Rapper, fashion designer and mogul Kanye West made a huge donation of $2 million in honor of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, the woman and two black men who were killed in separate incidents this year at the hands of police officers.
Arbery, was an unarmed 25-year-old black man, killed on February 23 by two white residents while jogging in Georgia. Taylor, was a 26-year-old black woman who was shot and killed by police on March 13 in her Louisville, Kentucky, home.
According to Entertainment Tonight the donation is meant to help support the families and legal team for Arbery and Taylor. West also created a college fund for Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter Gianna. The Chicago native made additional donations to several black-owned businesses in his hometown and nationwide in crisis during the protests.
The rapper was spotted at a march in his hometown on Thursday. West was in attendance with hundreds of Chicago Public Schools students and others. The demonstration was organized by Ja’Mal Green to protest CPS’s $33 million contract with the police department according to ABC 7 News.
One protestor Essence Gatheright talked about how the school district “couldn’t properly support the teachers.” “CTU had to go on strike for two weeks because our schools weren’t funded properly.” Another protester China Smith, said instead of funding the police the money should be reinvested elsewhere. “Why are there officers in my school and we don’t have enough social workers? Why are there officers in my school and we have to share counselors for a whole class of 2020?”
West’s wife, Kim Kardashian West, also made a contribution by offering to pay one protester’s medical bill after her face was permanently damaged from a rubber bullet shot by a police officer during a protest in honor of Floyd.