Protester in Minneapolis

Protester in Minneapolis

Photo: KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images

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Want To Support Protesters And Black Lives Matter Groups? Here’s How

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These are the bail funds, initiatives and organizations you need to know
GRAMMYs
Jun 6, 2020 - 11:51 am

In the past two weeks, protests have been staged across the nation in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee and many other Black people at the hands of police. Due to increased police presence and the deployment of the National Guard to several major cities, thousands of protesters have been arrested.

As protests continue amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Recording Academy has compiled a list of causes and organizations from across the nation that are on a mission to eradicate police brutality and systemic racism. Learn how you can help out and get involved by donating, volunteering and supporting.

CALIFORNIA

Action Bail Fund
Organized by Black Lives Matter LA (BLM LA), and supported by White People 4 Black Lives, this fund directs 100 percent of donations to directly support bail, fees and medical costs associated with actions.

Black Lives Matter – Los Angeles Chapter
BLM LA is currently supporting organizers endeavoring to adopt a "People's Budget" that reallocates police funding to communities that need it.  

People's Breakfast Oakland
The Black grassroots organization is raising money to bail out protesters in their city. All leftover proceeds will be redistributed or will go to the organization itself.

People's City Council Freedom Fund 
PCCFF is currently raising money to support those who have taken to the streets to "protest the funding of state-sanctioned murder," according to the organization's GoFundMe page. The fundraiser page also notes that, in addition to bail relief, donations will go toward supplies and transportation.

COLORADO

Colorado Freedom Fund 
This fund has been working since 2018 to pay cash bail for those who cannot afford to do so.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

East Of The River Mutual Aid Fund
This mutual aid fund, organized by Black Lives Matter DC, provides material support during COVID-19, including hygiene kits and sack lunches.

FLORIDA

(F)EMPOWER 
The organization is raising money for a community bail fund to support protesters on the ground in case of arrest.

GEORGIA

Atlanta Solidarity Fund 
ASF is an organization providing support for people arrested at protests.

ILLINOIS

Chicago Community Bond Fund
This organization is committed to posting bail for individuals in Cook County, Ill., who are unable to post bail themselves.

KENTUCKY

Louisville Community Bail Fund 
This fund exists not only to provide bail for people in need, but also to provide post-release support. Protests in Louisville have been about Floyd, as well as Breonna Taylor.

LOUISIANA

New Orleans Safety And Freedom Fund
This community fund was established for bail, jail fees, fines and drug-testing fees in New Orleans.

MASSACHUSETTS

The Massachusetts Bail Fund 
This group has committed to paying up to $2,000 bail on behalf of low-income individuals so that they can remain free while awaiting a trial.

MINNESOTA

Black Visions Collective
This organization is dedicated to Black liberation and expanding the power of Black people throughout the Twin Cities metro area.

Gas Mask Fund 
Black youth activists in Minneapolis are raising money to buy gas masks for demonstrators who've faced tear gas during protests.

The Legal Rights Center 
This Minneapolis-based nonprofit law firm offers legal defense and educational and advocacy services.

Minnesota Freedom Fund 
Receiving an outpouring of support, MFF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending mass incarceration while investing in restorative justice.

Minnesota Youth Collective
This organization supports and finances young people from underrepresented communities; services include registration efforts and advocacy training.

Mobile Outreach And Outdoor Drop-In
MOODI is an initiative of the Cultural Wellness Center in Minneapolis, providing immediate response and resources for people currently without shelter.

Neighbors United Funding Collaborative 
This fund is focused on raising money for businesses in Midway and Union Park.

Reclaim The Block
This collective seeks to transfer funds from the police department to other community-focused areas of Minneapolis' budget.

We Love Lake Street 
This collective is gathering donations for small businesses and nonprofits on Lake Street in Minneapolis to help with the clean-up efforts.

West Broadway Area Coalition in partnership with Northside Funders Group 
The collective is raising money to support businesses on Minneapolis' Northside that have been affected by recent protests and COVID-19.

Women For Political Change Mutual Aid Fund
This mutual aid project from a Minneapolis-based organization provides support to women, trans and nonbinary people under 30 who live in Minnesota, with priority for people who are Black, Indigenous and People Of Color (BIPOC), queer, sick or disabled, undocumented, unemployed and/or a parent or caretaker.

NEW YORK

No New Jails NYC 
This organization aims to keep the city from constructing new jails and instead divert funds that currently go toward the police and incarceration toward housing, ending homelessness, mental health and other community support systems.

