ACADEMY PARTNERS WITH COLOR OF CHANGE

The Recording Academy has partnered with the nation's largest online racial justice organization, Color of Change, to promote positive social change within the music industry.

A month ago, the Academy announced it would make a $1m donation to Color of Change.

The organizations will work together to identify key opportunities to drive and influence change in the music industry, and will be dedicated to building power for black music creators and professionals. They will create a black music advisory group, a membership campaign focusing on the black music community to attract new voting members and partnership in advocacy and legislative efforts. They plan to hold an industrywide diversity and inclusion summit.

Additionally, Color of Change will advise on the development and implementation of the Academy’s previously announced Inclusion Rider and Toolkit, which will be introduced later this year.

"Music plays a profound role in shaping our culture, and Black music has been the cornerstone in the development of the world's dynamic soundscape," said Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for the Recording Academy. "The Recording Academy has entered a new chapter of transformative change, and we are honored to partner with Color of Change as we work together to set new standards to elevate black music creators and build a more diverse and equitable industry."

Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson said, "We look forward to building a long-term partnership with the Recording Academy and hope the work between our two membership-based non-profits will advance quickly accelerating changes in the industry."