Pop superstar Lizzo has donated to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute in honour of Pride Month and Juneteenth.
In a short Instagram video, the About Damn Time singer announced she would be giving $50,000 to the LGBTQ+ organisation as part of her Juneteenth Giveback campaign.
“That’s right, we know who Marsha P. Johnson is. We know what Marsha P Johnson has done for the LGBTQ, emphasis on the TQ, community,” she said.
“So, what the Marsha P Johnson Institue does is protect and defend the human rights of Black transgender people. They do this by organising community, advocating for the people, creating an intentional healing community, developing transformative leadership, and promoting collective power.
“The Marsha P Johnson Insitute was founded in direct response to the nationwide and vastly underreported epidemic of the murders of Black trans women. The violent and preventable nature these deaths directly connects to the exclusion of Black trans people from social justice issues, namely racial, gender, reproductive justice, as well as gun violence reform.”
Towards the end of her statement, Lizzo thanked the organisation for their tireless work of protecting the Black trans community.
In addition to the Marsha P. Johnson Insitute, the 2 Be Loved singer also donated to Black Girls Smile, Sphinx Music, the University of Houston and Save Our Sisters United as part of her aforementioned program.
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During her incredible life, Marsha was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969, which is credited with kickstarting the modern fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States, and a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front.
She also devoted herself to being an outspoken advocate for trans people of colour, and established STAR (Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries) alongside fellow activist Sylvia Rivera to help homeless transgender youth in New York City.
In 1992, at the age of 46, the groundbreaking figure was found dead in the Hudson River, which police ruled as a suicide. However, Marsha’s friends believe that she was murdered.
Lizzo’s heartwarming donation comes a few weeks after she delivered an empowering speech condemning the rise of anti-trans legislation across the US.
“Anybody who comes to a Lizzo show should know that I am for people to have the right to healthcare, reproductive and gender-affirming. There’s times I get very political, and as adults, we feel it,” she exclaimed during her The Special 2our performance in Nebraska.
“But there’s children here tonight. And it really breaks my heart that there are young people growing up in a world that doesn’t protect them. So let me be your safe space tonight.”
Lizzo went on to tell attendees not to let anyone or any law dictate who they are.
“I see you. You are valid. You deserve to be here in every form. You contain multitudes. These laws are not real. You are what’s real, and you deserve to be protected,” she added.
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