BLM co-founder who purchased real estate 'triggered' by IRS transparency rules

A co-founder of Black Lives Matter called the U.S.’s charity transparency laws “deeply unsafe” as the organization has come under fire for its lack of financial transparency and the purchase of a $6 million home in California.

"It is such a trip now to hear the term '990,'" Patrisse Cullors said Friday to an audience at the Washingon Vashon Center for the Arts, referring to the IRS form for non-profits.

"I'm, like, ugh. It's, like, triggering."

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, the legal entity that represents the national BLM movement, has come under criticism for its financial practices – including its own activists.

It was revealed earlier this month that the foundation purchased a 7-bedroom mansion in Southern California, which it claimed was used as a “safehouse” for board members and a studio space for young creatives. New York Magazine reported how the foundation concealed the purchase from outsiders and the board tried to “kill the story.”

Critics raised concerns that intermingling between BLMGNF and outside entities for personal use could jeopardize the charity’s tax-exempt status.

"I actually did not know what 990s were before all of this happened," Cullors said at the event before going on to explain how the IRS transparency rules for non-profits leads to “deep burnout” and low morale.

"This doesn't seem safe for us, this 990 structure — this nonprofit system structure," Cullors said. "This is, like, deeply unsafe. This is being literally weaponized against us, against the people we work with."

Cullors resigned from BLM in April 2021 after the New York Post reported she had purchased four luxury homes for $3.2 million total.