Stormzy Pledges £10 Million GBP Over 10 Years to Fight Racial Inequality

Stormzy is the latest artist to join a string of supporters who have responded to the global call for fighting injustices geared at communities of color, especially Black people. The British rapper has pledged £10 million GBP worth of donations over the course of 10 years, which will go toward “organizations, charities and movements that are committed to fighting racial inequality, justice reform and Black empowerment within the U.K.”

Stormzy — who reportedly took place in London’s recent Black Lives Matter protests, according to The Guardian — discussed the “constant disadvantage” that Black citizens have had over the years in a statement. “The uncomfortable truth that our country continuously fails to recognise and admit is that black people in the U.K. have been at a constant disadvantage in every aspect of life – simply due to the colour of our skin,” he said.

The rapper continued:

“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 U.K.’s shining example of what supposedly happens when a black person works hard. There are millions of us. We are not far and few.”

According to Stormzy, the planned donations are only the beginning of a “lifetime commitment to financially and wholeheartedly back these causes.”

“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,” he added. “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.”

Elsewhere in music, H.E.R. recently delivered the moving new track “I Can’t Breathe” during her live performance with iHeartRadio.