A button to launch the Netflix app on a remote control is seen in this photo illustration in Warsaw, Poland on April 25, 2019.
Jaap Arriens | NurPhoto | fake pictures
Netflix announced Tuesday that it will begin putting 2% of its cash holdings in financial institutions and organizations to “directly support black communities in the United States.”
The video streaming giant said in a blog post that its initial commitment will be up to $ 100 million.
In the first step to allocate that money, $ 25 million will be moved to a new fund called the Black Economic Development Initiative, investing in “black financial institutions that serve low and moderate income communities and black community development corporations in the United States. ” said.
He said $ 10 million will go to Hope Credit Union to boost economic opportunities in underserved communities across the Deep South.
“Over the next two years, HOPE estimates that the Netflix deposit will support financing to more than 2,500 entrepreneurs, home buyers and consumers of color,” the company said.
The initiative follows the protest for the police murder of George Floyd last month in Minneapolis. Many companies have been announcing donations and action plans to heed the call in national protests to eliminate racial injustices and inequalities.
Aaron Mitchell, director of talent acquisition at Netflix, proposed the idea to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. Mitchell teamed up with Netflix Treasury Director Shannon Alwyn to collect the $ 100 million pledge in a few weeks.
In Tuesday’s blog post, Mitchell and Alwyn said: “19% of black families have negative wealth or no assets, compared to just 9% of white households, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Black banks have been around to fight this for generations, spurring economic growth by spreading credit in often underbanked communities, but they are at a disadvantage in their access to capital, especially from large multinational companies, compared to others. banks “.
The plan comes almost two weeks after Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, donated $ 120 million to historically black colleges and universities. Hastings has awarded millions of funds to charter schools and in 2016 started a $ 100 million philanthropic fund for children’s education.
On Monday, Netflix announced a six-episode drama series “Colin in Black and White,” which looks at former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s experiences as a teenager who shaped his defense. Kaepernick collaborated with Emmy-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay on the project.
Born to a white mother and a black father, Kaepernick was adopted in Wisconsin by a white couple who moved to California as a child.
“We seek to give a new perspective to the different realities that blacks face,” Kaepernick said in a statement. “We explored the racial conflicts that I faced as an adopted black man in a white community during my high school years.”
– Associated Press contributed to this report.
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