“Despite fierce backlash from ‘black’ celebrities — including a walkout from Jaden Smith — Kanye “Ye” West is not apologizing for his controversial “White Lives Matter” attire during Paris fashion week in France. In fact, the 45-year-old rapper recently doubled down on his criticism of Black Lives Matter in a Tuesday Instagram story.
“Everyone knows that Black Lives Matter was a scam”,
he declared, seemingly referencing the group’s multiple multimillion-dollar scandals.
“Now it’s over. You’re welcome.”
“The Chicago-born ‘rapper’ was addressing the controversy that began after he donned a T-shirt emblazoned with “White Lives Matter” while staging a surprise ‘Yeezy’ fashion show that showcased his ‘Season 9’ clothing line. Various models…also hit the runway in shirts bearing the slogan… It has since been labeled a “hate slogan” by the ‘Anti-Defamation League’ {?!?}.
“Needless to say, the inflammatory fashion statement sparked a firestorm of backlash from ‘celebrities of color’ {?}, including Temple University Professor Marc Lamont Hill and Jaden Smith, son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith…
“Kanye West decision to wear a ‘White Lives Matter’ shirt is disgusting, dangerous and irresponsible” {?},
Marc Lamont Hill fumed on Twitter.
“Some of y’all will rush to defend him. You should ask yourselves why.”
“In response to the outrage, West doubled down on his anti-BLM antics. Along with the aforementioned statement, the “Jesus Walks” singer also posed with conservative pundit Candace Owens for a photo that showed them wearing matching “WLM” shirts…
“Both celebs have been outspoken in their criticism of Black Lives Matter, which has come under fire after BLM leaders…embezzled money from the organization to fund lavish lifestyles. Last month, BLM head Shalomyah Bowers was accused of “siphoning” more than $10 million in fees from donors to pay his consulting firm.
“Black Lives Matter issued a statement after, denying wrongdoing.
“Under Shalomyah Bowers’ leadership and the work of Bowers Consulting, BLMGNF has charted a path of responsibility”,
the statement read.
“The exact opposite of what Melina Abdullah and BLM Grassroots’ baseless lawsuit claims.”
“Meanwhile, in March, Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors…used charity funds to pay her brother and child’s father eye-watering sums of cash for various services, according to tax documents filed with the IRS.
“Cullors issued a statement after, admitting to throwing parties with funds but denying further wrongdoing.
“The idea that [the foundation] received millions of dollars and then I hid those dollars in my bank account is absolutely false”,
she said.
“That’s a false narrative. It’s impacted me personally and professionally, that people would accuse me of stealing from Black people.”
–‘Kanye West calls BLM a ‘scam’ amid ‘White Lives Matter’ shirt uproar’,
Ben Cost, New York Post, October 4, 2022
https://nypost.com/2022/10/04/kanye-west-calls-blm-a-scam-amid-white-lives-matter-uproar/
Feature IMAGE: Kanye West (right) with conservative pundit Candace Owens. (Twitter-Candace Owens)
“The new leader of the national Black Lives Matter ‘non-profit’ “siphoned” more than $10 million in fees from donors to pay his consulting firm, according to a lawsuit. But the BLM leader, Shalomyah Bowers, told The Post the case against him is nothing more than a power grab by ‘disgruntled activists’ trying to wrest control of the movement.
“Bowers, who became head of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation in April, is accused of paying the cash to his own Bowers Consulting Firm, and diverting resources from a new group called Black Lives Matter Grassroots, Inc.
“BLM Grassroots was launched three months ago, records show. It claims to represent BLM chapters across the country. The new group was founded in California in May by Walter Mosley, the lawyer who also drafted the lawsuit against Bowers, according to court papers...
“Mr. Bowers decided he could not let go of his personal piggy bank”,
BLM Grassroots charged in the lawsuit filed Thursday in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
“Instead, he continued to betray the public trust by self-dealing and breaching his fiduciary duties. Instead of using the donations for its intended purposes, Mr. Bowers diverted these donations to his own coffers and intentionally took calculated steps to prevent those same resources from being used by BLM for on-the-ground-movement work.”
“BLM Global Network Foundation paid the Bowers Consulting Firm $2,167,894 in 2021, according to federal tax filings.
“Bowers dismissed the lawsuit against him Saturday, telling The Post “it’s a power move by someone hellbent on achieving power and control” of the movement. He said a group of activists, headed by California State University Pan-African Studies professor Melina Abdullah, is trying to wrest power away from the foundation’s current board of directors.
“Abdullah is described in court papers as having been “engaged in intuitive protest simultaneous to the online activism of the three co-founders” of BLM. It’s unclear what “intuitive protest” means. Abdullah could not be reached…
“The Foundation was rocked by controversy after The Post revealed in April 2021 that one of its founders, Patrisse Cullors, went on a real estate buying spree, spending more than $3 million on homes in Los Angeles and outside Atlanta. Cullors denied that the money came from donations.
“Cullors resigned from the Foundation a month after The Post’s article. Later, New York magazine revealed the group secretly spent $6 million on a sprawling mansion in Los Angeles to use as its headquarters, and another $8 million on a property in Toronto.”
