LEGO Is Donating $4 Million To Organizations Educating Children On Racial Inequality

Big corporations across the country are taking momentous stands in the fight against racism, toy companies included. For instance, LEGO announced it will donate $4 million to organizations dedicated to educating children about racial inequality and those supporting Black communities as the nation continues to protest in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.

"We stand with the Black community against racism and inequality. There is much to do," LEGO said in a statement on Twitter on Wednesday. "We will donate $4 million to organizations dedicated to supporting black children and educating all children about racial inequality."

Earlier this week, the company made headlines after it had reportedly asked affiliate marketers to pause promotion on a "selection" of LEGO products that featured the White House and police buildings, according to an email obtained by the Toy Book. In a statement to CNBC, LEGO clarified that the company did not pull any actual toys and "intent of the email was to ask that they pause promoting and marketing a selection of Lego products on their sites."

"We’ve seen incorrect reports saying we’ve removed some LEGO sets from sale," LEGO said in a statement on Twitter. "To be clear, that is not the case and reports otherwise are false. Our intention was to temporarily pause digital advertising in response to events in the US. We hope this clears things up."

The decision to pause promotion followed nearly a week of protests that erupted across the country following the death of Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a white officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes.

"There is no place for racism in our society," a LEGO spokesperson told CNBC. "Our mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow, and that includes inspiring them to be tolerant, inclusive and kind."

LEGO is one of many companies putting real effort into the #BlackLivesMatter movement. For instance, the Pokémon Company announced on Wednesday that it would be donating $200,000 to #BlackLivesMatter and the NAACP. Meanwhile, Disney also pledged to donate $5 million to organizations fighting for social justice.

Standing in solidarity and donations are important, but so is visibility and putting monetary support behind #BlackLivesMatter. Although LEGO did not elaborate on where exactly it would be donating, there are many organizations fighting for racial justice and uplifting Black families you can support as well.