Rihanna Donates $15 Million to Climate Justice

Culture
Rihanna Fenty
Rihanna Fenty became Barbados' 11th national hero in Bridgetown, Barbados on Nov. 30, 2021. RANDY BROOKS / AFP via Getty Images

Rihanna is donating $15 million to organizations that champion climate justice

The singer is donating the money through her Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF), which she founded in 2012 to honor her grandparents Clara and Lionel Braithwaite, and describes itself as supporting climate resilience and justice in the U.S. and the Caribbean. 

“At the Clara Lionel Foundation, much of the work is rooted in the understanding that climate disasters, which are growing in frequency and intensity, do not impact all communities equally, with communities of color and island nations facing the brunt of climate change,” Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty said in a press release. “This is why CLF prioritizes both climate resilience and climate justice work across the U.S. and Caribbean.” 

Rihanna hails from the Caribbean island of Barbados, AP News reported. Her foundation’s focus on climate justice comes partly in response to a number of devastating hurricanes that have walloped the Caribbean in recent years, according to Global Citizen. The singer spoke out in support of the victims of Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico in 2017.

Her latest action comes in the form of grants are being funded with support from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s #StartSmall philanthropic initiative, and will go towards 18 grassroots organizations that focus on climate justice in the U.S. and the Caribbean. 

Examples, according to CLF, include the Solutions Project, which supports grassroots-level climate solutions; the Indigenous Environmental Network, which supports Indigenous tribes and communities in protecting sacred sites and natural resources; and the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, which works to track and improve environmental threats at the neighborhood level. The groups are led by and center on women, young people, Black, Indigenous, people of color and LGBTQIA+ communities. They are active in seven Caribbean countries and almost all 50 states. 

“CLF believes strongly that funders must build partnerships with organizations and acknowledge their deep understanding of what is necessary to achieve climate justice in their own communities,” CLF Executive Director Justine Lucas said in the press release. 

The other grant recipients are the Black Feminist Fund, Black Visions Collective, Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN), Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, Climate Justice Alliance, GirlsCARE, Helen’s Daughters, HEY Campaign (The Ashley Lashley Foundation), Hive Fund for Gender and Climate Justice, Integrated Health Outreach, Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), Native Movement, NDN Collective and the The Caribbean Climate Justice Project.

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