Bon Iver have teamed up with record label, Rhymeslayers, and music publishing organisation, The Secretly Group, to donated $30,000 to racial equality organisations.
The George Floyd Memorial Fund is among these organisations. The Fund is dedicated to the late George Floyd, an African-American man who was violently killed by a white police officer on May 25th. The donation will also go towards the Minnesota Freedom Fund, Black Visions Collective and Reclaim The Block.
“The hurt and rage in Minneapolis-Saint Paul right now are harrowing,” Bon Iver said in a statement posted to Twitter.
“We are deeply concerned for the safety of the people in the streets protesting for justice. Their bravery is astounding and inspiring. A police state cannot fix what a police state has broken.”
“Only equal freedom and protection of all citizens can begin to reset the scales of justice.”
Bon Iver urged fans and those working in the music and creative industries to show their support where possible.
“Fellow fans, artists, labels, please join us by making contributions of your own, whatever you can afford, to help make a difference in the communities most affected by the ongoing crisis in the Twin Cities,” the band wrote.
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Bon Iver added that the crisis is “one that is also beginning to brew in other cities across America.”
— Bon Iver (@boniver) May 29, 2020
A range of other artists have spoken out following the death of George Floyd. Recently, Billie Eilish slammed the “All Lives Matter” movement, calling out white privilege in an Instagram post.
News of Bon Iver’s donation comes just two days after the band announced the cancellation of their July US tour. Bon Iver join hundreds of other musical artists in cancelling shows as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier in the year, the band released a single, entitled ‘PDLIF’, to raise money for frontline medical workers.
Check out ‘PDLIF’ by Bon Iver:
