Lizzo Says Doing One Act of Anti-Racism Every Day Is ‘the New Bare Minimum’

Continuing to speak truth to power, and to her millions of followers, musician Lizzo has challenged allies of the Black Lives Matter movement to do one intentional act of anti-racism per day.

In a video posted April 15, Lizzo speaks straight to the camera, explaining, “Racism isn’t a black-and-white photo or an antiquated idea. It’s a system that is very well alive today and works really well in this country. And I know that’s a tough pill to swallow, so here’s another one. Putting ‘BLM’ in your bio and posting a black square is no longer the bare minimum.

“You have to do an intentional act of anti-racism every single day,” she says, and helps those new to the work understand her meaning, continuing, “What’s an intentional act of anti-racism? Well, have you donated to bail out a protestor? Have you bought from a Black business? An Asian business? Have you bought from any person of color today? Have you seen someone getting harassed for the color of their skin and intentionally went over there and stopped it? Have you educated yourself?”

“This is the new bare minimum, everybody,” she states. “Maybe it won’t make the biggest change in the world, but one change in your life can change your mind and maybe save someone’s life.” 

She captioned the video, “Hey, allies! Have you done your Intentional Act of Anti-Racism today? ❤️ this is the new bare minimum. Try and make a positive change today for someone else.”

“It’s not that hard to see,” Lizzo said in June 2020 about America’s inherent racism. “The people that don’t see it don’t want to see it. I don’t have sympathy for people who don’t see it anymore. Black people are tired. We are so tired.”

If you’d like to start today’s intentional act of anti-racism right now, take a look at these 52 Black-owned businesses and these 10 products that support the AAPI community.