Inside Sony Music
- Looking Back at SMG’s Week of Action
- Jun 03, 2021
In recognition of the one-year anniversary of Sony Music Group’s Global Social Justice Fund, the Company hosted a “Week of Action” employee education series that included live, virtual conversations to shine a light on the work of multiple philanthropic partners making an impact in the civic engagement, criminal justice reform and education space. The goal of the discussions? Reminding everyone of the importance of supporting racial initiatives and advocacy efforts to push for real change around the world.
So who joined us for these events?
On May 25, we were joined by a number of our global criminal justice reform partners to address the importance of reforming police practices, improving law enforcement accountability, as well as transforming our safety infrastructure to one of community investment and well-being. Together with the Advancement Project, Center for Policing Equity, the DOE Fund and Key4Life — moderated by Elliot Williams — SMG employees were given the opportunity to listen to a lively and impassioned discussion surrounding local policies and issues that disproportionately impact Black communities and other communities of color.
The following week, to kick off Black Music Month on June 1, we hosted our international education partners including Fondo Gudalupe Musalem (Mexico), Turning Tables (Germany), Small Green Shoots (UK), WOMB (Africa) and Young Urbans Arts Foundation (UK) to spotlight how their organizations are helping to build necessary infrastructure for music education. Led by Peter Zamora, the global conversation highlighted our partner’s educational initiatives designed to strengthen and build opportunities for under-resourced communities. From Mexico and Johannesburg, to Germany and the UK, our participants explained how their respective organizations are building curriculums, setting competencies, and training the next generation of young people to succeed in the next phase of their life.
24-hours later, on June 2, we held a fireside chat with our civic engagement, nonpartisan partners to reinforce the importance of voting and making a difference in communities across the U.S. Taking a page from our November 2020 campaign – Your Voice, Your Power, Your Vote – the discussion focused on educating and offering resources to empower voters to affect change by getting to the polls. With heavy-hitters including APIA Vote, Campaign Legal Center, National Black Justice Coalition, Rock the Vote and Voto Latino, brought together by Alaina Beverly, the conversation reinforced the need to stand up for democratic principles and ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to make their voice heard. With law makers across the country pushing voter suppression bills that disproportionally affect vulnerable populations, it’s more important than ever to work with our partners to learn how to protect our rights.
And the conversations didn’t stop there. One hour later, to wrap up our “Week of Action” series — in collaboration with HUE — all employees were invited to a forum to commemorate a year since we paused the show for racial injustice and inequality.
A big thank you to the Philanthropy and Social Impact Office, our Global Social Justice Fund partners for their collaboration and participation, and to all of our colleagues who tuned in to learn more about our Company’s commitment to playing an active role in condemning intolerance and supporting calls for change and racial justice worldwide.
