Black Lives Matter (BLM) co-founder and best-selling author Patrisse Cullors said she is stepping down as executive director of the movement's foundation following what she has called a smear campaign from a far-right group and recent criticism from other Black organizers, Politico reported.
Cullors—who has helped lead the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation for nearly six years—said she is leaving to focus on other projects, including the upcoming release of her second book and a multi-year TV development deal with Warner Bros.
Her last day of the queer leader with the foundation was May 28.
The BLM foundation revealed to the Associated Press in February that it took in just slight more than $90 million last year; the foundation said it ended 2020 with a balance of more than $60 million after spending nearly a quarter of its assets on operating expenses, grants to Black-led organizations and other charitable giving.
According to Deadline, Cullors has been under fire for a lavish lifestyle while leading the foundation, which includes multiple expensive real-estate purchases. "Those were right-wing attacks that tried to discredit my character, and I don't operate off of what the right thinks about me," Cullors said.
