed she had brought at least four mansions and amassed a huge property. When questioned about the finances, Cullors had said that she had not touched the money of the Foundation for her personal use and also stated that she had brought the Los Angeles property with the money she earned through her book deals. She had also clarified that the allegations did not play any role in her quitting the BLM Foundation.
Previously, it was reported that Cullors had purchased four homes at a cost of $3.2 million. Following the news, Hawk Newsome, the head of Black Lives Matter Greater New York City, had demanded an independent investigation into the finances of the BLM Foundation co-owned by Cullors.
But Cullors had denied the news that she received any salary from the Foundation. She said that BLM Foundation had received a donation of $90 million in 2020 and she had not used it for the personal purpose. She said that she bought properties through the money she made by selling her book and a YouTube deal.
In April, the Foundation had revealed that Cullors had received a total of $120,000 in compensation between 2013 and 2019. It also released a statement that no employee or volunteer of the group had purchased any personal property using the Foundation's money. "Any insinuation or assertion to the contrary is categorically false," the statement read.
The Black Lives Matter foundation was formed by Cullors along with co-founders Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi in 2013.
Cullors-Owned Properties
Reports claim that before purchasing $1.4 million worth property in Los Angeles, Cullors had bought two more properties in the city and also owned another property in Georgia.
The recently-purchased Los Angeles property includes a separate guest house and an expansive back yard. The 3.2 acre Georgia property purchased for $415,000 is said to have a pool and airplane hangar. Cullors is also said to have bought two properties in Los Angeles and one of them worth $510,000 three-bedroom home in Inglewood was purchased in 2016. She had purchased another four-bedroom home worth $590,000 in South Los Angeles in 2018, say reports.
Another recent report in The New York Post stated that Cullors was looking to buy an ultra-exclusive Albany resort outside Nassau in the Bahamas. Though this information is not confirmed, it has left both supporters and anti-fans of BLM movement angry.
