Everyone is watching the rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. No matter whose side you fall on, this moment is music history. Rap and hip-hop are mainstays of Black culture, but what you may not know is who is profiting from this cultural moment. 

Meet billionaire Bill Ackman, a man who inherited much of his wealth and is now a major shareholder and board member at Universal Music Group, the company that manages both Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Ackman is funding neo-segregationist campaigns nationwide, fighting to remove Black people from their hard-earned positions, cozying up to, and even amplifying, racists like Stephen Miller and Chris Rufo who are working to dismantle the Civil Rights Act, and even funding extremist groups associated with the violent mobs who attacked UCLA students legally exercising their First Amendment rights.

For too long, Black voices and Black art have been appropriated for profit by those who care more about lining their pockets than they do about justice for all. Color Of Change is calling on UMG’s shareholders to vote to remove Bill Ackman from their Board of Directors at their May 16th shareholder meeting. Together, we can demand change. Join Color Of Change in calling for Ackman’s removal to protect Black music, Black culture, and the future.

Here is the Petition:

Billionaire Bill Ackman, shareholder and board member at Universal Music Group, is funding neo-segregationist campaigns nationwide. He is using his money and influence to remove Black people from their hard-earned positions and amplify racists like Stephen Miller and Chris Rufo who are working to dismantle the Civil Rights Act. That’s why I’m calling on UMG shareholders like you to remove Bill Ackman from UMG’s Board of Directors.

Universal Music Group’s Taskforce for Meaningful Change, a taskforce formed in 2020 to combat racial bias and improve racial equity within and outside UMG, “works to amplify and expand UMG’s current programs, devise new initiatives and support marginalized communities in the ongoing fight for equality, justice and inclusion.” As a UMG representative, a board member, and a member of the Nominations Committee, Ackman has become the public face of efforts to entrench the unfair advantages white people have in our workplaces and schools in opposition to the best interests of UMG and its artists, partners, and stakeholders. Ackman’s association with UMG will ultimately have dire effects on its status as a leading global music publisher. 

UMG prides itself on promoting diversity and inclusion within the music industry and has created a standard that its artists and other stakeholders expect UMG to maintain. However, Mr. Ackman’s efforts to undermine practices meant to address discrimination and inequality and his associations with neo-segregationists who would see our most vital civil rights laws overturned fly in the face of UMG’s values and risk its profitability.

I am calling on UMG shareholders like you to vote to remove Bill Ackman from UMG’s Board of Directors at your May 16th meeting. Together, we can create positive change.