Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrice Cullors is suspected of having used donations to the BLM organization to fund her personal interests. Her current controversy serves as an illustration of the dangers inherent to attempting to reorganize society by revolutionary means.
Over the past few weeks, Black Lives Matter co-founder and self-described “trained Marxist” Patrisse Cullors has found herself under media scrutiny for a succession of questionable real estate transactions totaling 3.2 million dollars. The most recent of these transactions involved Cullors’ purchase of a 1.4 million dollar 2,370-square-foot home in the affluent California suburb of Topanga Canyon. Not only do Cullors’ grandiose purchases raise important questions over the trustworthiness of BLM as an organization, they also reveal something much deeper about individuals who utilize Marxist ideology as a pathway to power.
First, there is no concrete way to verify where the funds Cullors used to purchase her mansion originated. BLM as an organization receives millions of dollars each year to further their mission and to disperse out to like minded smaller black power movements across America. Surprisingly, for an organization of its magnitude, BLM does not appear to have a history of full transparency as to the exact breakdown of its donation intake and spending. Understandably, this has caused great distrust of Cullors within her own organization. Many smaller BLM groups have expressed a desire to separate from the primary BLM foundation.
On one hand, it’s easy to jump to the assumption that Cullors went on a real estate buying spree with BLM donation funds but, unless BLM and Cullors are fully financially transparent, it’s impossible to assert with 100 percent certainty that Cullors is personally profiting. On the other hand, it’s entirely possible that she has utilized BLM funds to sustain her lifestyle. It is true that Cullors has recently signed a Warner Bros Television deal, authored best selling books, and launched a moderately successful YouTube channel. Each of these extracurriculars makes Cullors money she could hypothetically support herself with. However, considering that all of Cullors’ homes were purchased between 2018-2021, a time span which saw a large influx of BLM donations due to the death of George Floyd, the assertion that Cullors has personally financially benefited from BLM donations is more than plausible.
Marxist revolutionaries throughout history have utilized the communist message to gain personal power at the expense of the people they claim to champion
While it’s premature for critics of Cullors to assume that the funds for her homes come entirely from BLM donations, there is a more immediate criticism to be made against her: Cullors is a Marxist activist who has spent millions of dollars on homes in affluent neighborhoods. Needless to say, the irony is shocking.
While it’s historically been the case that revolutionaries adhering to any ideology indulge in material wealth upon achieving power, when Marxist social activists like Cullors commit such actions, there is an immeasurable amount of hypocrisy at play. The whole of Marx’s work seeks to level systems socially and materially through a mass revolution of the working class Proletariat. Thus, after the revolution, Marxism dictates that human nature will be fundamentally changed for the better. This Marxist assertion does not hold true considering Cullors’ real estate indulgences. Curiously, while she has asserted that people questioning her purchases are racist or are unjustifiably attempting to subvert the BLM movement, Cullors has not attempted to justify her purchases in a manner that addresses the contradictions of her position.
Cullors is not alone in her opulent/ostentatious hypocrisy. Marxist revolutionaries throughout history have exhibited the same tendency Cullors has so clearly fallen victim to: utilize a Communist message to gain power, and then materially indulge while the long championed “people” who were promised liberation are overlooked. For instance, Communist revolutionary and leader Vladmir Lenin lived in a large Moscow mansion near the Kremlin while the Russian people were dying and starving in the chaos following the October revolution. In the same fashion, it is no secret that notable Communist leaders Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong lived in massive estates and had plenty to eat while their people lived in the dirt and ate garbage, each other, or nothing. In other words, Marxists in power no longer have to live like Marxists, but their people do. As such, the affluent purchases made by Patrisse Cullors hold a current and urgent relevance but they are also a clear microcosm of the logical progression of Marxist revolutionaries; all animals are equal, only some animals are more equal than others.
Creating transparency will inspire greater confidence in the Black Lives Matter organization and help Americans know that their contributions are not being abused
Pointing out the hypocrisy of Cullors’ position does not make anyone racist or devalue American black lives; rather, it is the responsible thing to do. People across America have given their money and faith over to Black Lives Matter and Patrisse Cullors and, as such, deserve transparency in the financial dealings and motivations of the organization. Thus, everyday citizens and popular media outlets must pressure Cullors, BLM, and other connected organizations for this accountability, transparency, and recognition of Cullors’ Marxist hypocrisy. Without this concerted timely pressure, Cullors and others will continue to be tempted to abuse the public trust indefinitely.
