April 13, 2022

"For years, people marched, got tear-gassed, donated and literally put their lives on the line in the hopes of Black emancipation — not a Black influencer McMansion."

Writes Karen Attiah in "Black Lives Matter needs to get its (real expensive) house in order" (WaPo).

[T]he Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation secretly purchased a $6 million, 6,500-square-foot mansion near Malibu, Calif., using donated funds. According to memos quoted in the report, the foundation’s leaders settled on a tactic of describing the mansion as both a “safehouse” and a place providing “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.” Huh?... 

I emailed BLM’s national organization. They did not respond to questions. The lack of transparency is a serious betrayal. During the Trump years, many of us wanted to protect the movement from attacks by the right. But we can’t defend a BLM national leadership that arrogantly refuses to be accountable to Black victims and communities....

From the top-rated comment over at WaPo: "This isn't just a blunder, it sounds like they're heading down the road toward tax fraud. Frankly, the IRS needs to do a better job at enforcement of laws pertaining to non profits."

60 comments:

Rocketeer said...

Brezhnev takes his mother to the Kremlin, shows her his cars, his jewelry, his tailored clothes, brags about his mistresses.
The mother watches quietly and says: "That's nice, Leonid, but what will you do if the Communists come back?"

tim maguire said...

What did people expect? They were donating money to an organization that doesn't actually do anything. BLM doesn't build anything, feed anybody, employ anybody.

Tweets are free and you can only spend so much on cardboard and markers at the dollar store. So what were they supposed to spend all that money on?

gilbar said...

BLM? Scamsters? nah! say it ain't so!
next you'll tell me that they don't really care about black lives
</sarc

Jaq said...

Mind numbed robots performed per their programming. How many minority owned businesses were burned out in Minneapolis?

iowan2 said...

To me, the 'crime' is the person that bought the house for $3.1 million, and sold it days later for $6.1 million.
The next sale number should show up soon. That will give us the real value, and identify who collected the vig in this deal.

boatbuilder said...

A blunder? Tax laws? Hahahaha!

BLM is as likely to take a hit for their scam as Michael Mann did. Not going to happen.

All is permitted to the high priesthood.

R C Belaire said...

Phonies, grifters, whatever. Top to bottom.

RoseAnne said...

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/fairness-justice/anger-over-blms-purchase-of-8-1-million-toronto-mansion-grows-as-groups-finances-scrutinized

This article explains where some of the money went. Although in Toronto, there is a discussion of a connection to Patrice Cullors.

David Begley said...

BLM is a scam run by criminals. What did donors expect?

Wilbur said...

When you've lost Karen Attiah ... you're usually on the side of right.

Not so here.

Scott Patton said...

The sin is amateurish execution. Other than that, isn't this the way of the non-profit world? After a few more iterations, they'll get the balance right and blend right in.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Are POC non-profits subject to the same laws?

gilbar said...

isn't The Point of running a protection racket, to Get Rich, and Live in a Mansion?
isn't The Point of running a scam, to Get Rich, and Live in a Mansion?
WHAT did people THINK that the BLMers were going to do with their donations?

rhhardin said...

Theoretically (MLK) it went from acting-white didn't work to acting-white worked, but they're now disparaging acting white, insisting that black dysfunction, the more dysfunctional the better, should work instead.

Enigma said...

Predators will always put themselves in positions to benefit from the naïve fear, compassion, and generosity of true believers.

The only political difference is that the right doesn't hide it -- kings, capitalists, the Swiss, and oil oligarchs want money and are happy to keep it or show it. Leaders of ideologically driven groups (e.g., change-oriented political groups, religious groups) do lie to their own, be they BLM, Catholics, Boy Scout leaders, etc. etc. etc. [And, predatory "change" leaders must secretly preserve the status quo to keep the money flowing in.]

The only way to control this is to spread the word to the true believers.

Humperdink said...

