YouTube has set up a $ 100 million ($ 88 million) fund for black artists who want to make their voices heard. Susan Wojcicki, CEO of the video service, writes in a blog post that it is a multi-year fund.
“At YouTube, we believe that black lives matter and that we all need to do more to dismantle systemic racism. We join the protests against the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many for them,” Wojcicki writes .
“We are proud of our platform that celebrates a wide and diverse range of voices and we have put in place many schemes to protect our communities. However, we now understand that we need to do more, especially for the black community,” writes the CEO at a list of actions YouTube will take.
In addition to strengthening and developing the voices and stories of black artists, money is being raised for the Equal Justice Initiative on Saturday with the live streaming event Bear Witness, Take Action . During the month of June, YouTube focuses on issues surrounding racial inequality with the Spotlight channel.
Earlier, Apple also announced that it would donate $ 100 million to charities that promote equal rights regardless of race. The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam is also taking measures. From 2021 to 2024, director Rein Wolfs announces that he wants to reserve at least half of the purchase budget for “work by artists of color and artists with a non-Western background”.