TikTok named the Brotherhood Crusade to receive an endowment from an $850,000 grant designated to African American organizations working to undo the damage caused by systemic racism through actionable public policy.
Organizations to receive the grant include the Brooklyn Community Foundation , Chicago-based My Block My Hood My City , and The Brotherhood Crusade in South Los Angeles.
“As TikTok becomes the online destination for Gen Zers, the construction of race and expressions of racism are becoming a foundational part of how users understand each other. I am honored to join this council to help bring attention to the challenges and opportunities this presents and ensure Black, Indigenous, and other negatively racialized young people enter an affirming and inclusive online space.” said, Mutale Nkonde, Fellow at Berkman Klein at Harvard and Fellow at Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford
Vanessa Pappas, TikTok US General Manager said, “As we shared in a blog post at the start of this month , racism and discrimination have no place on TikTok and we are committed to specific, concrete actions in our push toward building an inclusive platform reflective of our diverse world”. Pappas continued, “The voices, images, and emotional stories resonating on our platform and around the world are an important reminder of the responsibility TikTok has to its users. Today we want to provide an update on some of the steps in our ongoing commitment that we’ve taken so far.”
Charisse Bremond Weaver, Brotherhood Crusade President and CEO said, “We are sincerely grateful to TikTok for including Brotherhood Crusade in this grant to advance equity and equality in disenfranchised African American communities. This level of investment speaks volumes to future generations on their value and importance to our community. It also positions black youth to have a seat at the table, so their contributions may be enjoyed by their communities and the world at large.”
