Who among us has never been in this situation before? You're running a demagogic nonprofit, things line up perfectly and you pull down 10s of millions of dollars in funding in a single year, and you take a little slice off of that and buy yourself a little $6 million slice of heaven in north Los Angeles (and then try to cover up it so your donors don't know what's going on):
It's far from a box, with more than 6,500 square feet, more than half a dozen bedrooms and bathrooms, several fireplaces, a soundstage, a pool and bungalow, and parking for more than 20 cars, according to real-estate listings. The California property was purchased for nearly $6 million in cash in October 2020 with money that had been donated to [Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation].
The transaction has not been previously reported, and Black Lives Matter's leadership had hoped to keep the house's existence a secret. Documents, emails, and other communications I've seen about the luxury property's purchase and day-to-day operation suggest that it has been handled in ways that blur, or cross, boundaries between the charity and private companies owned by some of its leaders. It creates the impression that money donated to the cause of racial justice has been spent in ways that benefit the leaders of Black Lives Matter personally.
Hold on a sec... you're telling me that Black Lives Matter has spent its considerable funds not on "racial justice," but in "ways that benefit the leaders of Black Lives Matter personally"??
And yes, just to clarify, they did indeed try to cover it up:
[A] man named Dyane Pascall purchased the seven-bedroom house that would become known as Campus. According to California business-registration documents, Pascall is the financial manager for Janaya and Patrisse Consulting, an LLC run by Cullors and her spouse, Janaya Khan; Pascall is also the chief financial officer for Trap Heals, a nonprofit led by Damon Turner, the father of Cullors's only child.
Within a week, Pascall transferred ownership of the house to an LLC established in Delaware by the law firm Perkins Coie. The maneuver ensured that the ultimate identity of the property's new owner was not disclosed to the public...
Man, these days you just never know who to trust.
Maybe you shouldn't trust the people who would take seven figures of nonprofit cash and buy a place like this with it:
The 7,400-square-foot Studio City compound is a 1930s "farm house" that also boasts seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms, according to the real estate listing.
"Impressively renovated back to the 1930s with all the modern conveniences!" the listing said. "Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart were a few A-listers who stayed as guests in this estate."
That must have been what drew them to the place.
Nothing puts a varnish on your nominal civil rights nonprofit like buying a place where Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart once slept.
Maybe if BLM pulls down another $60 million they can add that outdoor shower they've always wanted!
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