Patrisse Curlors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter (BLM), will deliver the keynote speech at this week's event hosted by students from the Los Angeles Uniified School District (LAUSD), who have pushed for defunding school police.
According to the event advertisement, Cullors will deliver her speech Saturday at St. Mark's Lutheran Church Los Angeles for Students Deserve. Participants must wear a mask, provide proof of vaccination, LAUSD Daily Pass or negative COVID test.
The website states that students deserve to work towards making black lives matter in schools. We want schools to stop criminalization and policing. Schools should invest in Black, Muslim, undocumented and indigenous youths in poverty and working-class communities of color. Black Lives Matter is following our lead and demanding that schools defund police officers and protect Black life.
The Los Angeles Board of Education approved in February 2021 a plan that would have cut a third of its officers and banned pepper spray use on students. It also wanted to divert funds from the department for education of Black students.
Cullors, who was executive Director for the activist group's Central Foundation in May 2021, resigned amid questions about her finances.
Cullors' finances were brought to our attention by the New York Post reporting that she had bought four homes worth $3.2 million. Hawk Newsome, head of Black Lives Matter Greater New York City called for an independent investigation into the foundation's finances. They are not related.
Critics pointed out that Cullors purchased the expensive homes even though she claimed to be a " trained Marxist" in her past.
Amazon suspended its ability last week to raise funds on AmazonSmile after questions about BLM's fund management. Marc Elias, a Clinton-connected lawyer, has been brought to the group's top leadership to sort its finances.
