{"id":2057515,"date":"2023-10-06T05:08:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T09:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boston-university-loaned-600k-to-a-mysterious-trust-run-by-ibram-kendis-brother-in-law\/"},"modified":"2023-10-06T05:10:12","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T09:10:12","slug":"boston-university-loaned-600k-to-a-mysterious-trust-run-by-ibram-kendis-brother-in-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boston-university-loaned-600k-to-a-mysterious-trust-run-by-ibram-kendis-brother-in-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Boston University loaned $600K to a secretive trust managed by Ibram Kendi&#8217;s brother-in-law."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fboston-university-loaned-600k-to-a-mysterious-trust-run-by-ibram-kendis-brother-in-law%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2057515&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Kendi\u2019s Center for Antiracist Research faces allegations of financial mismanagement<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption>Ibram X. Kendi with brother-in-law Macharia\u200b Edmonds (Screenshot\/Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div>\n<p>In September of 2020, just weeks after Ibram X. \u2064Kendi launched the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston\u2064 University, the school approved a \u200b$600,000 mortgage to an unnamed professor. The\u2063 university won\u2019t \u200bsay\u200d which professor that loan went to, but it was doled out to a trust controlled \u2064by Ibram X. Kendi\u2019s brother-in-law, Macharia Edmonds.<\/p>\n<p>The mortgage helped to cover the down payment for a $4.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boston-university-loaned-600k-to-a-mysterious-trust-run-by-ibram-kendis-brother-in-law\/\" title=\"Boston University loaned 0K to a secretive trust managed by Ibram Kendi's brother-in-law.\">56 million luxury penthouse triplex<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/MA\/Boston\/144-Warren-Ave-02116\/unit-2\/home\/52670598\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">boasts<\/a> the &#8220;best of \u200csophisticated Boston living.&#8221; Public real estate records obtained by \u2062the \u2064 <em>Washington \u2062Free Beacon<\/em> show \u2062the trust is controlled by Edmonds, \u2063a former Obama campaign official and \u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/machariae\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">attorney<\/a> who now\u200b serves as a Global Content Policy Lead\u200d for YouTube\u2063 in \u2063San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p>Edmonds&#8217;s only apparent affiliation with\u200c Boston University \u200bis \u2064through Kendi, who is married to his sister, Sadiqa,\u200b also an associate professor at Boston University. Edmonds controls the trust on behalf of its unnamed \u200cbeneficiary. While it\u2019s not \u2062uncommon for \u200cuniversities to provide sweetheart\u200c loans and mortgages \u2062with below-market rates to \u2062poach star professors from\u2064 their competitors, experts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/colleges-use-cheap-loans-to-lure-stars-to-faculty\/?emailConfirmed=true&#038;supportSignUp=true&#038;supportForgotPassword=true&#038;email=kerr@freebeacon.com&#038;success=true&#038;code=success&#038;bc_nonce=608uea4ga8l6z8a02u02bm&#038;cid=gen_sign_in&#038;sra=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> the <em>Chronicle \u2062of Higher Education<\/em> in\u200d 2009 that the IRS strongly discourages such transactions.<\/p>\n<p>Dean\u2062 Zerbe, a former\u200d senior counsel\u2063 to the \u2064Senate Finance Committee,\u200b raised questions about why Boston University is \u2064doling out loans to its professors in the first place. \u2062&#8221;There are\u200d institutions that \u200cactually do provide loans. They\u2019re called banks,&#8221; Zerbe told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>.\u2062 &#8220;People like to get loans at banks,\u2062 not at universities. It raises a fundamental question of why did \u2063you not get \u200ca loan from a bank?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The reality is, overwhelmingly, when we \u200dlook \u2063at these loans, \u2063they \u2064are sweetheart deals\u200d and they would \u200cnot have gotten \u200dthem\u2064 from a bank,&#8221;\u200c Zerbe \u2062added. &#8220;And that\u2019s the problem with them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The mysterious circumstances surrounding the loan raise questions about Kendi\u2019s ties to \u200dBoston University.