Google Gives $1 Million for Justice and Shines Light on Dark History of Lynching

Google announced on Wednesday that it is donating $1 million to the social organization, Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) and the launch of a new digital platform that focuses on the dark history of the lynching of African Americans.

The new site is based off of EJI’s Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror document. It features narratives from the descendants of blacks lynched in America as recently as the ’50s. An interactive map is also on the site, displaying lynching statistics by state and county.

From Google’s blog post:

Lynching in America is meant to motivate a conversation. We hope that you’ll not only visit this site but share its stories with others, and—as simple as it sounds—talk about it. As Bryan Stevenson says, “I don’t think we can create a generation of people in this country who are truly free, who are unburdened by this legacy and this history of racial terror, until we do the hard work of truth-telling.” In bringing EJI’s work to a wider audience, we hope to give all of us an opportunity to address our past and be part of the work of building a more just and equitable future.

The search engine titan has a history of donating to causes that promote social justice. In February, Google provided provide $11.5 million in new funding to 10 racial justice organizations including the Center for Policing Equity, Impact Justice, and Center for Employment Opportunities—one of several groups funded that work on supplying the previously incarcerated with marketable job skills.

Since 2015, Google.org has committed more than $5 million to nonprofits advancing racial justice. The foundation also gave Black Lives Matter half a million dollars in funding last year.