John Legend Announces A New Initiative To Fight Systemic Racism
John Legend is behind a project to help communities who struggle with institutionalized racism.
According to a press release, HUMANLEVEL is a new initiative that will join the forces of elected officials and community members.
Legend said in a statement, “We’ve started an initiative called HUMANLEVEL where local governments have invited us to work on specific projects to make their communities stronger and more equitable. Many of the problems our country faces today are difficult to address at the federal level. Many issues are really at the doorstep of your mayor, your county council, and your community leaders coming together to answer questions about how we can support each other, keep each other safe, and rebuild our country in a way that truly includes everyone.”
In partnership with FUSE Corps, the national initiative includes an executive fellowship program and a national nonprofit that will place executive fellows in 11 communities: Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Durham, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Oakland, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.
The fellows, according to the release, will work with local communities to develop strategic impact projects designed to address immediate needs while working toward sustainable and equitable policies in health, education, criminal justice and more.
“Our goal with this partnership is to take a deeper look at the issues from a human level, with a focus on actions city leaders can take to tackle systemic racism,” Legend said. “No single solution will fix the racial and ethnic disparities we see across issues—from housing to education to the workforce—but we must approach this work with a sense of collaboration and urgency.”