<\/p>\n<p>His Center for Antiracist Research, which raised more\u200d than $43 million\u2064 since June\u2062 2020, \u2063is under scrutiny after \u200bit abruptly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/09\/23\/us\/ibram-x-kendi-antiracism-boston-university.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">laid off<\/a> most of its staff and\u200c cut its budget\u200d in half last month after producing \u2062hardly any original research. Meanwhile, Kendi has amassed\u200b considerable wealth through \u2062his &#8220;antiracism&#8221; work. He received a $625,000 MacArthur Foundation \u2063&#8221;genius&#8221; grant in\u200c 2021 and <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/culture\/what-wokes-worth-and-why\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">charges<\/a> up\u2063 to $20,000 for speaking engagements. Just this week, ESPN+ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/10\/02\/ibram-kendi-espn-series-sports-race-antiracism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">launched<\/a> a Kendi-helmed series \u2063centered around\u200d racism in sports.<\/p>\n<p>Boston University spokeswoman Rachel Lapal Cavallario told the <em>Free\u200b Beacon<\/em> that the\u200b beneficiary of the trust \u200dis \u2064a\u200c professor at the\u2062 university but declined to\u200b provide the person\u2019s\u2063 name, the interest rate of the loan, or how much has been repaid. Cavallario added \u2062that the professor &#8220;applied for\u2062 and received the loan under a\u200d longstanding university\u2062 program to assist senior\u200d faculty \u2062with \u200ctheir housing needs,&#8221; but declined\u2064 to provide the\u200b <em>Free Beacon<\/em> any documentation about the university\u2019s faculty home \u2064loan program.<\/p>\n<p>Boston University reported\u200b in its \u2062latest audited \u2062financial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfo\/files\/2022\/09\/Boston-University-Consolidated-Financial-Report-06-30-2022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statements<\/a> that\u200c only &#8220;certain employees&#8221; are eligible to take out\u200d university-backed mortgages and debt, which totaled $8.5 million\u2062 as of June\u2062 30, 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Edmonds and\u2062 Kendi \u200cdid not return requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>It \u2062appears unlikely that the trust controlled by Kendi\u2019s brother-in-law \u200dcould have obtained \u2064a similar loan from a traditional bank. Boston University\u2019s $600,000 mortgage\u2063 to the\u2062 trust is a non-recourse loan, which means\u2063 the university can\u200b seize the property if \u2064the borrower defaults, but \u2062can\u2019t come after the borrower for any additional compensation.<\/p>\n<p>Such loans typically come with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/janet-yellen-as-congress-for-billions-to-help-other-countries-debt-relief-climate-change-initiatives\/\" title=\"Janet Yellen As Congress For Billions To Help Other Countries\u2019 \u2018Debt Relief,\u2019 \u2018Climate Change\u2019 Initiatives\">higher interest rates<\/a> and are available only to borrowers with excellent\u2063 credit. But Boston University reported the loans to\u200d its employees bore interest rates no \u200cgreater than 4.91 percent as of June 30, \u200c2022, a rate far lower\u2064 than the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/30-year-mortgage-rates-tick-up-to-new-june-high-7510826#:~:text=The%2030%2Dyear%20average%20shot,recording%20a%2020%2Dyear%20high.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">average<\/a> 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 6.38 percent \u2063on that date.<\/p>\n<p>If history is any\u2063 indication, it\u2019s possible that the school has not collected any of the mortgage debt\u200d held \u200dby the trust. In 2008, for example,\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/nonprofits\/display_990\/42103547\/2009_06_EO%2F04-2103547_990_200806\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tax filings<\/a> show it had $3.56 million in outstanding zero \u2062percent interest \u2064mortgages to 13 professors. Only one of the \u2063professors had made \u2064any payments on his loan, though some of the loans \u2064were over six years old at\u2063 the time.<\/p>\n<p>Boston University stopped disclosing the names of the professors to whom it provided mortgages in its tax returns after 2008.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of \u2063the \u2062circumstances surrounding \u2063the loan, Zerbe says \u2063the university \u2063ought to devote its funds to better \u2064things.