Kardinal Offishall, Universal Music Canada launch Black youth scholarship

Kardinal Offishall and employees at Universal Music Canada have banded together to launch a new scholarship program supporting Black high school students in their post-secondary education.

The Canadian record label says it's formed BLACK Label Coalition in partnership with the Pinball Clemons Foundation, an effort that will see Universal commit $250,000 to promising young Black leaders over the next five years.

Under the scholarship program, five students will receive up to $10,000 each from Universal to put toward their first year of post-secondary education.

The Clemons Foundation, which supports marginalized youth with a goal of entering the workforce, will cover the balance of the student's academic expenses, the record label says.

Universal says the idea came from its employees in the wake of Blackout Tuesday, a collective protest against racism and police brutality that swept through the music industry in June, in response to the killing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.

Jason Harrow, a Universal music executive also known as hip hop artist Kardinall Offishall, took a foundational role in establishing the BLACK Label Coalition which stands for Businesses Levelling Access to Change and Knowledge.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.