Justin Bieber is incentivizing his fans who attend his Justice tour to commit to “Justice in Action” by supporting nonprofit organizations.
Through Propeller, a company that connects social influence to nonprofits, fans can donate to any of the participating organizations, which range from environmental relief to mental health advocacy to opposing anti-Asian discrimination. Fans then earn points through signing petitions, volunteering or registering to vote. The points are then returned to fans through prizes, including free concert tickets, a trip to meet Bieber in Paris and more.
The organizations are religious- and nonreligious-affiliated groups, and each are partnering with Bieber in various ways. For example, Live Free USA, a criminal justice reform organization, is holding “justice and belonging” training sessions ahead of concert dates in cities Bieber is scheduled to perform.
Another is the Poor People’s Campaign, a faith-based anti-poverty initiative inspired by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s advocacy. This isn’t the first time Bieber has worked with this organization or made a connection to MLK. On Justice, Bieber sampled audio clips from a variety of King’s speeches throughout the album, despite it being full of mostly R&B love songs. His use of the audio was met with mixed reviews, as some saw thought the Canadian singer was trying to make a connection between him and MLK.
Bieber later addressed the controversy in Rolling Stone:
“I want to keep growing and learning about just all social injustices and what it looks like for me to be better, what it looks like for my friends to be better. And I know I have a long way to go. I love that when people are listening to my album, these conversations are coming up and they’re like, ‘Well, how is he going from Martin Luther King into a love song?’ I’m not trying to make a connection between me and Martin Luther King. That’s why I never try to talk about social injustice or I didn’t want to be the one to talk about it because I just have so much more learning to do. But I have this man who was ready to die and what he believed to be true. If I’m not willing to face some sort of ridicule or judgment of people wondering my motives or whatever that is, for me, it was a no brainer.”
Bieber is working with 18 nonprofits, including: Active Minds, Alexandria House, Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Backline, Fund For Guaranteed Income, Generosity Foundation, Hollaback!, Impact Justice, Last Prisoner Project, LIFT Communities, Live Free USA, National Resources Defense Council, Poor People’s Campaign, REFORM Alliance, Stop AAPI Hate, The King Center, This Is About Humanity and TurboVote.
