On Saturday July 4, Fortnite will host to a presentation by Øpus United called We The People. The video is a series of conversations between host Van Jones and several prominent Black writers, musicians, activists, and visionaries.
We The People features former Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth, The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill, activist and musician Killer Mike, and hip hop artist Lil Baby discussing their ideas of how to address systemic racism. They’ll be discussing its various impacts on culture, media, and entertainment, and what everyone can do to help fight back against it.
Massive protests spread around the world after Minneapolis police officers killed George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who had been accused of using a counterfeit note to buy cigarettes. The resulting movement has inspired many organisations – including our own – to reflect on how to be actively anti-racist. Fortnite hosting a conversation about race may have sounded strange a year ago, but given the events of the last months of pandemic and protest, a platform as huge as Party Royale may in fact be an excellent venue for a public discussion like this.
Here’s a preview for We The People:
You can tune into the full conversation by hopping into Fortnite’s Party Royale July 4 before 8:46 a.m. CDT (that’s 14:46 BST / 9:46 EDT). The specific time is a reference to the eight minutes and forty-six seconds that a police officer knelt on Floyd’s neck before he died. The video will be rebroadcast every other hour for the following 24 hours in Party Royale.
If you’re interested in helping out further, we have a collection of helpful Black Lives Matter links collected here. You’ll find charities, petitions to sign, and reading material that all can help advance the cause of anti-racism.