Black Hollywood stars skipping Oscars to attend #JusticeForFlint benefit

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While others are attending the #OscarsSoWhite, much of Black Hollywood is going to be somewhere else: Flint, Michigan.

According to Buzzfeed News, the event, called #JusticeForFlint, will be attended by the likes of comedian Hannibal Buress, Creed director and co-writer Ryan Coogler, singer Janelle Monae, Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams, Selma director Ava DuVernay.

“With the #JUSTICEFORFLINT benefit event we will give a voice to the members of the community who were the victims of the choices of people in power who are paid to protect them, as well as provide them with a night of entertainment, unity, and emotional healing,” Ryan Coogler told BuzzFeed News in a statement. “Through the live stream we will also give a chance for people around the world to participate, and to donate funds to programs for Flint’s youth.”

Coogler noted that the date of the event was chosen because it was the last day of Black History Month and that it was a coincidence that the Oscars also happened to fall on that date.

The event will take place at Whiting Auditorium and will also be live-streamed, with donations being accepted both at the event and via text. Members of the Flint community have also been invited to share their stories.