Jesse Kelly, evening talk host, had the best takedown of BLM a few weeks ago. He didn't blame BLM. He targeted the people who financially this fraud of an organization. The white guilt crowd who kept this organization afloat. He asked "Where are they now?". The cities are worse, black on black crime is worse, cops retiring at record rates.

RideSpaceMountain said...

[diminutive violin music plays in the background]

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Apparently Karen is not impressed by BLM partnering up with the Clinton Global Grift, which I read about just a week or two ago. She’s right about certain non-profit organizations need to be held to the law. Did she even mention the association with the Clinton Foundation?

John henry said...

Surprise, surprise

Is there anyone who thought BLM was not a Grift?

Temujin said...

Marxism has always been about tearing things down and making it sound like the masses will all get equal shares of the pie. In reality it has always been, in every form it's shown it's ugly head, about making a handful of people at the top very rich and all powerful, while the rest are left with nothing. Or less than nothing- dead.

BLM started out, first and foremost, as a Marxist organization. Forget that at your own peril. They did what they all do- steal and destroy. Donating to Marxists has always been something some people and companies feel they must do to buy themselves safety. It's like a payoff to the mob for 'security'. How safe do you feel in your cities now after donating millions of dollars to Patrisse Cullors and her friends?

The worst thing though, is what BLM does to the Black community it supposedly represents. No one group represents any of us. Remember that. Forget that you're an individual and you might as well forget your own life. Patrisse Cullors certainly didn't forget she's an individual. With large, expensive individual tastes.

Michael said...

More to the story. The man who sold to BLM was affiliated with the group. He purchased the house for around 3.5 million shortly before selling it to them for 6.5 million. That profit should be examined. Whose pockets did it end up ⬆️ n.

Richard said...

Somebody's surprised.

hawkeyedjb said...

As Eric Hoffer noted, "“Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.” BLM skipped the first two and went straight to the fun part.

Jeff Weimer said...

Cullors has an answer to that - simply don't enforce charity laws for her organization because they are "triggering" and "deeply unsafe." If you don't inspect, you'll find nothing wrong.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blm-co-founder-charity-transparency-laws-are-triggering

Lucien said...

"The hopes of Black emancipation"? Something that literally occurred long before tear gas was invented; and figuratively occurred almost 60 years ago. If you think you're still waiting for that, then no wonder you fall for cons like BLM.

Chris said...

If the IRS does investigate this, I bet BLM responds that it's racist to investigate them for tax fraud.

gspencer said...

Recently Maxine Waters told the homeless "to go home." Their protesting her and Democrats got on her nerves.

Well, now the homeless ain't homeless no more. They b all invited over to the new BLM mansion.

COLEMAN:
Your friends seemed to enjoy it [the party]. I thought it was a great success.

BILLIE RAY VALENTINE (Eddie Murphy):
They weren't friends. They're a bunch of freeloaders, treating my house like a zoo.

Iman said...

Race hucksters will always ply their trade on extremely fertile ground.

A House built on bullshit will not stand.

MadisonMan said...

As if the IRS has time to go after groups that are not Conservative.

rcocean said...

Interesting how the Left always wants to protect each other from "attacks from the Right". While Right-wingers always want to win approval by attacking OTHER Rightwingers.

One reason lots of people don't join the Right.

rcocean said...

And that statemnt at the top is utter crap. They got "tear gassed" because they were rioting and destroying property. BLM was supported by Mitt Romney, George Bush, Joe Biden, and almost every Establishment Politican, not to mention the whole Fortune 500.

If you were some middle class Libtard who gave them $$, I find that funny. Fool and his money, etc.

ConradBibby said...

"Frankly, the IRS needs to do a better job at enforcement of laws pertaining to non profits."

Also, leftist activists need more integrity.

ConradBibby said...

Frankly, the IRS needs to do a better job at enforcement of laws pertaining to non profits."

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Just about everything on the left is a fraud.

follow the money.... sniff sniff.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

White supremacists - everywhere!

