Stormzy has pledged £10 million to charities fighting against racial inequality in the UK.
The ‘Vossi Bop’ hitmaker has vowed to donate the whopping sum to organizations focused on justice reform and black empowerment within the UK over the course of the next 10 years.
In a statement, the 26-year-old grime star said: “The uncomfortable truth that our country continuously fails to recognize and admit, is that black people in the UK have been at a constant disadvantage in every aspect of life – simply due to the color of our skin.
“I’m lucky enough to be in the position I’m in and I’ve heard people often dismiss the idea of racism existing in Britain by saying ‘If the country’s so racist how have you become a success?!’, and I reject that with this: I am not the UK’s shining example of what supposedly happens when a black person works hard. There are millions of us. We are not far and few. We have to fight against the odds of a racist system stacked against us and designed for us to fail from before we are even born. Black people have been playing on an uneven field for far too long and this pledge is a continuation in the fight to finally try and even it.”
Stormzy’s comments come after recent protests in the UK in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, which were kick started in the US last month after the death of unarmed black man George Floyd.
The ‘Own It’ rapper is donating the money in collaboration with his company #Merky, who have confirmed they are “devoted” to “improving and safeguarding the lives of those within the black community”, and have said the 10-year donation plan is “just the beginning” of their continued efforts to “financially and wholeheartedly back these causes”.
Singer Halsey has also launched the Black Creators Funding Initiative to help people of color “achieve [their] goals”.
The ‘You Should Be Sad’ hitmaker took to social media on Thursday (11.06.20) to announce the launch of the new initiative – also called #BLACKCREATORSFUND – which she says will help create a platform for Black creators to “amplify their art, voice, and perspective”.
An announcement posted by Halsey read: “We are launching a fund to help Black creators and amplify their art, voice and perspective. This ongoing initiative will be entirely funded by the Halsey team. If you’re an artist, poet, graphic designer, writer, film maker, music producer, journalist, make up artist or creator of any kind, we want to see your work and want to help achieve your goals.
“In addition to funds, the artists will be promoted on my socials to help launch their platforms and we will help provide resources, information and points of contact for as many people as we can. We will be announcing the first gifting recipients on June 18. We hope to continue this initiative throughout the years to come. #BLACKCREATORSFUND”
More public figures are putting major money into support causes that resonate with the plight of minority African Americans.
