Way to put your money where your mouth is!
Black beauty brand SheaMoisture has launched a $100,000 fund to support social justice activists, Black Enterprise reports.
In the wake of mass protests around the globe as a result of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, many companies are taking a stand to make it clear that #BlackLivesMatter. Still, many are going a step further to create policy and donate funding in service of organizations and individuals doing the work to directly eradicate anti-Blackness in the world.
SheaMoisture, a popular Black beauty brand, is one of the companies putting action behind their words. The brand announced its new “Social Justice Coalition,” which includes a fund that will award five activists with $20,000. The coalition was created with the goal of “creating change and actionable solutions.
Through SheaMoisture’s “This Has to Stop” campaign, the brand will utilize the help of the community to choose the activists and areas of issue that they think funds should be allocated towards. The areas included are “mental health, legal services, voting initiatives, and training and education for mobilizing political action groups. Once the areas have been finalized with the community’s input, SheaMoisture will then select the individual activists and announce them within the next 30 days.”
“Reinvesting in our own communities has always been our driving force. Now more than ever, it’s imperative for us to commit resources toward driving progress and address the traumas and injustices we face. We are having the hard conversations, while also ensuring that our community knows we are creating a safe space and a platform to drive change. SheaMoisture will continue to amplify the voices of our community at a time when they want to be heard, seen and more importantly, valued,” said SheaMoisture CEO Cara Sabin.
Prior to the announcement of the fund, SheaMoisture hosted a live conversation on Instagram with political commentators, activists, and educators to discuss the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and what the Black community could do to organize for freedom.
The company is no stranger to reinvesting in their community. SheaMoisture also has a $1 million fund dedicated to businesses owned by minorities and women of color, a COVID-19 fund for small businesses, a fund for top Black businesses selected by We Buy Black, and a virtual learning program for women of color entrepreneurs.
For more information about their new “Social Justice Coalition,” click here. Winners will be picked July 3rd.
Thank you for all you’re doing for our community SheaMoisture.
Photo Courtesy of @ChristopherBalladarez/RevoltTV/Instagram