BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors RESIGNS as executive director over 'right wing attacks' - after her $3 million housing portfolio was revealed

  • Cullors co-founded Black Lives Matter back in 2013
  • The organization has experienced a surge in donations in the past year following the death of George Floyd
  • Cullors came under fire last month after it was revealed she had amassed a $3 million property portfolio in recent years 
  • She called criticism of her personal spending a 'racist and sexist' attack by 'right wing media'
  • However, BLM members have also called for a probe into the organization's spending and  finances 
  •  The BLM foundation revealed in February that it took in just over $90 million last year; they spent a quarter of their assets on 'operating expenses'
  • Cullors has allegedly only been paid $120,000 by BLM since its inception in 2013
  • Despite being a self-professed 'trained Marxist', she has amassed considerable wealth through speaking engagements and book and TV deals  

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors is stepping down as executive director of the organization amid controversy over her $3 million property portfolio.  

Cullors, who has been at the helm of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation for nearly six years, announced the news on Thursday.  

The 37-year-old activist told The Associated Press that she is leaving to focus on other projects, including the upcoming release of her second book and a multi-year TV development deal with Warner Bros.

'I've created the infrastructure and the support, and the necessary bones and foundation, so that I can leave,' Cullors  stated. 'It feels like the time is right.'

However, her departure comes after it was revealed last month that she has amassed a $3 million property portfolio, despite describing herself as a trained Marxist''. 

Cullors faced fierce backlash over revelations about her personal spending - including the recent purchase of a $1.4 million home in a ritzy L.A. neighborhood. 

It caused many to question what percentage of BLM donations were actually going towards social justice programs. 

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors is stepping down as executive director of the organization amid controversy over her $3 million property portfolio

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors is stepping down as executive director of the organization amid controversy over her $3 million property portfolio 

Cullors faced fierce backlash over her personal spending - including the recent purchase of a $1.4 million home in a ritzy L.A. neighborhood (pictured)

Cullors faced fierce backlash over her personal spending - including the recent purchase of a $1.4 million home in a ritzy L.A. neighborhood (pictured) 

However, she insists her resignation has been in the works for more than a year and has nothing to do with the personal attacks she has faced. 

'Those were right-wing attacks that tried to discredit my character, and I don't operate off of what the right thinks about me,' Cullors told the Associated Press. 

Last month, she described the criticism as 'racist and sexist' smears deliberately put out by the 'right-wing media'. 

But it wasn't just conservatives who pressed Cullors over her finances. 

The head of New York City's BLM chapter called for an independent investigation into the organization's finances after revelations about the property portfolio surfaced. 

'If you go around calling yourself a socialist, you have to ask how much of her own personal money is going to charitable causes,' BLM organizer Hawk Newsome told The New York Post. 

'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.' 

Black Lives Matter protesters take to the streets of Los Angeles in October

Protesters take to the streets of Los Angeles in October 

 Meanwhile, it was also revealed that a jail reform activist group founded by Cullors  spent $26,000 for meetings and 'appearances' at a luxury Malibu resort.

Reform LA Jails paid $10,179 for 'meetings and appearances' at the Calamigos Guest Ranch and Beach Club, and a further $15,593 at the Malibu Conference Center, which is owned by the resort, between July and September 2019.  

A single night in a two-bedroom 'cozy ranch chic' suite in July costs $1,200, and guests at the 200-acre resort have access to a private five acre beach on the Malibu coast.

After the spending was revealed by the Daily Caller, former Fox host Megyn Kelly Tweeted: 'BLM must stand for... Babes Lounging in Malibu? Big Loads of Money? Blatant Lies about Marxism?' 

The revelations prompted a sarcastic tweet from TV star turned podcaster Megyn Kelly, who questioned Cullors' true aims

The revelations prompted a sarcastic tweet from TV star turned podcaster Megyn Kelly, who questioned Cullors' true aims 

BLM founders (from left) Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi are pictured on the red carpet at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in Hollywood back in 2016

BLM founders (from left) Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi are pictured on the red carpet at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in Hollywood back in 2016

The BLM foundation revealed in February that it took in just over $90 million last year, following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, a black man whose death had the hands of a white police officer inspired global protests. 

The foundation said it ended 2020 with a balance of more than $60 million, after spending nearly a quarter of its assets on operating expenses, grants to black-led organizations and other charitable giving.

Critics of the foundation contend more of that money should have gone to the families of black victims of police brutality who have been unable to access the resources needed to deal with their trauma and loss.

Cullors and the foundation have said they do support families without making public announcements or disclosing dollar amounts.

'TRAINED MARXIST' PATRISSE CULLORS' $3M PROPERTY PORTFOLIO 

In April, Cullors raised eyebrows when it emerged that she had spent $1.4 million on a Los Angeles property - her fourth home, and her third in the city - in an overwhelmingly white neighborhood.

The plush property, located in Topanga Canyon, comes complete with a separate guest house and an expansive back yard. 

Cullors and her husband also purchased a 'custom ranch' on 3.2 acres in Conyers, Georgia last year for $415,000.