The Brooklyn Bail Fund 
The fund is "committed to challenging the racism, inequality, and injustice of a criminal legal system and immigration and deportation regime that disproportionately target and harm low-income communities of color." 

Free Them All For Public Health 
This organization is raising money for protesters who have been arrested in New York. Venmo: @BailOutNYCMay

Communities United For Police Reform 
This initiative was created to work toward ending discriminatory policing in New York, helping to educate people on their rights and documenting police abuse.

PENNSYLVANIA

Bukit Bail Fund Of Pittsburgh
Founded after the preventable death of Frank "Bukit" Smart Jr. in Allegheny County Jail (ACJ), this fund is working to bail out individuals currently incarcerated in ACJ.

Great People Helping Great People
This Pittsburgh mutual aid fund supports local Black and POC residents. Created initially to fund basic needs like groceries and utilities, the fund is now putting an emphasis on helping local activists and protesters.

Philadelphia Community Bail Fund
This fund's mission is to end cash bail in the city of Philadelphia.

TENNESSEE 

Nashville Bail Fund
This nonprofit is committed to freeing low-income individuals from jail in the city of Nashville.

TEXAS

400+1 Bail Fund
Originally created to assist a Black man arrested in Austin who feared he could catch COVID-19 in jail, this bail fund is now being directed toward protesters in the city.

Luke 4:18 Bail Fund
Overseen by Faith In Texas, this bail fund is committed to posting bail for individuals in Dallas.

Project Roar 

This community fund is dedicated to providing resources and outreach programs to Texas' rural areas. They've expanded their services to include emergency bail.

Restoring Justice Community Bail Fund
Established as a partnership between Restoring Justice, the Bail Project and Pure Justice, this fund was initially set up as a response to COVID-19, but it now provides bail relief in Houston. 

WASHINGTON 

Northwest Community Bail Fund 
This bail fund provides cash bail to arrested individuals in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is specifically "for marginalized people charged with crimes who are unable to afford bail and find themselves incarcerated while awaiting routine court appearances in King and Snohomish Counties in Washington State."

GENERAL RESOURCES

The Bail Project 
This organization is dedicated to combating mass incarceration and reshaping the pretrial system in the United States.

The Black Trans Protestors Emergency Fund 
This fund is raising money for physical resources, bail and medical care for Black transgender protesters; it will be redistributed to Black, trans-led organizations "in the event these funds don't need to be used."

Communities United Against Police Brutality
This collective operates a crisis hotline where people can report abuse; offers legal, medical and psychological resource referrals; and engages in political action against police brutality.

Fair Fight
Founded by Stacey Abrams, this organization aims to end voter suppression and equalize voting rights and access for fairer elections.

Know Your Rights Camp
Founded by Colin Kaepernick, this organization provides education and training in Black and Brown communities. It has also set up a legal defense fund for Minneapolis protestors.

The LGBTQ Freedom Fund 
This fund is working "to build a critical mass against the mass detention of LGBTQ individuals"; it has successfully freed people from around the country.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund
The National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People (NAACP) supports racial justice through advocacy, litigation and education.

National Bail Fund Network
The Community Justice Exchange operates this fund, which has a directory of bail funds in cities and states across the country. You can locate your local bail fund supporting protesters through this network. 

The National Bail Out 
This is "a Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers and activists building a community-based movement to support our folks and end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration."

Mass Defense Program 
Operated by The National Lawyers Guild (NLG), this program provides legal support to protesters, activists and movements. If you see people in lime green hats at protests, they may be the NLG acting as legal observers.

Nina Pop Mental Health Recovery Fund
This fund was set up for Trans women to help cover the costs of mental health therapy sessions with licensed Black therapists.

Showing Up For Racial Justice 
This organization works to educate white people about anti-racism and organizes actions to support the fight for racial justice and undermine white supremacy.

Tony McDade Mental Health Recovery Fund
This fund was set up for Trans men to help cover the costs of mental health therapy sessions with licensed Black therapists.

Unicorn Riot 
This nonprofit media organization is dedicated to fair, on-the-ground reporting on civil disobedience, police brutality and white supremacy. 

DIRECT AID FOR VICTIMS' FAMILIES

George Floyd's family started a GoFundMe to cover funeral and burial costs, counseling services, legal fees and continued care for his children. There's also a GoFundMe to provide for his 6-year-old daughter, Gianna Floyd, and a GoFundMe to support "peace and healing" for Darnella Frazier, the woman who filmed Floyd's death.

The family of Breonna Taylor launched a GoFundMe to help with legal fees and offer extra support.

