Chris Brown and Jhené Aiko give back. The singers are joining athlete-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick’s million-dollar pledge and his “10 for 10” initiative, which has featured other celebrities matching his $10,000 donations to various charities.
Following contributions from Snoop Dogg, T.I., Serena Williams, actor Jesse Williams, and NBA stars Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, Breezy and Penny supplied $10,000 apiece for School on Wheels in Los Angeles.
Aiko kicked this off with her donation. “I’m super excited to join the 10 for 10,” she said in a video. “Colin’s work throughout the years has really inspired me to be involved and give back. I hope everyone watching is inspired to do the same. Thank you Colin, for being a great example.”
Shortly after this, Kap revealed that Breezy reached out. “When @chrisbrown heard about my #MillionDollarPledge – he called & said he wanted to donate $10k to @SchoolsOnWheels too,” Kap tweeted. “Thank you, Chris, for donating to our community. When we all work together, there is no limit to what we can accomplish! … Now we can donate $30k to them to continue to help the over 2.5 million homeless children in the US!”
This is all part of Kap’s million-dollar pledge and it isn’t over. He still has $30,000 to donate to different causes. Other celebrities are expected to join him in giving back.
Along with the likes of J. Cole, JAY-Z, and Cardi B, Brown has been a vocal supporter of Kap throughout the controversy, which the former quarterback believes got him blackballed from the league. In October, Breezy said that his respect for Kaepernick wouldn’t allow him to perform at the Super Bowl.
“Colin Kaepernick is like my brother,” he explained. “I’m gonna ride with him. I don’t get into politics because you already know it’s bullshit. It’s worse than ‘Love & Hip Hop.’ For Congress and whoever that can really impeach people that are really fucking up this country, for them not to do anything, then you know they’re agreeing with it. So the politics behind that, I probably would just say no because they’re not fucking with Kaepernick. I’d tell them no.”
Kaepernick announced the pledge in 2016, after he started a silent protest during the national anthem. At the time, he said he would not honor “a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” He said that he would add financial support to various organizations in the wake of the attention his protest received.
“I am planning to take it a step further,” he said. “I’m currently working with organizations to be involved, and making sure I’m actively in these communities, as well as donating the first million dollars I make this year to different organizations to help these communities and help these people.”