The residence boasts its own pool and airplane hangar.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Cullors raised eyebrows when it emerged that she had spent $1.4 million on this residence in ritzy Topanga Canyon

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Cullors raised eyebrows when it emerged that she had spent $1.4 million on this residence in ritzy Topanga Canyon

CONYERS, GEORGIA: Cullors and her husband also purchased a 'custom ranch' on 3.2 acres last year

CONYERS, GEORGIA: Cullors and her husband also purchased a 'custom ranch' on 3.2 acres last year

Additionally, property records show Cullors has bought two other Los Angeles homes in recent years. 

In 2016, she is said to have paid $510,000 for a three-bedroom home in Inglewood. 

In 2018, Cullors added another home to her property portfolio, by laying down $590,000 for a four-bedroom home in South L.A., the Post says.

The New York Post reported that Cullors was also 'eyeing property at the ultra-exclusive Albany resort outside Nassau in the Bahamas where Justin Timberlake and Tiger Woods have homes.' The publication didn't cite sources for its information. 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: According to property records, Cullors also owns this LA home

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: According to property records, Cullors also owns this LA home

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Cullors also owns a third LA property

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Cullors also owns a third LA property 

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In 2020, the BLM foundation spun off its network of chapters as a sister collective called BLM Grassroots, so that it could build out its capacity as a philanthropic organization. Although many groups use 'Black Lives Matter' or 'BLM' in their names, less than a dozen are considered affiliates of the chapter network.

In April, the foundation stated Cullors was a volunteer executive director who, prior to 2019, had 'received a total of $120,000 since the organization´s inception in 2013, for duties such as serving as spokesperson and engaging in political education work.'

'As a registered 501c3 non-profit organization, (the foundation) cannot and did not commit any organizational resources toward the purchase of personal property by any employee or volunteer,' the foundation said in a statement. 

'Any insinuation or assertion to the contrary is categorically false.'

Cullors has made much of her money from consulting on racial justice projects outside of BLM. In 2018, she also released a best-selling autobiography titled:  'When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir. 

Meanwhile, Cullors has also been paid an advance for her second book. 

On Oct. 5, St. Martin's Press will release Cullors´ latest book, titled 'An Abolitionists Handbook,' which she says is her guide for activists on how to care for each other and resolve internal conflict while fighting to end systemic racism.

She is no doubt also being paid handsomely for developing and producing original cable and streaming TV content that centers on Black stories, under a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. The first of her TV projects will debut in July. 

Cullors has made much of her money from consulting on racial justice projects outside of BLM

Cullors has made much of her money from consulting on racial justice projects outside of BLM 

She was harshly criticized by both left-wing and right-wing activists on social media after details about her property portfolio came to light

She was harshly criticized by both left-wing and right-wing activists on social media after details about her property portfolio came to light 

Cullors founded BLM with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi in 2013, in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who killed Trayvon Martin.

It is unclear if Cullors is paid by the group, which is currently cleft by deep divisions over leadership and funding.

Cullors' co-founders have left, and last summer Cullors assumed leadership of the Black Lives Matter Global Network - the national group that oversees the local chapters of the loosely-arranged movement.

Cullors' move has not been universally welcomed, Politico reported in October.

Local organizers told Politico they saw little or no money and were forced to crowdfund to stay afloat. Some organizers say they were barely able to afford gas or housing. 

BLM's Global Network filters its donations through a group called Thousand Currents, Insider reported in June - which made it even more complicated to trace the cash. 

Solome Lemma, executive director of Thousand Currents, told the site: 'Donations to BLM are restricted donations to support the activities of BLM.' 

Last month, AP reported that BLM brought in $90 million in donations last year, leading to Michael Brown Sr. to join other Black Lives Matter activists demanding $20 million from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. 

Brown, whose son Michael Brown Jr., was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 says he and his advocacy group have been short-changed by the larger BLM organization. 

'Why hasn't my family's foundation received any assistance from the movement?' Brown asked in a statement.   

Cullors is yet to respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.

The activist, who married Janaya Khan, a gender non-conforming leader of BLM in Toronto, in 2016, has been in high demand since her 2018 memoir became a best-seller.

Last month, AP reported that BLM brought in $90 million in donations last year, leading to Michael Brown Sr. to join other Black Lives Matter activists demanding $20 million from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation

Last month, AP reported that BLM brought in $90 million in donations last year, leading to Michael Brown Sr. to join other Black Lives Matter activists demanding $20 million from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation

Cullors and the BLM movement have come a long way since its inception as a social media hashtag, following the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida.

Cullors, who has arguably been the most publicly visible of the co-founders, became the foundation´s full-time executive director last year purely out of necessity, she said.

'We needed her,' said Melina Abdullah, who leads BLM Grassroots and co-founded BLM's first-ever official chapter in Los Angeles.

'George Floyd was killed and the whole world rose up,' Abdullah told the Associated Press. 

'I would like her to be there forever, but I also know that that's not feasible. The real test of any organization is can it survive the departure of its founders. And I have no question that Black Lives Matter will survive and grow and evolve, even with the departure of our final co-founder in a formal role.' 

'I'm aware that I´m a leader, and I don't shy away from that,' Cullors stated. 

'But no movement is one leader.'

Cullors and the BLM movement have come a long way since its inception as a social media hashtag, following the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. A BLM protester is seen in England this week

Cullors and the BLM movement have come a long way since its inception as a social media hashtag, following the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. A BLM protester is seen in England this week

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