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Stormzy pledges R215 million to anti-racism charities

Recording Artist Stormzy attends a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Parliament Square, London, Sunday, June 7, 2020, in response to the recent killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, USA, that has led to protests in many countries and across the US. Picture: Helen William/PA via APRecording Artist Stormzy attends a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Parliament Square, London, Sunday, June 7, 2020, in response to the recent killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, USA, that has led to protests in many countries and across the US. Picture: Helen William/PA via AP

Stormzy has pledged R215 million to charities fighting against racial inequality in the UK, which he will donate to over the next 10 years.

The “Vossi Bop” hitmaker has vowed to donate the whopping sum to organisations focused on justice reform and black empowerment within the UK over the course of the next 10 years.

In a statement, the 26-year-old grime star 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.”

Stormzy’s comments come after recent protests in the UK in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, which were kickstarted in the US last month after the death of unarmed black man George Floyd.

The “Own It” rapper is donating the money in collaboration with his company #Merky, who have confirmed they are “devoted” to “improving and safeguarding the lives of those within the black community”, and have said the 10-year donation plan is “just the beginning” of their continued efforts to “financially and wholeheartedly back these causes”.