Russ is doing his part to raise money for the Black Lives Matter movement amidst nationwide protests against the unjust police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. On Twitter, the Shake The Snow Globe rapper announced his plans to reissue a 2017 t-shirt with 100 percent of the proceeds going to benefit Black Lives Matter. The shirt includes a message that reads, “If you want to change the system speak up, white silence is pro racism.”
“Gonna sell this and donate all the money,” Russ tweeted on Friday (May 29), along with a picture of himself wearing the shirt.
By Monday (June 1), Russ tweeted that sales from the item had already raised $211,568, with the New Jersey native challenging his fans to “raise a million [dollars] off one shirt for Black Lives Matter.”
A description about the shirt on the KidSuper Studios website explains that it was designed after Russ had “hit a million followers,” and was contemplating what to wear to his performances at “five major festivals.”
“This was the first time Russ really had a huge platform and we thought let’s make some shirts that can actually make a difference,” the site reads. “We came up with 5 shirt ideas, this was one of them… be on the right side of history.”
“Police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck for 8 mins and 46 seconds,” the description adds. According to the website, t-shirt orders will be shipped next Thursday (June 11).
In the days following Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, several hip hop artists and fans have also contributed to the Minneapolis Freedom Fund, which is working to ensure bail for Minneapolis protestors that have been arrested, as well as several other localized social justice efforts. Likewise, Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp foundation has also offered to cover the legal fees of Minneapolis protestors who have been arrested.
Purchase Russ’ shirt here and see his tweet below.