Stormzy To Donate £10m To British Anti-Racism Charities
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Stormzy has pledged to donate £10 million to British anti-racism charities over the next decade, in a bid to help end racial inequality in the UK.
In a statement, he said: "The uncomfortable truth that our country continuously fails to recognise and admit, is that black people in the UK have been at a constant disadvantage in every aspect of life - simply due to the colour 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."
His announcement comes amid Black Lives Matter protests that are taking place globally, in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody in Minneapolis.
Stormzy is said to be one of the many who joined protests in London in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, with the Press Association reporting he was part of the crowd at Parliament Square last week (7 June).
Fitness trainer Armz Korleone, who was pictured with Stormzy, told the Metro that the star was simply there to 'peacefully support a positive movement'.
The musician has been an advocate for racial equality in the UK, even working with the University of Cambridge to found the Stormzy Scholarship, which was announced in August 2018.
Speaking about the non-repayable scholarship at the time, he said: "There are so many young black kids all over the country who have the level of academic excellence to study at a university such as Cambridge - however we are still under represented at leading universities.
"We, as a minority, have so many examples of black students who have excelled at every level of education throughout the years.
"I hope this scholarship serves as a small reminder that if young black students wish to study at one of the best universities in the world, then the opportunity is yours for the taking - and if funding is one of the barriers, then we can work towards breaking that barrier down."
