YouTube is launching a $100 million fund to promote the voices of black creators on its platform by nurturing talent and sponsoring new shows.
YouTube CEO, Susan Wojcick, in a blog post yesterday, explained in detail what the company has in plan to help protect black communities on the platform. The fund will support the creation of new YouTube Original programming and help with the development of black creators and artists.
“We’re committed to doing better as a platform to center and amplify Black voices and perspectives,” Wojcicki said in the blog post.
The new initiative has already birthed its first project, a youtube Original special called “Bear Witness, Take Action,” which is slated to air on June 13th at 6 PM ET. The special will include activists, YouTube creators, and artists like Jemele Hill, John Legend, and Roxane Gay and will raise funds for the Equal Justice Initiative.
The CEO also assured that the platform will continue to fight hate and harassment to create a safe environment for black users to freely use the platform, whether its viewers watching and commenting on videos or creators making new content on YouTube.
YouTube joins a group of tech companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook that have made similar commitments following the death of George Floyd.
