Hi John,
There have been a lot of questions surrounding recent reports about the purchase of property in California. We wanted to take a moment to address you, and our community as a whole directly. This property has served multiple functions for all of us and our movement over the past 18 months.
First, this property serves as an opportunity for us as Black people to own our land interest free and unencumbered by any white corporate establishment. It is amazing that anyone would question us for wanting to own property, as the real estate market nationwide has increased in value significantly over the past 18 months.
But instead of being lauded as making smart, diversified investment decisions so we can control and define our own destinies, our movement is chastised and vilified.
The double standard and embedded racism is clear.
Second, this property has served as a safe haven to protect the leaders of our Black nationalist movement. Our leaders and their families, including their children, have been targeted by white supremacists. They have been threatened with physical harm. We have a responsibility to protect them, and this property has supported those efforts.
Third, and most relevant in this announcement, the property was always intended to support our commitment to Arts and Culture in Black communities. Specifically, current headlines grossly mischaracterize the Foundation's intended use of a property that has been set to support our Creator's Fellowship. The false narratives being spread have the potential to harm organizers doing brilliant work across the country to support Black lives. We want to be abundantly clear that these reports do not reflect the totality of the movement.
We truly apologize for the distress and the harm that these false narratives have caused you, other supporters, and the entire BLM Fam who work in service of Black liberation daily. BLM Global Network Foundation recognizes that we have more work to do in order to increase transparency, ensure our relationship remains trustworthy and that we communicate openly.
We believe that Black creativity is necessary and vital to Black survival. Since our founding, we've gone beyond just demanding accountability when it comes to state-sanctioned violence, taking protest to the polls and embracing and uplifting the culture for the better. That's something we've held sacred to our core, and have partnered with artists of every kind since our founding. This is why this property – known as the Creator's House – was purchased, specifically for our Creator Fellowship.
The Creator's House serves as a space for Black folks to share their gifts with the world and hone their craft as they see fit, under the conditions that work best for them and in a safe space free from systems of oppression that exist in various creative industries.
Something we were ecstatic to share with you all has unfortunately been overlooked and narrated negatively through other headlines, so we hope that this
Creator's Fellowship and House article can also provide more context. You can read all about the Creator's Fund in our exclusive with NewsOne.
Through the Creator's Fellowship and House, we are celebrating and uplifting Black creatives, dancers, filmmakers, culinary artists, musicians, storytellers, narrative artists, digital influencers — you name it!
It has always been on us to claim our joy, and we're excited to launch this fellowship in order to do just that. This will provide an outlet for countless Black creatives to express and practice radical joy.
We'll be back in your inbox in no time with application details.
And let us be abundantly clear: We are committed to working toward increased transparency so that you know who to trust when inflammatory narratives show up in the media.
Of course, this does not change the fact that, as we've seen countless times in history, white supremacy will
always attempt to tear down Black movements and movement work. They will spread misinformation and disinformation to attempt to pin us against each other.
There will
always be double standards and overly aggressive scrutiny to try to discredit and delegitimize work being done towards Black liberation.
But despite forces against us, we will never stop fighting towards an abolitionist future. A future where all Black Lives Matter.
In love and solidarity,
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation
