When BTS and their record label Big Hit Entertainment had donated $1 million to support the Black Lives Matter campaign, their fans decided to match it. Astonishingly, they did in just over a day.
BTS, a seven-member KPOP group, is the worldwide best-selling music group. BTS is known for speaking out on both social and mental health issues. They also have an album series called "LOVE YOURSELF" to promote self-love.
BTS's fan base, known as "ARMYs", made a donation matching campaign on Twitter within a few hours after BTS's donation became public. They came up with the hashtag #MatchAMillion, which began to trend internationally.
BTS tweeted support for Black Lives Matter in both Korean and English, "We Stand against racial discrimination. We Condemn violence, You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together. #BlackLivesMatter."
Donations were tracked by the BTS fan-based charity fundraising group "One In An ARMY," which has organized several fan-driven fundraisers before. The group describes itself saying "using our collective power for global good."
OIAA had already begun fundraising for Black Lives Matter in early June, and its donation platform via ActBlue Charities makes contributions to be split between 14 different African American and social justice organizations: the Black Lives Matter Global Network, the NAACP, the ACLU, the National Police Accountability Project, Color of Change, the Marshall Fund and several others.
Before the BTS donation was made public, fundraising had reached $50,000; in less than six hours. After it was public, OIAA's donation tracker showed it had hit about $190,000. After 24 hours in, the ARMY hit $1 million.
Kailee Scales, Black Lives Matter managing director, expressed gratefulness for the BTS donation in a statement to Variety: "Black people all over the world are in pain at this moment from the trauma of centuries of oppression. We are moved by the generosity of BTS and allies all over the world who stand in solidarity in the fight for Black lives."
A few days after, One in an ARMY raised just over $1.2 million.
