Birmingham born metal legends Black Sabbath have taken their stance in the fight against injustice and equality by releasing an exclusive t-shirt, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, in which all proceeds will be going straight to Black Lives Matter.  

The attention-grabbing t-shirts can be pre-ordered right now and will be sold at $25 each. They can be ordered from anywhere in the world, with orders being shipped out from the band’s official website from mid-July. The artwork takes inspiration from Black Sabbath’s third notorious album ‘Master of Reality’, which was released in 1971. Black Sabbath have tastefully transformed their artwork to read the powerful message Black Lives Matter in solidarity with the movement.

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#BlackLivesMatter 100% of the proceeds to @BlkLivesMatter https://blacksabbathapparelshop.com/

A post shared by Black Sabbath (@blacksabbath) on Jun 16, 2020 at 9:24am PDT

The inspiration for this one of a kind piece of merch was taken from none other than Rage Against The Machine’s founding member, Tom Morello, who was wearing the Tshirt with his mother in an Instagram post a week before.

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My 96 yr old mom has been a tireless advocate for Black Lives her whole life. From being a foreign student advisor at the Univ. of Illinois, to teaching in Kenya and supporting the anti-colonial movement there, to teaching African Studies and bringing a radical perspective to a white conservative high school for 30 yrs, to being a member of the Illinois Urban League and campaigning for civil rights, to helping homeless African American men get their GED at the Salvation Army, to telling anybody who came at our family with any racist garbage to go straight to hell, to arming me with pride & confidence, to being a lifelong proponent of racial justice and ruthless critic of racist police. Proud to stand with her today, as always, in solidarity in the fight for a more just and humane country & planet. (Photo by Rhoads Morello)

A post shared by Tom Morello (@tommorello) on Jun 7, 2020 at 5:58pm PDT

This is not the first time Black Sabbath have come forward in support of charitable and progressive causes. The band have come together recently when guitarist Tony Iommi raised over 19,000 euros in an auction to support the United Kingdom’s National Health Services during the Coronavirus pandemic. The Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler have also spoken out against animal abuse and have openly supported organisations like PETA.

Black Sabbath are not the first to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement, they are amongst a long list of many other artists and bands who have released merchandise with all proceeds being donated to the organisation following the death of George Floyd. The Story So Far, Fall Out Boy, Machine Gun Kelly, Knocked Loose, Dying Wish and Beartooth are just some of the famous who are actively donating to related Black Lives Matter charities. 

Pre Order your Black Sabbath t-shirt right here.

Check out Black Sabbath’s Children of the Grave, from Masters of Reality.

The tweet, shared on their official account @MassiveAttackUK, was published alongside another post declaring, “The elevation of a slave trader clashed badly with our civic identity,” displaying a powerful photograph of a Black protester wearing a #BlackLivesMatter face mask, pressing his knee into the statue’s neck. The pose mirrors that of the white police officer who had asphyxiated the unarmed Black man George Floyd for almost nine minutes, an act of police brutality that has caused outrage and widespread protest across the world this week.

Indeed it was in response to Floyd’s death that this particular protest centred on the Colston statue. A 17th century politician of historical significance to the city, it was at this time that his past misdemeanours could no longer be ignored. Reflecting on the recent events, Massive Attack further asserted, in an especially poignant and poetic flourish, “A philanthropy derived from crimes against humanity is as hollow as the statue itself.”

The elevation of a slave trader clashed badly with our civic identity.

A philanthropy derived from crimes against humanity is as hollow as the statue itself. #Colston pic.twitter.com/y3W4NON4Tp

— Massive Attack (@MassiveAttackUK) June 7, 2020

The legacy of Edward Colston had originally served as namesake of Bristol’s Colston Hall, which will now undergo a name change this coming autumn, according to the venue’s management team. The Hall has announced that the new name will “reflect the unity and joy that experiencing live music together brings.” Posting a lengthy series of tweets, they properly outlined the reasoning behind the historic venue’s name change.

It did address, however, previous controversy surrounding the venue’s name, revealing that “A new name was originally planned to be announced in Spring 2020, following a thorough and in-depth consultation process carried out with over 4,000 people from communities all across the city.”