–‘Activists accuse BLM leader Shalomyah Bowers of stealing $10 million: lawsuit’,
Isabel Vincent, New York Post, September 3, 2022
https://nypost.com/2022/09/03/activists-accuse-blm-leader-shalomyah-bowers-of-stealing-10m/
“Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors has admitted to throwing two parties at the organization’s swanky $6 million Los Angeles mansion — despite previously suggesting she’d never used the property for personal gain. The 38-year-old told the Associated Press on Monday that she hosted her son’s birthday party and a gathering to celebrate President Biden’s inauguration at the six-bedroom property early last year.
“BLM faced a torrent of criticism and backlash last month when it publicly emerged that the organization had “secretly” purchased the LA mansion — which boasts a home with six bedrooms and bathrooms, a swimming pool, a soundstage and office space — back in 2020.
“At the time, Cullors said the property was purchased by BLM to serve as a meeting venue and campus. She also issued a statement denying suggestions she had lived at the property — or taken advantage of it for personal gain. But Cullors, who resigned as BLM’s executive director a year ago after spending six years at the helm, said she used the property twice for events that weren’t business related.
“In January 2021, Cullors said she was seeking refuge at the property because she’d been receiving threats on her life. During that time, she said she hosted a Biden inauguration party for about 15 people, including local BLM chapter members and other prominent supporters of the organization. Cullors said she also threw a private birthday party for her son at the property in March 2021 — and she intended to pay a rental fee to BLM.
“BLM confirmed it had billed Cullors for the birthday party and was reviewing its policies to prevent such use in the future. Cullors acknowledged in her AP interview that she should never have used the compound in that way…
“When the purchase of the luxurious, $6 million property first emerged in a New York magazine report, the organization reportedly tried to “kill” the story, according to internal BLM memos. One strategy memo on how to deal with the story reportedly suggested it might be used as an “influencer house” where artists can congregate.
“The article revealed that the residence was purchased by Dyane Pascall two weeks after BLM received $66.5 million from its fiscal sponsor. Pascall is the financial manager for an LLC operated by Cullors and her spouse, Janaya Khan — Janaya and Patrisse Consulting.
“Cullors, at the time, slammed the report about the home as a “racist and sexist” attack on the movement.
“In the new interview with the AP, Cullors said she’d made mistakes and regrettable choices — but adamantly denied claims she personally benefited while leading BLM, including The Post’s prior reports she had purchased homes for herself and members of her family.
“The idea that [the foundation] received millions of dollars and then I hid those dollars in my bank account is absolutely false”,
she told AP.
“That’s a false narrative. It’s impacted me personally and professionally, that people would accuse me of stealing from ‘black’ people.”
{But stealing from ‘white’ people would be O.K.?}
“She doubled down by saying no one else in leadership ever misused BLM’s millions of dollars in donations — despite allegations of financial improprieties. In the interview, Cullors admitted BLM wasn’t prepared to deal with the influx of donations in the wake of George Floyd’s death in the summer of 2020 and that the organization was slow to build the necessary framework.
“On paper, it looks crazy”,
she said.
“We use this term in our movement a lot, which is we’re building the plane while flying it. I don’t believe in that anymore. The only regret I have with BLM is wishing that we could have paused for one to two years, to just not do any work and just focus on the infrastructure.”
“The organization has only recently caught up with its financial filings in California after BLM was declared delinquent in submitting required charity disclosures from 2020.
“A ‘990’ filing submitted to the IRS for January through June 2020 listed Cullors as an uncompensated executive director and the foundation’s only employee. At that time, BLM reported no revenue, assets, contributions or expenses. That filing listed one of BLM’s board members as Shalomyah Bowers — the president at Bowers Consulting, a firm that has given the organization ‘operational support’ for two years.
“Since Cullors’ resignation last May, Bowers said the organization has been working to sort out its infrastructure and underwent an independent financial audit {But has never been seen}.
“Bowers said that audit, as well as the expected May release of its latest ‘990’ filing, will show “nothing impermissible or nefarious has happened” with BLM’s finances.
“We are now a foundation that is deeply devoted to investing in organizations that are committed to doing the work of abolition [and] committed to building ‘black power’,”
he said.”
–‘BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors admits using $6M mansion for parties’,
Emily Crane, New York Post, May 9, 2022
https://nypost.com/2022/05/09/blms-patrisse-cullors-admits-using-6m-mansion-for-parties/
See also:
‘Black Racism Pays Well’ {Apr.12, 2021}:
“‘Black Lives Matter’ co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors is once again receiving backlash after purchasing a $1.5-million home in a predominately-‘white’ LA neighborhood. Kahn-Cullors has been called out multiple times for what some say is grifting off ‘black’ tragedies. After facing pressure, the ‘Black Lives Matter’ organization revealed that it had raised $90 million in 2020…”
https://hectorheisler.wordpress.com/2021/04/12/black-racism-pays-well/
‘Black Lives Matter’s Communist Roots’ {Oct. 2, 2020}:
“‘Black Lives Matter’ co-founder Patrisse Cullors said in a newly-surfaced video from 2015 that she and her fellow organizers are “trained Marxists” – making clear their movement’s ideological foundation… Cullors, 36, was the protégé of Eric Mann, former agitator of the ‘Weather Underground’ domestic terror organization, and spent years absorbing the Marxist-Leninist ideology…”
https://hectorheisler.wordpress.com/2020/10/02/black-lives-matters-communist-roots/
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