Where His Mouth Is: Kanye West Donates a Jaw-Dropping Fortune and Invests in George Floyd's 6-Yr-Old Daughter

AP featured image — FILE – In this Sept. 7, 2018, file photo, Kanye West attends the Ralph Lauren 50th Anniversary Event held at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park during New York Fashion Week in New York. West handed Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni a pair of his autographed sneakers on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, during a visit to the East African nation in which the rapper is said to be recording music in a tent. (Photo by Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP, File)

In a land of liberty, you should be free to spend your money as you please. And I can respect anyone who puts theirs where their mouth is.

For instance, if you’re a rich person who sides with financial equality through laws which take money from typical Americans, you only have to do one thing for me to respect your position: Give away all your and your household’s money. As well as your things — all that you have now, and all that you’d ever have otherwise.

Except — that is — for an amount similar to a typical U.S. household.

In 2018, the median household income was $63,179.

So if movie star X tells median Americans they should be adversely impacted by tax policy Y — and if that star earns $10 million per year — all they need to do is dump $9,936,821 annually and I’m all ears.

Otherwise, to me, their claims come off as comical.

And if I may say so, there’s a lot of people out there yukkin’ it up.

Yuck.

But rap star/cultural conundrum Kanye West isn’t being funny — he supports the families of Georgia shooting victim Ahmaud Arbery, Kentucky shooting victim Breonna Taylor, and recent Minnesota victim George Floyd.

And he’s not just paying lip service; he’s not merely tweeting a hashtag.

Kanye’s doing what I rarely see celebrities do in substantial form: He’s taking his cash and giving it away.

TMZ reports:

Kanye’s donated $2 million, so far, to the cause and set up a 529 college savings fund to fully cover tuition for Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter, Gianna. He’s also made a separate donation to cover the legal costs for the Arbery and Taylor families.

He’s also investing in business:

Along with that, a rep confirms Kanye’s donating to several black-owned businesses in his hometown of Chicago and nationwide that have been in crisis and impacted by the unrest in the U.S.

Kanye West has made a $2 million donation to support the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbrery and Breonna Taylor, along with black-owned businesses in crisis in his native Chicago, a representative for West says https://t.co/eqtUF9A4df

— CNN (@CNN) June 4, 2020

As I said, I can respect those who put their money where their mouths are. And Kanye’s doing just that.

He’s making an effort that’s constructive — meaning, it’s intended to build things. To make a positive change.

As we’re inundated by destruction as of late, here’s someone trying to do good.

One of the songs from West’s most recent best-selling Christian album is “Jesus Walks.” Well, in this case, so does Kanye. Rather than just talking.

And I applaud him, most of all for doing what can be taken seriously. If the man says he wants to help — unlike so many privileged purveyors of empty words — I can believe him.

-ALEX