California, April 13 (Agency) Black Lives Matter group has defended its secret purchase of $5.8 million swanky home in South California with donated funds but did not provide much details into the acquisition. The New York Magazine in a report revealed last week that the California property, which is internally known as “Campus”, was purchased for nearly $6 million in cash in October 2020 with money that had been donated to Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF). On April 1, Shalomyah Bowers, a BLMGNF board member, said that the organization bought Campus “with the intention for it to serve as housing and studio space for recipients of the Black Joy Creators Fellowship” and the organisation had “always planned” to disclose the house in legal filings this May.
According to the magazine, George Floyd’s death had triggered an outpouring of contributions to BLMGNF, and in October 2020, the organization received an infusion of $66.5 million from its fiscal sponsor — an intermediary commonly used by fledgling nonprofits to process donations. Two weeks later, a man named Dyane Pascall had purchased the seven-bedroom house that would become known as “Campus”. Following this report, the organisation on Monday tweeted: “There have been a lot of questions surrounding recent reports about the purchase of Creator’s House in California. “Despite past efforts, BLMGNF recognizes that there is more work to do to increase transparency and ensure transitions in leadership are clear.
“We know narratives like this cause harm to organizers doing brilliant work across the country and these reports do not reflect the totality of the movement. The organisation apologised and said that it is redoubling efforts to provide clarity about BLMGNF’s work. “In the coming weeks, we will unveil new intiatives to increase transparency and accountability, and to continue reshaping what radical philanthropy looks like for Black people,” it pointed out. It also defended the expenditure of its funding and said that it has recently “provided $3 million dollars in direct support to families struggling to navigate the impacts of COVID. “We have granted out over $25 million dollars to Black-led frontline orgs around the world,” it added.