Drake may have been born and raised in Canada, but he stands in firm solidarity with those in the United States who are protesting George Floyd‘s death. He showed that by recently donating to National Bail Out, an organization that helps reunite families of prison inmates while working to end mass incarceration in the United States.
Nationwide, thousands of arrests have taken place following protests in several U.S. cities, in many cases with instances of looting and violence. The protests broke out days after the May 25 death of Floyd, a Black man who died at the hands of Derek Chauvin, then a Minneapolis police officer who held his knee on Floyd’s neck for well over eight minutes.
Drake made his donation after Canadian artist Mustafa the Poet gave $400 to National Bail Out, and asked the rapper as well as another famous entertainer from his country to do the same.
“My Toronto kings @champagnepapi and @theweeknd Swipe up & match my donation. But add three zeros! Let’s help reunite Black families,” wrote Mustafa on his Instagram Stories on Monday, June 1.
Drake posted his response about an hour later and showed that he gave $100,000 to the organization while writing, “@mustafathepoet say less brother.”
The “Hotline Bling” performer isn’t the only hip-hop artist to give money toward U.S. bailout funds during the protests for Floyd. Philadelphia rapper Tierra Whack donated to a freedom fund set up in her city.
Artists also gave to the Minnesota Freedom Fund after Chicago rapper Noname announced she gave $1,000 to the organization.
“We are in awe of the support coming through right now,” read a statement on The Minnesota Freedom Fund’s website. “We are working with National Lawyers Guild and Legal Rights Center to help bails that are set. There is an urgent need for supplies and support out in the field. Please connect to the groups doing the work – Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, and others.”
Drake’s donation comes after CNN’s Don Lemon urged more celebrities to help protesters by using their platforms.
“Yes, I’m calling you out, and you can be mad at me all you want, and what they’re doing, you’re sitting there and watching TV and you’re bitching about it, ” said Lemon on air, Saturday, May 30. “Get on television or do something and help these young people instead of sitting in your mansions and doing nothing.”
He added, “By me calling you out by name, that doesn’t mean I’m calling you out. That means I love you Ellen, that means I love you Oprah … I want to see you Tyler Perry, I want to see you Drake, I want to see you my friend Anthony Anderson. I want to see you Diddy, out there, doing this. I want to see you out there fighting for this.”
