YouTube announced on Monday that it is donating $1 million to the non-profit Center for Policing Equity. This is YouTube’s response to the ongoing protests across the US, that really escalated over the weekend following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last week.
The YouTube Twitter account noted that it is donating “in support of efforts to address social injustice.” And did not specifically mention the unrest in the US right now.
Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was charged for the third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter of Floyd. This was after a video surfaced, showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck, as three other officers looked on. Those three officers have not been taken into custody yet.
What is the Center for Policing Equity?
The Center for Policing Equity is a non-profit research think tank. Which is made up of research scientists and race and equity experts. It works with police departments using data to address and change discriminatory practices.
It’s a good non-profit to donate to, and YouTube is encouraging others to donate as well.
In the past, YouTube has come under fire for allowing racist and extremist content on its platform. YouTube isn’t perfect, but last June, it banned videos promoting the superiority of any group as a justification for discrimination against others based on different things.
YouTube can definitely afford to donate this kind of money to the Center for Policing Equity, since its revenue in the first quarter of the year as $4 billon. And its parent company, Alphabet’s revenue was $41.2 billion., with $6.8 billion in profit.
Many companies are being forced to do something about these demonstrations
This isn’t the first time we have seen protests in the US, about police brutality. And honestly, it likely won’t be the last. Normally, companies and creators don’t come out making a statement about this though. However this time is different.
We have seen a number of companies, creators and even sports teams come out making a statement about how they agree with the protestors. In fact, in some States, the police even protested with the citizens. This has been an issue in the US for far too long, and maybe, just maybe, this time it’ll get some reform going on. And help stop the police brutality.
YouTube has put together a video about why they are donating to the Center for Policing Equity, which you can watch below. It’s a pretty short and simple video that gets the message across.