Netflix Donating $5 Million to Support Black Youth, Black Creators, and Black-Owned Businesses

After creating a collection of Black Lives Matter movies and TV shows to show support and solidarity with the global movement trying to stop police brutality and racial inequality, Netflix is putting their money where their mouth is. The streaming service is pledging $5 million to organizations dedicated to helping Black youth, Black creators, and Black-owned businesses who aren’t always afforded the same opportunities.

Variety has word on the Netflix donation to various Black-centric organizations, starting with an announcement of where the first $3 million will go. Netflix chairman and CEO Reed Hastings said in a statement:

“Tackling racism and injustice in meaningful ways means creating long-term opportunities for the Black community. The main role we play is through our funding of and member viewing of important content like ‘When They See Us.’ As an additional step, today we’re committing $5 million to nonprofits dedicated to creating direct opportunities for Black creators, Black youth and Black-owned businesses.”

To begin with, $1.5 million will be going to Ghetto Film School, Black Public Media, Firelight Media and Film Independent’s Project Evolve to support Black creators. Ghetto Film School is a nonprofit that aims to educate, develop and celebrate the next generation of great American storytellers. Black Public Media, formerly known as National Black Programming Consortium develops, produces, funds, and distributes media content about the African American and global Black experience. Firelight Media produces documentary films, supports emerging filmmakers of color, and cultivates audiences for their work. And Film Independent’s Project Involve, supports emerging filmmakers from communities underrepresented in film and entertainment with hands-on filmmaking experience.

To support Black youth, Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp, the Posse Foundation, and Black Girls Code will each be given $1 million grants. Know Your Rights Camp aims to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders. The Posse Foundation works to provide more college opportunities to students of color in the hopes of turning them into young leaders who will cultivate an environment of progress and change across the board. And Black Girls Code provides  young and pre-teen girls of color opportunities to learn in-demand skills in technology and computer programming.

Finally, to help Black-owned businesses, Netflix is giving $500,000 in grants to be distributed by Vermont Slauson Economic Development (VSEDC), a nonprofit group that provides resources to communities in South Los Angeles traditionally underserved by banks.

On top of this massive donation, Netflix is also matching their employees’ personal donations at 200%. It’s nice to see them joining the ranks of a variety of multimedia companies pledging financial support to help under-served and underrepresented communities have a voice, not just in the entertainment industry, but in society overall.  Black Lives Matter, and they need all the help they can get right now.

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