Yet current events seem to have rapidly accelerated that timescale.

Wearing a black hoodie with the hood up, big sunglasses and his face covered with a blue and white bandana, the ‘Watermelon Sugar’ singer attended the demonstration. While some fans might’ve thought that this would be a rare opportunity to come close with their idol, most of Styles’ fans recognized that this is not the time and place to ask their favourite singer for a selfie. “Harry is protesting with his hood up, face covered and sunglasses on for a reason. he isn’t there for paparazzi. he isn’t there for people to ask for pictures. and please respect that if you are there”, one fan said on Twitter.

It seems like most of his fan base is aware of the fact that, just like his One Direction colleague Niall Horan who is planning to attend the London protest, Harry is not marching on the streets to meet thousands of fans: “harry styles and niall horan are not protesting to see their fans they are trying to use their privilege”, another fan tweeted.

REPEAT AFTER ME

harry styles and niall horan ARE NOT PROTESTING TO SEE THEIR FANS THEY ARE TRYING TO USE THEIR PRIVILEGE

— amy; #BLM (@homewithhoran) June 3, 2020

Harry’s beloved by his fans for his “treat people with kindness” motto, and the protests have shown once again that he’s living up to his mantra. A fan that has attended the Black Lives Matter demonstration has posted a thread on Twitter about her experience of encountering Harry at the protest. “Only in LA you’d find yourself kneeling in front of a gun then turn around and have Harry Styles hand you a water bottle”, she tells her story about demonstrating shoulder to shoulder with her favourite musician. She also posted a video in which she can be heard explaining to fellow protestors what to do in case they’re getting maced, to which Styles’ turns around and tells her “that’s the spirit!”

Heres Harry’s reaction to me explaining to everyone what to do if they get mazed “that’s the spirit” HE IS A KING pic.twitter.com/ZINPCtF1UQ

— Jacky (@Jacky_y) June 3, 2020

The singer and his friends were seen carrying posters with the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ written on them, just like many other protestors. In a video posted by one of his friends who was marching with the singer, Harry can be seen kneeling down in unison with the other protestors in attempt to raise awareness and honour George Floyd.

The footage of Styles’ at the protest comes after the musician (who usually barely posts on any kind of social media platform) took to his Twitter and Instagram where he explained in a post that he’s aware of his privilege. “ I do things every day without fear, because I am privileged, and I am privileged every day because I am white. Being not racist is not enough, we must be anti racist”, he said in his post in which he also encouraged his followers to help and educate themselves on the topic.

Harry with friends at the #BlackLivesMatter protest! (via amy_marietta & srilankansunshine) pic.twitter.com/Nwirn7eLO2

— Harry Styles Updates. (@TheHarryNews) June 3, 2020

Pinned at the top of their official Twitter page, @Spotify, the streaming giant presented a message of solidarity promising to “stand with the Black community,” assuring all that their employees, partners, signed artists and creators would be represented in “the fight against racism, injustice and inequality.”

pic.twitter.com/nmJR8E7ZQN

— Spotify (@Spotify) May 30, 2020

The changes made to the site include blacked-out cover images at the head of over a dozen of their “flagship playlists and podcasts,” as well as a temporary ceasing of social media publication in support of the need to upset the status quo. This interruption to standard operating service is a challenge to the ongoing institutional racism that has afflicted Black people in our society, and it is hoped that this disruptive action will draw attention to the need for change.

Spotify have also implemented within specific participating playlists and podcasts “an 8-minute, 46-second track of silence as a solemn acknowledgement for the length of time that George Floyd was suffocated.” Beyond this, the site aims to elevate Black voices onto a higher platform of influence through their Black History is Now hub, which they will position as a “a central resource and home for music, playlists, and podcasts.”

In closing, the statement asserts that “Now is not a time for silence, and Spotify stands with the Black community. As our support continues to evolve, we hope that these initial steps and actions will help push these conversations forward,” ushering in a legacy of lasting change.