A GoFundMe has been set up for the family of David McAtee, who was fatally shot just after midnight June 1 after police officers and National Guard members fired into a crowd of people who were not taking part in the evening's protests.

Houston Rappers Talk George Floyd's Musical & Community Legacy 

A demonstrator holds a sign with the image of Breonna Taylor

A demonstrator holds a sign with the image of Breonna Taylor

Photo: Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images

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#SayHerName: Alicia Keys, Lizzo, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monáe And More Honor Breonna Taylor On Her Birthday, Demand Justice

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The music and entertainment worlds are speaking out on behalf of Taylor, a Black medical worker who was killed by white police officers in March
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Jun 5, 2020 - 3:00 pm

Several artists and entertainers are honoring Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker who was killed by white police officers in Louisville, Ky., in March, by speaking out on social media and demanding justice for her killing.

On Friday (June 5), which would have been the slain victim's 27th birthday, Alicia Keys, Lizzo, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monáe, Gary Clark, Jr., Yola and several others took to social media to show their support for Taylor, with many sharing resources and links to petitions calling for the arrests of and charges against the police officers involved in her killing; the police officers in question, who have not been arrested or fired or charged with a crime, are currently placed on administrative leave, The New York Times reports.

In a video post shared on Instagram, Alicia Keys sang "Happy Birthday," inserting Taylor's first name into the song. In the caption accompanying the post, the singer indicated she would be making "more calls today in honor" of Taylor and encouraged her fans to do the same. She also shared links to resources in support of Taylor's case as well as groups like Black Lives Matter. 

"She should be alive to celebrate! But instead no charges have been issued and no arrests have been made with the officers involved," Keys wrote in the post's caption.

Read: Alicia Keys Pens Touching Poem To Her Son  

Lizzo shared a custom image on her Instagram page that asked for people to call several Kentucky officials, including Gov. Andy Beshear and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, and demand for the firing of the police officers involved in Taylor's killing; the post also called for the police officers to be charged with manslaughter and negligence. 

"She should be here," Lizzo said of Taylor in the post's caption. "Instead she was murdered by police in what they're calling a 'clerical error'. They barged into her home without knocking and shot her in her sleep. She worked for us during the covid pandemic, she was an innocent civilian. SAY HER NAME. DEMAND JUSTICE ON HER BIRTHDAY. NO ARRESTS HAVE BEEN MADE."

This week, Lizzo, Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez all opened their social media platforms to Black groups in an initiative aimed at amplifying Black voices and pushing conversations about race relations and progress to the fore.

Who Is Breonna Taylor?

Breonna Taylor was killed March 13 when Louisville police executed a no-knock warrant to crash into her apartment by use of a battering ram, according to The New York Times. The police, who were investigating two suspects believed to be "selling drugs out of a house that was far from Ms. Taylor's home," the newspaper writes, fired several shots into Taylor's apartment; she was struck at least eight times. 

The police officers involved in the incident say they fired inside the home after being fired upon first by Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was subsequently charged with attempted murder of a police officer, The New York Times reports; Walker's charges were dropped last month.

While Taylor's killing occurred months ago, tensions surrounding her death, sparked by the lack of arrests of the officers involved, have been rising across Louisville and Kentucky over the past few weeks.

Last month (May 28), seven people were shot while attending a Louisville protest calling for police accountability in Taylor's killing, The New York Times reports. Two days later (May 30), the city's mayor, Greg Fischer, implemented a dusk-to-dawn curfew and called in the National Guard for future protests surrounding Taylor's killing, according to The (Louisville) Courier-Journal. This week (June 1) in Louisville, the police and the National Guard killed local restaurant owner David McAtee when they confronted curfew violators, according to The New York Times.

Last month (May 21), the FBI opened an investigation into Taylor's killing, while the slain victim's mother, Tamika Palmer, filed a lawsuit against the three officers involved in the incident, accusing them of wrongfully causing her daughter's death, The New York Times reports. 

Nationwide Protests And Online Dialogues

Taylor's killing is part of a larger wave of recent killings of several Black U.S. citizens, including George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and others, which have collectively sparked nationwide protests over the past two weeks. 

These recent incidents have also resurfaced tensions and conversations surrounding racial inequality in dealing with police: Majorities of Black and white adults say Black people are treated less fairly than white people in dealing with police and by the criminal justice system as a whole, according to a 2019 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.

The ongoing social unrest also comes in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, which is killing black and Latino Americans at disproportionately high rates, according to Vox.

