Biography
Early Life
Patrisse Marie Khan-Cullors Brignac is best known as one of the co-founders of the Black Lives Movement.
She was born in Los Angeles, California on June 20, 1983, to her mother Cherice Foley. She was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness by her mother and stepfather Alton Cullors.
However, she described her biological father, Gabriel Brignac, as having a constant and caring presence in her life. Her grandmother, who she spent a lot of time with as a child, influenced her religious outlook and later activism.
Cullors recalls being forced from her home at sixteen when she revealed her queer identity to her parents. She recalled in a 2016 podcast, “To be honest with you, so many of us in the Black Lives Matter movement have either been pushed out of the church because many of us are queer and out, but that hasn’t stopped us from being deeply spiritual in this work.”
She developed an interest in the Nigerian religious tradition of Ifá, incorporating its rituals into political protest events. She said in a 2015 interview that “seeking spirituality had a lot to do with trying to seek understanding about my conditions—how these conditions shape me in my everyday life and how I understand them as part of a larger fight, a fight for my life.”
In 2016, Cullors married Janaya Khan, a social activist who co-founded Black Lives Matter Toronto.
Education Fueling Social Activism
Cullors’ brother, Monte’s, brutal arrest in 1999 and subsequent prison stint helped propel her into a life of activism. In an altercation with prison officers, he was allegedly choked, beaten brutally, and forced to drink toilet water.
As a teenager, Cullors joined the Bus Riders Union (BRU). During her time with the BRU, she attended a year-long organizing program led by the Labor Community Strategy Center.
She learned about revolutionaries, critical theory, and social movements from around the world. Cullors also enrolled at Grover Cleveland High School (now Cleveland Humanities Magnet) in Reseda. She was admitted into its social justice magnet program.
She earned a degree in religion and philosophy at UCLA. She also earned an MFA from the Roski School of Art and Design at the University of Southern California.
Community Leadership Through Media
Cullors served as executive director of the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence in L.A. Jails. She also co-founded the prison activist organization Dignity and Power Now. The organization succeeded in advocating for a civilian oversight board.
Cullors serves as a board member of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. In 2014, Cullors produced the theatrical piece POWER: From the Mouths of the Occupied.
She has contributed to articles about the movement to the LA Progressive. This included an article from December 2015 titled “The Future of Black Life.”
In October 2020, she launched a production company with Warner Bros. Television. Cullors’ memoir, When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir, was published in 2018. Her second book, An Abolitionist’s Handbook: 12 Steps to Change Yourself and the World, was released in 2022.
In May 2021, Cullors resigned from BLM following reports that Cullors (or entities associated with her) had purchased several homes during a five-year period.
In 2022, she denied allegations of misusing donations given to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation.
Cullors remains committed to her activist work today. In spite of personal struggles, she continues working for the betterment of those marginalized in our society.