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Think of how many \u2064students are \u200dbeing crushed by debt and\u200c how \u2064much they would love to have a\u2063 zero percent loan\u2063 from their university,&#8221; Zerbe\u200c said. &#8220;And \u2064think of how much \u2062this \u2063is costing the university to do this. The students \u200dstruggling to meet tuition, they are all \u200dshouldering the \u2062burden of these sweetheart \u200cloans covered by\u2064 the university.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a message that would \u200cresonate with Kendi, who \u200bhas called on the higher\u200b education system \u2062to \u200bfocus on ensuring student debt is &#8220;eliminated or \u2063at least driven down.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Black \u200bstudents are disproportionately bearing the weight of student debt,&#8221;\u200d Kendi said\u2063 in a December 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/bizjournals\/news\/2020\/12\/10\/ibram-kendi-colleges-anti-racist-pushes-critics.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interview<\/a> with <em>The Business Journals<\/em>.\u200b In the interview, given\u2062 just months after \u2064his brother-in-law\u2019s trust secured the loan, Kendi called on universities \u200dto find\u200c &#8220;new and\u200c innovative ways to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-we-really-need-to-do-to-make-college-affordable\/\" title=\"What We Really Need To Do To Make College Affordable\">make college affordable<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What are the allegations of \u2063financial mismanagement facing Kendi&#8217;s Center for\u2062 Antiracist Research?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u200c Kendi\u2019s Center for Antiracist Research, which was launched \u2064by Ibram X. Kendi at Boston University in September 2020, is facing allegations \u2063of financial mismanagement. The controversy surrounds a $600,000 \u200dmortgage \u2063approved by the university for an unnamed professor, which\u200c was subsequently revealed to \u200cbe controlled by Kendi\u2019s brother-in-law, Macharia Edmonds.<\/p>\n<p>Public \u2062real estate records obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show that Edmonds, a\u200b former Obama campaign official\u2062 and\u2062 current \u200bGlobal Content Policy Lead for \u200dYouTube in San Francisco, controls \u2063the trust that received\u2064 the mortgage. Edmonds&#8217;s affiliation \u2063with \u200cBoston University seems to \u200bbe solely through his connection to Kendi, who is married \u2062to\u200d his\u2062 sister,\u200c Sadiqa, an associate professor \u200dat the university. Edmonds acts\u2063 as the trustee\u2064 for the \u2063unnamed beneficiary.<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2063 is\u200c not uncommon for universities to provide loans and mortgages\u200d to\u2062 attract star professors from competing institutions, these transactions are heavily discouraged by the IRS. \u200bDean Zerbe, a\u200d former senior \u200dcounsel\u2064 to \u200bthe Senate Finance Committee, questioned why Boston University is providing loans to its own\u2062 professors rather than relying on banks. Zerbe argued that these loans are often sweetheart deals that would not \u200dhave \u200dbeen granted\u2063 by traditional financial institutions.<\/p>\n<p>The circumstances surrounding \u200dthe loan have raised \u200cquestions about Kendi\u2019s \u200cties to Boston University. His Center for Antiracist Research, despite raising\u2063 over $43 million since June 2020, recently laid off most of its staff and cut its budget in half due to a lack of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kendi&#8217;s Center for Antiracist Research accused of financial mismanagement. Boston University approved a $600,000 mortgage for an undisclosed professor shortly after its launch in September 2020. The university remains tight-lipped about the recipient&#8217;s identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":2057516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2057515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2057515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2057515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2057515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2057516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2057515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2057515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2057515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}