Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors claimed that owning four homes was not a rejection of Marxist principles because she used them to support her own family.
Cullors addressed the issue during the first segment of an interview with Marc Lamont Hill, saying that she had chosen to help her family when she had been given the resources to do so.
During the first segment of the interview, Cullors addressed the recent news stories about the organizations and her personal property purchases. She was very adamant in making it clear that she had never taken a salary from the Black Lives Matter organization — instead, she said her income had come from a deal with YouTube and from speaking engagements.
Hill suggested that the focus on and criticism of her income and property could be what he referred to as “misogynoir,” or the idea that people in general would prefer black women not to succeed.
But Hill also challenged Cullors directly on her property ownership, asking whether owning four homes was consistent with her claims of being a “trained Marxist.” Cullors appeared to argue that by using her money and property to support her family, she was putting her money back into the community.
“That is a critique that is wanting,” Cullors replied, adding, “The way that I live my life is in direct support to black people, including my black family members, first and foremost. And for so many black folks who are able to invest in themselves and their community, they choose to invest in their family and that’s what I have chosen to do.”
Hill went on to later note that, while Cullors did not take a direct salary from Black Lives Matter, every deal she got based on her name recognition was deeply connected to the fact that she had been a part of that organization.
Cullors responded by saying that she felt her responsibility — and that of BLM as a whole — was to build power for the marginalized — and that began with her own family and their personal experience with policing. She also brushed off criticisms that the organization was not directly funding the people on the ground by saying that it was important to differentiate between a power-building organization and a charity.
She went on to say that BLM worked to get money out the door — in the form of grants for community organizing efforts — as quickly and efficiently as they could.
WATCH THE FINAL SEGMENT HERE:
