Google has announced that it will be setting aside a whopping $2.35 million to support #BlackLivesMatter and other groups fighting systemic racism, as well as a number of groups that are addressing income inequality.
The money is coming from Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, and the organizations chosen are located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
"We hope to build on this work and contribute to this movement for racial justice," said Justin Steele, who leads the San Francisco Bay Area giving efforts for Google.org, in an interview with USA Today.
Google will be making an official announcement about its efforts during a screening of 3 ½ Minutes, Ten Bullets, a documentary that discusses the shooting of Jordan Davis, an 17-year-old unarmed black teenager who was gunned down in front of a Florida gas station in 2012.
The organizations that will receive the funds include the likes of the Ella Baker Center, which will receive two grants of $500,000 each, one for a program to develop an app that reports police violence and the other to train formerly incarcerated and low-wage workers for higher-paying jobs in the restaurant industry, while $750,000 will go to the Oakland Unified School District, where it will be put toward helping improve graduation rates in the city. Last but not least, the Silicon Valley De-Bug group will get $600,000, which is aimed at helping improve how at-risk communities in San Jose deal with the criminal justice system.
Google, among other large tech companies, has been drastically increasing its social awareness in the last few years. As part of this, the company is trying to diversify its staff along with donating money to organizations and groups that are fighting for social justice. Of course, money isn't the only thing that will help solve the problem, so while it's good to see the likes of Google helping these organizations, there is always more that can be done.
Via: The Verge