Read: The Music Industry Calls For "Black Out Tuesday" In Response To The Death Of George Floyd

Many people online, however, have pointed out that Taylor's killing has not gained the same national attention when compared to the likes of Floyd and Arbery, which has lead social media users to employ the #SayHerName hashtag to spread awareness of her story over the last week. 

On Thursday (June 4), in a tweet mentioning Taylor's killing, Sen. Kamala Harris wrote, "The officers who murdered Breonna Taylor nearly three months ago still have not been charged. We can't forget about Black women in our quest for justice."

In a recent post on The New York Times' In Her Words newsletter and column, gender reporter Alisha Haridasani Gupta wrote, "The exclusion of Breonna Taylor's name is the latest iteration of a longstanding issue: Black women's experiences of police brutality and their tireless contributions to mass social justice movements have almost always been left out of the picture, receiving far less media or political attention."

Below, see some of the artists, entertainers and celebrities who are honoring Breonna Taylor on her birthday today.

Houston Rappers Talk George Floyd's Musical & Community Legacy

Common performs at the "Let's Go Crazy: The GRAMMY Salute To Prince" in 2020

Common performs at the "Let's Go Crazy: The GRAMMY Salute To Prince" in 2020

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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YouTube Announces $100 Million Fund Supporting Black Creators, Confirms Online Fundraiser Hosted By Common And Keke Palmer

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On June 13, the video-sharing platform will premiere a livestream fundraising event, which will include performances from John Legend and Trey Songz as well as discussions with creators, artists, public figures and activists
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Jun 12, 2020 - 3:31 pm

YouTube has announced a $100 million multiyear fund aimed at supporting Black creators and artists on the platform.

In a post shared on the company's official blog, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki outlined the video-sharing platform's larger initiative to support creators and users from the Black community. The announcement is part of the company's midyear update, which also discusses YouTube's COVID-19 and educational initiatives, among other things. 

This Saturday (June 13), starting at 6 p.m. EST, YouTube will premiere the "Bear Witness, Take Action" livestream fundraising event, which Wojcicki describes as "one example of the type of content we'd like to elevate on the platform" via the newly announced initiative.

Produced by YouTube Originals, the online event will "bring together creators, artists, influential public figures and prominent activist voices for roundtable discussions and musical performances," according to the blog post. 

Hosted by three-time GRAMMY winner Common and actress/singer-songwriter Keke Palmer, the digital fundraiser will also include performances from John Legend and Trey Songz, according to Variety. The event will benefit Equal Justice Initiative, which works toward "ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society," according to the organization's website. 

Panelists and guests for "Bear Witness, Take Action" include Ambers Closet, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Patrisse Cullors, Tremayne Anchrum, Carmelo Anthony, AyChristeneGames, Danielle Bainbridge, Essang Bassey, Shalom Blac, Asante Blackk, Sterling K. Brown, Wilmer Valderrama and several others. 

"At YouTube, we believe Black lives matter and we all need to do more to dismantle systemic racism," Wojcicki wrote in the blog post. "We join in protest against the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others before them."

"Our platform has been a place where people come together since YouTube first launched 15 years ago," she continued. "And in the midst of uncertainty, creators continue to share stories that might not otherwise be heard while also building online communities."

Read: Halsey Launches Fund To Help Amplify And Provide Platform For Black Creators

For the month of June, the company will also highlight racial justice issues, "including the latest perspectives from the Black community on YouTube alongside historical content, educational videos, and protest coverage," per the blog post, across its Spotlight channel.

"Building on our work over the past several years, we're taking this moment to examine how our policies and products are working for everyone — but specifically for the Black community — and close any gaps," Wojcicki writes. "And more broadly, we will work to ensure Black users, artists, and creators can share their stories and be protected from hateful, white supremacist, and bullying content … There is much work to do to advance racial equity in the long-term, and these efforts will continue in the months and years ahead."

YouTube's initiatives come as several nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice, specifically against Black people and people of color, have continued for more than two weeks in response to the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other black U.S. citizens by police.

Head to the YouTube blog to read the company's midyear update in full.

Want To Support Protesters And Black Lives Matter Groups? Here's How

Megan Thee Stallion performs on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in 2019

Megan Thee Stallion performs on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in 2019

Photo: Randy Holmes/ABC via Getty Images

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Megan Thee Stallion Says The Nationwide Black Lives Matter Protests Are "Part Two Of The Civil Rights Movement"

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In a new cover interview with NME, the breakout rapper also discusses the pressures of being a strong Black woman and the unexpected success of her 2020 single, "Savage"
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Jul 3, 2020 - 1:07 pm

Breakout rapper Megan Thee Stallion has called the nationwide protests in the U.S. and the growing Black Lives Matter movement around the world "part two of the civil rights movement." 

