Profits from gross sales of Minecraft and Minecraft Dungeons on digital shops in the present day shall be donated to a number of racial justice causes, in celebration of Juneteenth. The annual occasion on June 19th marks the day in 1865 {that a} Union military basic formally introduced in Texas that every one Texan slaves had been now free, and has grown to be celebrated countrywide. Mojang have additionally switched one of many teams they’re donating to, from the initially-announced Black Lives Matter Foundation to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. That’s… a complete story in itself, an costly case of mistaken identification.
“We stand in unwavering support of the Black community, denouncing the racism, oppression, and suffering endured by so many for too long,” Mojang mentioned in their announcement. “As a team, we’ve been listening, learning, and considering how we can contribute to the powerful movements pushing for equality and justice in the US and around the world – because Black lives matter.”
So, Mojang’s income from digital gross sales of Minecraft, Minecraft Dungeons, and Minecraft Marketplace content material from 8am in the present day (midnight Pacific) to 7:59am tomorrow (11:50pm Pacific) shall be donated to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Equal Justice Initiative, and The NAACP Legal Defense And Education Fund. They word that some shops, like Amazon, are waiving their royalty charges so extra will come to Mojang to get donated. Basically, you get a game in return for a donation (minus a lower from some shops, which isn’t nice).
Minecraft is available on PC, cell, so many consoles, and extra, costing £18-£25 on PC relying on which version you get. Dungeons is on PC and consoles too for £17. Our Minecraft Dungeons review known as the action-RPG spin-off “really fun” so perhaps value a glance.
Mojang’s initial announcement on June fifth mentioned one of many teams they’d donate to was the Black Lives Matter Foundation. This charity with one single paid worker has been within the information just lately after quite a few firms mistook them for a far bigger organisation, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. A BuzzFeed report defined the mix-up, and a few of the way it happened.
Companies together with Apple, Google, and Microsoft (and their workers) raised $four million (£3.2) for the Black Lives Matter Foundation earlier than the mix-up was found. Donation platform GoFundMe additionally froze $350,000 (£280k) that had been headed to the BLM Foundation. Evidently Mojang had made the identical mistake.
Black Lives Matter has no single official organisation as a result of that’s not how the motion works, however the Global Network Foundation do appear extra the kind of organisation that firms would intend to donate to. The BLM Global Network Foundation have simply launched a $12m fund for organisations combating institutional racism, and are campaigning to defund the police. The BLM Foundation haven’t completed a lot of word, informed BuzzFeed that “our whole thing is having unity with the police department”, and provided concepts together with “have a cup with a cop” occasions the place residents chat with law enforcement officials over espresso and donuts.
Celebrated on June 19th, Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when, after the tip of the American Civil War, a Union military basic introduced in Texas that every one Texan slaves had been legally free. That was virtually three years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. While slavery did proceed for few months in components of the US after June 19th, Juneteenth is broadly seen as celebrating the tip of slavery.
Disclosure: RPS information gremlin Nat Clayton as soon as labored on Minecraft content material packs.
