Kanye West Sets Up College Fund for George Floyd's Daughter, Donates Additional $2 Million

While Kanye West has not spoken publicly amid the Black Lives Matter movement, he has reportedly been donating behind the scenes.

By Samantha Schnurr Jun 04, 2020 9:45 PMTags
Kanye WestBrad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company

Kanye West has been working behind the scenes to contribute to the Black Lives Matter movement. 

While the outspoken rapper has not tweeted since early March, E! News confirms West donated $2 million in relation to the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and has been donating to several black-owned businesses in his Chicago hometown.  

West, a father of four, also set up a college savings fund to cover tuition for Floyd's 6-year-old daughter, Gianna. Floyd died on May 25 after police officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd to the ground using his knee on Floyd's neck during his arrest. Chauvin and three other officers involved in Floyd's arrest and resulting death have since been fired, arrested and charged in a criminal case

Additionally, West is helping cover legal costs for the families of Arbery, who was fatally shot while on a jog in February, and Taylor, who was killed in her home by police in March. 

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Stars Donating to Black Lives Matter Organizations

On Thursday evening, West joined protesters in Chicago. In video shared by NBC Chicago reporter Trina Orlando, West is seen among a large crowd of demonstrators. 

Late last month, his famous wife Kim Kardashian spoke out against the injustice in an Instagram post. 

"For years, with every horrific murder of an innocent Black man, woman, or child, I have always tried to find the right words to express my condolences and outrage, but the privilege I am afforded by the color of my skin has often left me feeling like this is not a fight that I can truly take on my own. Not today, not anymore," she said in her post.

"Like so many of you, I am angry. I am more than angry. I am infuriated and I am disgusted," the Skims mogul continued. "I am exhausted by the heartbreak I feel seeing mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children suffering because their loved one was murdered or locked away unjustly for being Black."

She added, "Even though I will never know the pain and suffering they have endured, or what it feels like to try to survive in a world plagued by systemic racism, I know I can use my own voice to help amplify those voices that have been muffled for too long."

On Thursday, Kardashian declared her and her teams' support of the movement and announced her businesses will be donating to Black Lives Matter, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Urban League and Color of Change. 

Meanwhile a GoFundMe campaign devoted to Gianna's "care and future" following the loss of her father has amassed more than $1.5 million in donations.