Flint, Mich., Benefits From Oscar-Night Event and Anonymous Corporate Gifts

High-profile African-American actors, directors, and musicians held a #JusticeForFlint fundraiser in Flint, Mich., on Sunday evening, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Although the same night as the Academy Awards, organizers denied the timing was intentional, despite the public backlash to the lack of black people nominated for Oscars this year.

The event, which was available to view online and which featured a performance by Stevie Wonder, raised $133,000, director Ava DuVernay reported on Twitter.

In other Flint news, newly released emails show that major corporations Clorox and Meijer anonymously donated water filters to the city in 2015 at the same time that the state governor was questioning environmental assessments pointing to lead contamination in the city’s water, reports WZZM 13, the ABC affiliate in Grand Rapids, Mich.