Issa Rae has set up a hugely successful scholarship fund for Alton Sterling’s children

In only one day, YouTube star Issa Rae has raised nearly $400,000 for the family of Alton Sterling on a GoFundMe page.

Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed by two white police officers outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday, July 6, where he had been selling CDs. He is survived by five children, the New York Times reports, who will be the beneficiaries of Issa’s online fundraising effort. On Wednesday, the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into Alton’s death.

While many on the internet are sharing outrage and resources from the Black Lives Matter movement, Issa Rae took action by creating a GoFund Me for his children, including 15-year-old Cameron Sterling. As she wrote on her initial fundraising plea for an Alton Family Scholarship Fund:

According to Issa’s updates, an initial goal of $100,000 was hit in six hours and she raised the goal to $200,000. At the time of publication, the Alton Family Scholarship Fund had raised over $365,000.

Issa Rae is the star of “The Mis-adventures of Awkward Black Girl” and the author of a book by the same name. She’s currently developing a show for HBO called Insecure.

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