Donate here.

*Ignore angry white left antifa terrorists burning down your black business

Dude1394 said...

It's always been a plan to keep black people impoverished and uneducated so they will vote democrat. The democrat party has destroyed so many black lives, it's slow motion genocide.

JK Brown said...

All those corporate CEOs who "donated" stockholder money should be sued for failure to do Due Diligence.

Sebastian said...

"For years, people marched, got tear-gassed, donated and literally put their lives on the line in the hopes of Black emancipation — not a Black influencer McMansion."

Literally put their lives on the line? You mean, cuz they ignored all the public health warnings?

Black emancipation? Like, this happened in 1863? Or 1955?

"The lack of transparency is a serious betrayal."

Why? Any movement, particularly any lefty movement, turns into a racket.

"This isn't just a blunder, it sounds like they're heading down the road toward tax fraud. Frankly, the IRS needs to do a better job at enforcement of laws pertaining to non profits."

They gambled that they enjoy black immunity. So far, they're not wrong.

Joe Smith said...

'Black emancipation?'

Didn't that Lincoln guy do that already?

It's democrats that have been mentally enslaving blacks these past 150 years.

Something something putting y'all back in chains.

n.n said...

Diversity, Inequity, and Exclusion... Some, Select [Black] Lives Matter

Michael K said...

BLM was always a scam. They raised millions from guilty white leftists like the Walmart heiress who funded the riots in Kentucky. Now, we have the transgender Disney Heiress. The rich lefties are always up for another scam that makes them feel useful.

effinayright said...

OK. Now do the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Dollars to donuts, I'd bet they have secret "safe houses" in a lot of tony neighborhoods.

PM said...

'safehouse' - a house with a safe.

Earnest Prole said...

The government was perfectly fine with the Clintons laundering their personal expenses through their phony foundation; why should the government have a different stance just because the grifters are Black?

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Some safe house! Half the news stories about it are sporting links to it's Zillow listing!

dbp said...

If BLM had ever been concerned with black lives, they would have pivoted from monomaniacal concern for black felons who managed to get themselves shot by police, to the orders of magnitude greater problem of black victims of black criminals.

But it was always a scam and the best thing to happen is for it to at least be blindingly clear that it was always and only about enriching the dimwit founders. If they were even midwits, they would have done some vestigial "good work" through a foundation and had the foundation pay them each $300k/year, forever.

Another old lawyer said...

THIS, from Scott Patton at 6:52 AM: "The sin is amateurish execution."

That really also sums up Trump. He effectively blocked his own policies, or made their implementation that much more difficult and untimely because Trump spoke largely unfiltered and couldn't speak that mixture of governmentese and legalese too often required to avoid and/or survive court challenges. Pretty much the sole reason for the Trump Rule of Judicial Action - 'if any other president would have taken the same action - or takes the same action in the future - it would be patently lawful but Trump said some problematic, even bad words on Twitter or during some interview so the action transmogrified into something unlawful and perhaps even unconstitutional.'

I thought Trump was educable in this area, that he'd get better while in office. But he didn't, still hasn't since, apparently preferring being an adored celebrity looking for laughs.

DeSantis please.

Jupiter said...

I have to say, that when I discovered what BLM was actually intending to do with all the money America's lickspittle corporations have been showering them with, I was greatly relieved.

Aggie said...

So, a minion buys a mansion for a little over $3 million, and a week later - well, almost a week - flips it over to BLM for over $6 million. 'Textbook for Radicals' money-laundering procedure #1. But that's none of our business, here at the IRS.

Meanwhile we have the NYT apologists saying, what? "This isn't just a blunder, it sounds like they're heading down the road toward tax fraud. Frankly, the IRS needs to do a better job at enforcement of laws pertaining to non profits" Really, you think it might be tax fraud huh?

