DEF JAM FORWARD CELEBRATES A YEAR OF ADVOCACY

Conceived in the wake of the George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery killings, Def Jam's task force, Def Jam Forward, is celebrating one year of education, advocacy and action.

DJF capped off its first 12 months with a raft of local and national social initiatives. The task force launched during 2020's Blackout Tuesday, on which it supplied a resource guide to social community and urged Def Jam staff to donate one day's salary—employee contributions reached nearly $100k toward social justice.

Since then, Forward has created 6m+ social impressions under the direction of social manager and DJF co-founder Khorey Washington.

Its initiatives have resulted in material on voting and voting rights; the Black and Blue Panel, a conversation about police brutality featuring Chuck D, Jadakiss, Bobby Sessions and NYC political figures Hakeem Jeffries, Ronald Colter and Jumaane Williams; a campaign to expand the vote in Georgia ahead of the 2020 election, including a partnership with iHeartRadio; protest kits distributed on the ground in L.A. and NY by DJF volunteers; and a DJF Merch Store, with proceeds donated to the cause.

Learn more about Def Jam Forward and the initiatives and organizations it supports here.