Lizzo took the opportunity to address institutional racism in the U.S during her performance at Global Citizen Live on Saturday.
In New York City’s Central Park, the Grammy Award-winning singer performed fav favorites including “Good as Hell,” “Truth Hurts,” and “Juice.”
“Thank you so much to Global Citizen for having me,” she began. “You know, big Black girl from Detroit by way of Houston, Texas, doing big ass things with my life. I’m just so grateful every time I can step on the stage and sing for y’all. Thank you so much.”
“And now I’m a rich b—ch, that’s exciting, that’s never happened. I’ll be like, ‘What kind of rich b—ch do I want to be?’ And I decided I want to be a philanthropist. I want to give back. Why would god give me so much if I can’t give it back? So thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to give back,” she continued.
The venue used to be known as Seneca Village, Manhattan’s first significant settlement of Black property owners founded nearly 200 years ago. The Black residents were forcibly removed from the neighborhood (as many as 200 people) in 1857 and obliterated to develop Central Park.
“As we talk about climate change and making the world a better place and solving homelessness, we also have to talk about the institutionalized racism that happens in this country all the time,” Lizzo said.
“And if we don’t talk about our history constructively, how can we build a better future?” she added. “It’s time to talk about things, and it’s time to make a change. And it starts within. You got to better to yourself, so you can be better to others.”
