Following her being a temporary Airbnb host through Valentine’s Day weekend, according to our sister site Travel Noire, Issa Rae has joined the company for a new initiative to support South LA.
According to a press release, the Inglewood native has partnered with Airbnb, along with Nasdaq, to announce a $100,000 donation to LeadersUp, a nonprofit organization that works to help create an inclusive, antiracist economy — per its website.
The press release shares that the new donation will go toward creating an impact fund for South LA residents to be provided access to educational, mental health and wellness, and technological resources. The collaborative effort to support underrepresented communities is also financially assisting LA-based organizations Central Neighborhood Health Foundation and Brotherhood Crusade.
A press statement from LeadersUp CEO Jeffery Wallace:
“We are sincerely grateful to Airbnb and Nasdaq for including LeadersUp in this grant to advance inclusive growth and prosperity and to empower under-represented communities in their efforts to generate wealth. This level of investment speaks volumes to the value and importance of our work in this community and amongst BIPOC talent in our markets nationally. The partnership with Issa Rae, during Superbowl LVI weekend–when the eyes of the nation and beyond are focused on South LA–further speaks to the importance of highlighting and increasing the visibility of our work of bridging the divide between the diverse talent of tomorrow and forward thinking employers.”
LeadersUp Is For The Community
In December 2021, LeadersUp partnered with NBA star Russell Westbrook to help provide South LA youth with career resources, as previously reported by AfroTech.
Teaming up with the South LA native is just one of the nonprofit’s collaborations that aim to help the community prosper.
“We shouldn’t be the exceptions of our community, we should be the actual standard where young adults of color have the space, the social capital, and the access points to maximize their potential,” Wallace told AfroTech. “It’s our vision being LeadersUp in order for young people of color to do this in America. We really fundamentally have built an antiracist economy.”
