Despite tons of accusations that Jay Z and Beyoncé have separated themselves from the plights of the Black community, reports are now surfacing that suggest Mr. Carter has wired thousands of dollars on multiple occasions to bail out police brutality protesters while also contributing to many other causes under the Black Lives Matter movement.
The deaths of unarmed Black citizens by police have sparked protests and riots all across the nation. It has caused some of today’s biggest stars to publicly denounce police brutality and use their celebrity platforms to help facilitate national discussions of racial profiling, police brutality, violence in America and so much more.
But when the tweets go away, when protesters go their separate ways, when TV interviews get uncomfortably repetitive, the public is typically left wondering what contributions did anyone really make to solve the issues at hand?
That question has caused the public to criticize many of today’s biggest stars but none seemed to be targeted quite like hip hop mogul Jay Z and international pop queen Beyoncé.
Even some of the couple’s fans insisted that they weren’t using their combined billionaire status to help out where it mattered the most, but a series of tweets from activist and writer dream hampton painted a very different picture of the couple.
Hampton insists that Jay Z has not only bailed out many of the protesters but that he and Beyoncé have been consistent backers of the Black Lives Matter movement. They simply didn’t want all the publicity.
These efforts weren’t supposed to be about them. At least, that’s how hampton tells it.
“I can say I’ve personally helped facilitate donations they’ve given to protesters directly and that they never ask for anything in return, especially publicity,” hampton told the NY Daily News in an email.
That comment came after hampton, who worked with the hip hop mogul on his 2010 memoir Decoded, posted a series of tweets alleging that Jay Z would be pretty upset that she released such information but she still felt it important to post the tweets anyway.
In one tweet, she said that Jay Z “wired tens of thousands in minutes” to bail out Baltimore protestors.
“When BLM needed infrastructure money for the many chapters that we’re growing like beautiful dandelions, Carters wrote a huge check,” hampton added. “…and more stuff, too much to list actually, that they always insist folk keep quiet.”
Hampton has since deleted the tweets but not before her final wish came true.
“Hope you got your little screenshot,” she concluded.
Complex Magazine had indeed gotten their “little screenshot.”
The allegation may come as a surprise to notable critics of the couple and while the claims haven’t been confirmed, the Carters have a history that makes the tweets absolutely believable.
For starters, both Jay Z and Beyoncé attended a peace concert in Baltimore by Prince and introduced themselves to both Michael Brown and Freddie Gray’s families during that time, according to Yahoo News.
The Carters also met Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, back in 2013 as they attended a New York rally demanding justice for the slain teen who died after being shot by volunteer neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman.
Then there are the many charitable causes that the Carters have tried to keep under wraps before the media finally did enough digging to expose their philanthropic endeavors.
Last year reports surfaced that Beyoncé had actually spent roughly $7 million on a housing project in Houston that provided comfortable living spaces for the city’s homeless. The money has also helped fund housing efforts for other low-income families in the Houston area.
Additionally, Jay Z has been one of the few Black stars to use his celebrity to go beyond Twitter discussions and social media postings. With his type of clout, Jay Z has more than popularity—he actually has an amount of power that isn’t matched by many in the same arena.
Back in December he sat down with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to discuss issues with the criminal justice system and make a push for much-needed reform.
He has helped pay for Sean Bell’s children’s education after Bell was fatally shot by police on his wedding day back in 2006.
All this goes without mentioning the couples’ different organizations and foundations that have had profound impacts on their communities.
Jay Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation was launched back in 2003 and since then, according to the website, has provided well over $2 million in scholarships to students facing financial challenges that could have barred them from furthering their education.
But this is a background that is rarely discussed when people think of the Carter family. The relatively private couple fails to disclose much information about their personal lives or private spending to the public but they also never seem to be too bothered by the ill informed backlash.
Jay Z’s much discussed track “Nickels and Dimes” delves into this topic of philanthropy, the psychology behind it and the criticism he often faces from those who insist he isn’t doing enough.
“You don’t know all the s**t I do for the homies,” he raps on the song.
He closes out the track by stating that the “greatest form of giving is anonymous to anonymous.”
Perhaps he and his wife are simply living by those words.
