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Musicians Supporting Black Lives Matter

Maddison Kate
 June 11, 2020 • 1:00 pm
Image via TMZ

We are all looking for ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement (find a list of resources here) and that includes artists and creatives. It’s incredible to see people you admire taking a stand, using their platforms to amplify black voices and advocate for change, and doing what they can to stand on the right side of humanity. Here’s a list of some artists making their voices heard:

Lizzo

Lizzo has been posting videos on Instagram to spread awareness, educate, and provide information on where you can go to make a change. She’s remained vocal and has used her talent to grab her fans’ attention and point them in the right direction.

Halsey

Halsey has also been vocal on social media and she’s been seen protesting in Los Angeles. She was spotted helping fellow protestors who were injured by police. She was hit with rubber bullets herself early on while demonstrating.

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It’s become very clear to me that some of you need to see what I’ve seen. Please swipe through this. These pictures and videos don’t even scratch the surface. It’s easy from the comfort of your home to watch looting and rioting on television and condone the violent measures being taken by forces. But what you don’t see is innocent peaceful protestors being shot at and tear gassed and physically assaulted relentlessly. You think it’s not happening, it’s only the “thugs” and the “riots”, right? The police are keeping you safe right? You’re wrong. This is happening everywhere. And innocent people exercising their rights to speech and assembly are facing violence and abuse of power. With all of our medical professionals being CONSUMED and EXHAUSTED with Covid, there is little to no medical attention available. I have first hand treated men women and children who have been shot in the chest, the face, the back. Some will lose vision some have lost fingers. I have been covered in innocent blood. My father is a black man. My mother is an EMT. This week I had to put those two associations together in ways that have horrified me. This is NOT a virtue signaling post. But I HAVE to show you what I am witnessing with my own eyes. With Trump’s decision today to enforce the mobilization of armed forces on our own citizens, this has escalated beyond your privilege and comfort to not care. Please care. We are begging you to care. This is war on Americans. This is everyone’s problem. Everyone’s. #BLACKLIVESMATTER

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ICE T

Ice T has been BOLD on Twitter and has not held back at all on his thoughts. He hasn’t sugar coated a damn thing and is clear and consistent in speaking out.

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande went out to protest in Los Angeles and passionately spoke on the peacefulness of it all. She’s also putting out calls to action frequently to demand change.

Awsten Knight

Waterparks’ Awsten has never been shy on Twitter. This past week he has donated, promoted petitions to sign, and attended a Los Angeles protest.

Beyonce

Beyonce has used her giant following to guide people to where they can make a difference. She also had some encouraging words for graduates.

Harry Styles

Harry Styles went incognito to protest in LA. He donated money to bail funds for protesters who have been arrested. He has made a couple of posts on social media but has mostly shown his support by going out and protesting.

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish has always spoken her mind freely and she really let out all her feelings (in the best way) on Instagram. She educated the “all lives matter” folks on why that’s a bunch of crap! Since then, she has continued to use her platform to provide resources for people to continue supporting the movement.

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#justiceforgeorgefloyd #blacklivesmatter

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blackout tuesday was supposed to be about taking a step back from promoting and posting about yourself and instead using your voice to amplify the message that systemic inequality will no longer be tolerated in this country!!! not posting a black square and silence…… we cannot be silent. not today. not any other day. we are here to unequivocally say that BLACK LIVES MATTER. and i want to use the platform i have to help take meaningful action that will create meaningful change!! here is a list of organizations that you can donate to!! some of which i have donated to today. i’m gonna try to donate to as many organizations as possible over the next few weeks and further! and i encourage you to donate whatever you can to these and other organizations in your communities that are working to fight racial and social injustice every day…. even when the hashtags stop. i hope you used today to speak up, donate, protest, educate yourself, listen, learn, and call your elected representatives to demand CHANGE IN THIS COUNTRY. gonna be sharing some resources over the next couple days and i ask that everyone take action with me.

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Kanye West

There is always controversy surrounding Kanye and he took a while to speak out. There was plenty of commentary on how he hadn’t spoken up about the protests when he has often been vocal politically before. However, according to CNN, he paid the legal fees for the families of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, setting up a college tuition fund for George Floyd’s daughter Gianna, and donating to black owned businesses.

