According to a press release shared with AfroTech, the campaign is designed to encourage action and advance the progress of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #3: Good Health and Wellbeing.

In addition, the wellness campaign will amplify the voices of nonprofit leaders, luminaries, and some of Hip-Hop’s most prominent names and storytellers backed by the power of technology.

The program was announced during the panel discussion, “The Mental Health Crisis is an Everyone Crisis: The Role of Brand + Culture,” moderated by Madison Slinker, Head of Brand Marketing at Salesforce.org at the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity 2022. Featured panelists were James Cuthbert, President of Rock The Bells, and Grammy-award-winning artist Michelle Williams.

“In 1973, when Hip-Hop culture was born, you think about the level of oppression and all the things that were going on. Hip-Hop was born out of the need for Black folks to have a voice, whether it was Grandmaster Flash, Queen Latifah, and Self Destruction,” Cuthbert told AfroTech exclusively. “Now, fast forward to today, with the amount of people talking honestly about suicide and how they’re feeling, mental health topics have spiked within Hip-Hop music overall. It is a no-brainer for Rock The Bells to join Salesforce, which has amazing partners and different resources for people, and Michelle Williams, who has dedicated a lot of their life toward helping people find their way around mental health.”

“Whether it’s a song lyric, a photograph or the creativity expressed in a music video, Hip-Hop is the dominant catalyst for cultural waves and social change,” said Cristina Jones, Chief Engagement Officer of Salesforce.org, according to a press release. “Collaborating with Rock The Bells to connect the power of Hip-Hop with the power of Salesforce.org’s mission to drive positive social impact through technology will hopefully spark and scale conversations around the importance of our collective mental wellness. This partnership will shine a light on the communities, artists, and individuals who are at the forefront of creating space, conversations, and resources around mental wellness and continue to prove that unprecedented collaboration is required to help solve unprecedented challenges.”

Salesforce.org

All results