Yes, we can all see this is understandable behavior, we shouldn't be too harsh. It's easy to say this looks bad, but everyone is doing it, so much is wrong with the system.....it's that crazy IRS' fault, don't you know.

minnesota farm guy said...

BLM is following in the footsteps of so many non-profits that basically are in business to promote the welfare of their management. My wife hs been looking for an organization she can support and is consistently shocked by what a large percentage of contributions go to management and administration and how small a percentage actually goes to the organization's mission.

n.n said...

So, a minion buys a mansion for a little over $3 million, and a week later - well, almost a week - flips it over to BLM for over $6 million.

50 shades of Obama's dream deal.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Liars and cheats on the left don't pay for their crimes.

Michael said...

“I actually did not know what 990s were before all of this happened,” Cullors said, an apparent reference to the Washington Examiner’s reporting in January about BLM’s lack of financial and leadership transparency that led multiple states, including California, to order the charity to cease raising funds until it discloses what it did with the $90 million it raised in 2020.

Cullors said activists suffer trauma and that their lives are put at risk when charities under their control are required to disclose publicly what they did with their tax-deductible donations.

“This doesn’t seem safe for us, this 990 structure — this nonprofit system structure,” Cullors said. “This is, like, deeply unsafe. This is being literally weaponized against us, against the people we work with.”

Bunkypotatohead said...

And the rest of Malibu says "there goes the neighborhood".
White flight never ends.

The Dude Abides said...

Regarding BLM: hucksters gotta huck.

Amadeus 48 said...

Jupiter--"I have to say, that when I discovered what BLM was actually intending to do with all the money America's lickspittle corporations have been showering them with, I was greatly relieved."

Now, that is a great comment. Mega-dittos.

What could be more harmless to the rest of us than a bunch of race hustlers grifting their way into mansions in Malibu? Next thing you know, they'll form a Neighborhood Watch because of the questionable element creeping into the area.

Quaestor said...

A House built on bullshit will not stand.

The Rainbow/PUSH temple with its eight Ionic columns seems pretty sturdy. It has undoubtedly outlasted the Reverend Jackson's fro.

As long as there's a "charitable donations" deduction there will be grifters reclining on cushions while co-eds fan them.

Interested Bystander said...

The whole organization was founded on the "hands up, don't shoot" lie that started after the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO in 2014. It was proved in court that the incident of Michael Brown putting his hands up and pleading, "don't shoot" while a police officer callously shot him never happened but it was too a story to let go of. The founders of BLM latched onto it, made it a rallying cry, and raised millions of dollars from scared, angry people.

If there were any real justice left they would be jailed and their assets confiscated and whatever's left of the money returned to the donors.

Interested Bystander said...

Blogger Another old lawyer said...
THIS, from Scott Patton at 6:52 AM: "The sin is amateurish execution."

That really also sums up Trump. He effectively blocked his own policies, or made their implementation that much more difficult and untimely because Trump spoke largely unfiltered and couldn't speak that mixture of governmentese and legalese too often required to avoid and/or survive court challenges. Pretty much the sole reason for the Trump Rule of Judicial Action - 'if any other president would have taken the same action - or takes the same action in the future - it would be patently lawful but Trump said some problematic, even bad words on Twitter or during some interview so the action transmogrified into something unlawful and perhaps even unconstitutional.'

I thought Trump was educable in this area, that he'd get better while in office. But he didn't, still hasn't since, apparently preferring being an adored celebrity looking for laughs.

DeSantis please.

4/13/22, 12:16 PM



Sad to say I agree with you. I love Trump as an executive. He's the best we've had in my lifetime, including Reagan. But his inarticulate ramblings always got him in trouble. Charlottsville. His instinctive need to exaggerate opened him to charges of lying. His biggest fault though, was hiring the wrong people and letting them stab him in the back. Who ever thought it was a good idea to hire Scaramucci or Omarosa, the game show gal?

GIve me DeSantis. He's everything Trump was as a fighter and a leader without all the downside.


PM said...

Black Lives Malibu