In a new interview for a digital cover feature with British music website NME, Megan discussed her role as a celebrity when speaking out against the injustices of the world and how she's learned to use her platform to effect change, as seen on her social media channels. Over the past few weeks, Megan has remained vocal about the heated sociopolitical state of the U.S. She's recently taken to social media to demand justice for George Floyd and has called for the arrest of the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor.

"Sometimes being a public figure," she told NME, "you don't wanna say the wrong thing because you don't want to be insensitive to people or get too opinionated. But I will always say what I feel. I don't speak on things that I don't know about, and I won't speak on things I don't believe in."  

In the interview, she goes on to discuss the pressures of being a strong Black woman and the stereotypes surrounding it.

"Let me tell you, Black women are strong," Megan, who cites her late mother, grandmother and all the other "really good examples of women in my life" as role models, told NME. "We can be going through whatever and still put on a good face. I know there were times that my mother might have been going through things but I never knew, because she wanted me to feel safe and okay."  

Read: Megan Thee Stallion Is The Latest Rap Star On The Rise

Megan also tells NME about the unexpected breakout success of her 2020 single, "Savage," which went viral on TikTok and later secured a remix featuring Beyoncé; the remix, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S., helped raise funds for COVID-19 relief efforts in the singers' hometown of Houston. 

Megan also talked about her recent performance at the virtual 2020 BET Awards, her newfound life as a role model to her fans, and her current and upcoming projects, which include a gig as a judge on HBO's new voguing reality competition TV series, "Legendary." 

From Aretha Franklin To Public Enemy, Here's How Artists Have Amplified Social Justice Movements Through Music

Halsey attends An Evening With Halsey at the GRAMMY Museum

Halsey attends An Evening With Halsey at the GRAMMY Museum

Photo: Rebecca Sapp/WireImage for The Recording Academy

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Halsey Launches Fund To Help Amplify And Provide Platform For Black Creators

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The newly announced Black Creators Funding Initiative welcomes Black creatives of all practices
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Jun 12, 2020 - 11:16 am

Halsey has launched the Black Creators Funding Initiative (BCFI), a special initiative that aims "to give funds, resources, and a platform to black creators," the singer wrote in an Instagram post announcing the campaign. 

The ongoing initiative, launched Thursday (June 11), will help Black creators of all practices and creative areas by amplifying their art and providing a platform for their voices and perspectives to be heard. Halsey and her team will fund the initiative entirely. 

"If you're an artist, poet, graphic designer, writer, film maker (sic), music producer, journalist, make up (sic) artist, or creator of any kind, we want to see your work and want to help achieve your goals," the artwork accompanying the BCFI announcement reads. In her Instagram post unveiling the fund, Halsey encouraged her followers to tag their favorite Black creators and use the #BLACKCREATORSFUND hashtag, writing, "Looking for black creators who want to enrich the world with their work."

According to her post, Halsey will promote the artists on her socials "to help launch their platforms" and will "provide resources, information, and points of contact, for as many people as we can."

BCFI will announce the first gifting recipients June 18. 

The biracial pop superstar—her mother is Italian and Hungarian and her father is Black with Irish ancestry—recently joined several protests against police brutality and racial injustice in the wake of the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. 

Earlier this month (June 1), Halsey posted photos and videos from protests in Los Angeles where the GRAMMY-nominated singer was seen helping protestors who were hurt while attending the demonstrations. 

"It's easy from the comfort of your home to watch looting and rioting on television and condone the violent measures being taken by forces," she wrote on Instagram. "But what you don't see is innocent peaceful protestors being shot at and tear gassed and physically assaulted relentlessly. You think it's not happening, it's only the 'thugs' and the 'riots', right? The police are keeping you safe right? You're wrong. This is happening everywhere. And innocent people exercising their rights to speech and assembly are facing violence and abuse of power."

Read: Houston Rappers Talk George Floyd's Musical & Community Legacy

On May 27, two days after Floyd's death, Halsey shared an impassioned Instagram post about the slain man in which she encouraged her followers to speak about his killing and the officers involved.

"If you have friends and family who are privileged enough to 'stay away from this kind of news,'" she wrote, "then take that f**king privilege away. Uplift the voices of black members of your community voicing their fear or outrage or grief." 

Want To Support Protesters And Black Lives Matter Groups? Here's How