J Cole

J Cole isn’t one to post on social media regularly but instead he has shown his passion for the movement by going out to protest in Fayetteville.

Hayley Williams

Hayley Williams handed over her Instagram account to Teens For Equality on June 8th. During the takeover they made posts that sparked controversy and subsequently took them down due to the backlash. When Hayley took her account back over, she restored the deleted posts out of support for the statements being made by the young activists.

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*deleted post from @teens.4.equality’s ig takeover today* hi, friends – it’s Hayley. today an incredible group of teen activists from Nashville took over my ig account. before they logged off, they took down a couple of their posts- because those things were controversial and they received a lot of backlash in comments section. now, i (Hayley) am back in the saddle and i will be reposting their original posts because the thing i want to be illuminated here is that young people are a VITAL part of the BLM movement. i dont want them to be silenced. their passion is pure and earnest. their activism is aspirational. the conversation around systemic oppression was never going to be a comfortable one. neither was the one around police brutality. nor is the one around white privilege. but the conversation is going to happen. it has to. ITS OVERDUE. i’m so so proud of these young women for entering into (and even starting!!) these conversations. @teens.4.equality, thank you girls for being brave and passionate. – hayley

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Bruce Wiegner

idobi’s own Bruce Wiegner has been incredibly vocal. He made his thoughts known on social media, has gone out to protest in Los Angeles, made donations, encouraged others to go out, and has even reached out specifically to others to tell them that it’s time to speak up.

Mura Masa

There aren’t enough women of color on touring crews in the music industry. To combat this, Mura Masa has offered weekend courses for 10 women from the black community to train in live music roles in London.

Dove Cameron

Dove Cameron has not only been vocal on both Twitter and Instagram but has also been sure to connect with her audience on a personal level.

Travis Barker & Machine Gun Kelly

We’ve seen these two work together before but their new cover of Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing in The Name” sends a powerful message. On top of that, they’ve both been protesting and speaking out on their own platforms.

FEVER 333

FEVER 333 educated their fans by doing a live stream with advice on how individuals can use their voices to make a difference.

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SAY THEIR NAMES | LONG LIVE THE INNOCENT

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Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy shared on their social media that they will be showing their support by donating $100,000.

The Maine

The Maine took their passion to their fans to raise money, sign petitions, and speak out. The band members themselves donated and also gave 100% of June 3rd & 4th’s profits made off of their website to the black community. They also held a raffle for fans who donated as well. On top of that, they have handed over the 8123 Festival’s blog to people in the black community so that they can use their voice, and we could listen and learn. 

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To encourage additional support, we are holding a raffle of some rare 8123 items. If you have already made a financial contribution to a non-profit supporting this cause or plan on making a contribution directly to a non-profit you can enter the raffle by submitting a screenshot of the donation at 81-23.com/impactraffle. In addition, on June 3rd & 4th, 100% of profits from every single item in the 8123 online store will be donated to a non-profit or fund supporting the Black community. If you purchase an item in the 8123 store you will automatically be entered into the raffle. If you cannot afford a financial donation in these times, please take action in another way. Visit 81-23.com/impact for more resources. In addition to engaging this initiative to elicit your support, we have and will continue to financially donate as individuals and as a company. We also commit to using our platform to continue to highlight the voices of the Black community within the 8123 Family. #blacklivesmatter

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All Time Low

The band has taken a stand on their social media platforms. They joined other artists in the fight for the black community and donated to various organizations.

BTS

BTS donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter and, within a day, their fan base matched their donation. On top of that, K-pop fans came together to drown out anti-black hashtags on Twitter by using them to post memes.

With Confidence

With Confidence has used their platform to raise money for different organizations by encouraging their fans to donate for the chance to win merch packs.

Emo Nite

Emo Nite hosted a virtual discussion led by black members of the alternative/punk community, in order to educate others. It was moderated by photographer Courtney Coles and included: FEVER 333’s Jason Aalon, writer Hanif Abdurraqib, Issues’ Sky Acord, Emo Nite’s Aaron Brown, and Heart Like War’s Jordan Calhoun. The talk’s purpose was to give their audience a chance to listen and be educated by the experiences of black artists. If you missed the conversation, make sure to watch it below.