Six months after the death of Mike Brown, protesters and activists in Ferguson are still going strong and rapper Talib Kweli and his Action Support Committee have taken notice.
Back in October, Kweli along with Tef Poe, Tory Russell, Donna Dragotta and Autumn Marie launched an Indiegogo crowd funding campaign, the Ferguson Defense Fund, to offer support to those who had been protesting for over 60 days and fighting against heavy resistance from Ferguson and St. Louis police.
They started the campaign with hopes of raising $25,000 but have surpassed that goal tremendously, raising a total of $112, 052.
“These are young men and women who have put their lives on hold to stand up for all of our freedoms,” Kweli said. “The overly militarized police force in Ferguson has attempted to criminalize them by harassing and throwing them in jail for exercising their right to peaceful protest. We hope these funds help to empower.”
The first wave of grants will be distributed Feb. 13th to organizations including the Jail & Bail Fund, Artists As Tutors, Revolutionary Reading Program: Freedom Fighters, Tech Impact Initiative: Hands Up United, The Transitional Housing Program, The Bereavement Fund and Juventud Raza Unida: Latinos En Axion STL.