Erykah Badu Donating Concert Proceeds to Help Process Untested Rape Kits

In 2009, over 11,000 untested rape kits were found in a Detroit police warehouse. As of March, approximately 10,000 of the kits have been tested, but each remaining kit costs $490 to process. A local organization called Enough SAID (Sexual Assault in Detroit) has been raising money to test the 1,000-plus kits left. Erykah Badu has now announced that she is partnering with the Right Productions to donate to the African American 490 Challenge–a partner organization named for the $490 cost of the kits–to help complete testing, the Detroit Free Press reports.

On August 12, Badu will perform at Detroit’s Chene Park Amphitheatre with Hiatus Kaiyote. According to Shahida Mausi (president and CEO of the Right Productions), the 490 Challenge will receive $5 from each ticket sale, as well as the proceeds from a $100-per-ticket pre-show reception and $1,000-per-person VIP reception with Badu after the concert. “Together, we stand for justice,” Mausi said of Badu’s involvement. “We are honored to make Chene Park the site for great artistry supporting a great mission.”

In a statement, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy, who has worked to raise money for years, said:

This is a huge day for Enough SAID/AA490. Everyone knows that Erykah Badu is a major, major talent in the music and song-writing industry. For her to lend her name, talent and time to this work is nothing short of a miracle. Justice for these forgotten sexual assault victims has been given a phenomenal assist.

490 Challenge president Kim Trent said:

It should come as no surprise that an artist with Erykah Badu’s impressive history of social consciousness would join forces with the black women leaders of Detroit to address this important social issue. We are very excited that she is lending her considerable talent to our cause.

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