"Anyone with a brain and access to Google could easily prove otherwise, but in the minds of the rock establishment, this pathology has to be upheld, pardon the phrase, by any means necessary."
So writes Willie Stiggers in a Rolling Stone op-ed about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's new mentorship program for black artists and music professionals.
The Hall of Fame and the Black Music Action Coalition are teaming up to create the BMAC Music Maker Guaranteed Income and Mentorship Program, which will provide $1,000 a month in financial support to artists and music professionals ages 18 to 30 who are African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, or women, Billboard reports.
The organizations say the program "requires a bold look at old systems that don't work and allows people to rise up as they see fit."
Candidates can apply starting Thursday, and the program will begin in February 2024, coinciding with Black History Month.
"The immeasurable contributions made by Black artists and executives have led to the growth and expansion of our music industry and impacts bottom lines globally," the Black Rock Coalition writes in its own op-ed.
"However those contributions have often been overlooked, appropriated, and misrepresented."
BMAC co-founder Willie Stiggers adds: "
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