Rap star Stormzy pledges £10 million to tackling racial inequality in the UK

BRITISH rap star Stormzy has pledged £10 million to tackling racial inequality in the UK.

The donation will go towards “organisations, charities and movements that are committed to fighting racial inequality, justice reform and black empowerment.”

The three-time BRIT Award winner said he will make the donation over the next decade.

“We have to fight against the odds of a racist system stacked against us and designed for us to fail from before we are even born,” the 26-year-old said in a statement.

“The uncomfortable truth that our country continuously fails to recognise and admit, is that black people in the UK have been at a constant disadvantage in every aspect of life – simply due to the colour of our skin.

“I’m lucky enough to be in the position I’m in and I’ve heard people often dismiss the idea of racism existing in Britain by saying ‘If the country’s so racist how have you become a success?!’ and I reject that with this: I am not the UK’s shining example of what supposedly happens when a black person works hard.

Stormzy’s donation comes after he took part in a Black Lives Matter anti-racism protest in London last weekend.

The grime artist, real name Michael Omari Owuo Jr, has frequently spoken out on social and political issues. He has also funded black British students at Cambridge University and has publishing imprint Merky Books in partnership with publishing house Penguin to promote and encourage young writers.