After tweeting nonstop about the death of George Floyd and encouraging his fans to sign petitions, Yungblud announced on Twitter that he would be protesting. “see you at pan pacific park. bring your fuckin voice”, he tweeted on May 30, followed by a tweet made 10 hours ago, stating “see you in santa monica. keep shouting.” The singer attended the protest together with his musician ex-girlfriend Halsey. Halsey, real name Ashley Frangipane, got hit by a rubber bullet during the protest, sharing the shocking experiences on Twitter afterwards.

Yungblud also took to Twitter to applaud the singer for her brave courage: “i need to say halsey u were incredible today. u acted fearlessly and selflessly. u were so brave and inspirational. when innocent people were unlawfully wounded, u were there with a medical kit bandaging them up. u didn’t think about yourself for one moment. i am proud to know u.” He also shared an Instagram story of the protest in which the protestors are sitting on the street in front of the armed police men, when all of a sudden the vision gets blurry as Yungblud gets up to run away from the scene after what seems to be police starting to shoot.

yungblud standing on top of a car in the middle of the los angeles protests. this is what people with large platforms should be doing pic.twitter.com/wbXzxSKomo

— ً (@duasgay) May 30, 2020

In a video released a day before he first joined the demonstrations, the singer told his fans: “Racism is a subject that should not be strayed away from. Yes, I am a white person, and I have never felt oppressed for the colour of my skin. But I find when racism comes up as a subject, people become uncomfortable and feel like they have to keep their mouth shut. Now is not a time to keep your mouth shut. Now is a time for change. Black lives fucking matter. There is literally a war going on right now outside your doorstep, it’s not at the other side of the world, and it’s time for a change. Like this senseless hate needs to stop and we are the ones who can actually put a stop to it.”

Halsey later informed her fans in a detailed thread on Twitter about what happened to her and Yungblud at the protests. “fired rubber bullets at us. we did not breach the line. hands were up. unmoving. and they gassed and fired”, the singer tells her followers. And just like Yungblud thanked her for her courage, she also thanked him: And a big personal thank you to yungblud who literally ran exposed in front of rounds being shot to drag wounded people to safety without even thinking twice.”

The shocking video material from protests all across America have also left the rest of the world in shock. Though it definitely is a good thing that celebrities like Yungblud and Halsey are using their privileged status to help and protest, we hope that they’re staying safe.

do everything you can to keep this movement alive. keep talking, keep peacefully protesting, keep changing opinions. be on the true, right, side of history. fight for the good in this world.

— YUNGBLUD (@yungblud) June 1, 2020

Matty Healy was one of the musicians that spoke up, releasing a tweet that said “If you truly believe that ‘ALL LIVES MATTER’ you need to stop facilitating the end of black ones.” The tweet contained a link to a The 1975 song called ‘Love It If We Made It’, a song that talks about racism and police brutality. Due to the link being included in his tweet, the singer had to face a huge backlash of people accusing him of using the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement to promote the band’s music. The 1975 released their latest album ‘Notes on a Conditional Form’ last week, which made a lot of people think that the tweet was only made to gain more attention about the new record. The song linked in Healy’s tweet includes lyrics such as “We’re fucking in a car, shooting heroin. Saying controversial things just for the hell of it. Selling melanin and then suffocate the black men.”

Even though there a lot of people criticising him, the singer has also had a lot of fans defending him, saying that their beloved idol wanted nothing but raising awareness. Healy posted another tweet in which he apologised, after a lot of people criticised his previous tweet: “Sorry I did not link my song in that tweet to make it about me it’s just that the song is literally about this disgusting situation and speaks more eloquently than I can on Twitter.” After tweeting his apology, Matty Healy deleted his account.

‘Suffocate the black men’ is literally a lyric in the song. It’s heavily about the police brutality that exists in America. Educate yourselves you bunch of one direction fans. Matty Healy is doing more to influence change than your childish cancel culture. Try cancel real issues! pic.twitter.com/bnBMC9YhRm

— Mason (@IAmMaysonL) May 28, 2020

The officers involved have been fired, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced. The clip of the black man crying out for help and getting ignored has caused riots in the state, with many stores getting looted and even getting burned down. The video of George Floyd suffocating sparked international outrage on racism in the United States.