Dungeons & Dragons Issues Statement in Support of Black Lives Matter, Shuts Down Twitch Content for Week

Dungeons & Dragons has issued a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, with [...]

By Christian Hoffer

Dungeons & Dragons has issued a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, with plans to make charitable donations to several organizations and a shut down of all live stream broadcasting for the week. Yesterday evening, Wizards of the Coast released simultaneous statements on both the Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons Twitter feeds, stating their support of the current protests against racial injustice. As part of that support, Wizards announced that they will be making charitable donations to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, My Brother's Keep Alliance, and Black Girl Codes. Additionally, Dungeons & Dragons announced that it would not present its own live stream broadcasting this week to focus on supporting voices that have traditionally been oppressed. D&D's Twitch channel will be mostly dark this week, although it will continue to support independent D&D creators by hosting their programming on their Twitch channel.

Wizards of the Coast's actions were in response to recent nationwide protests about ongoing police brutality and systemic racism. These protests started with the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after a police officer pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes despite Floyd's pleas for help. That police officer, Derek Chauvin, was arrested for third-degree murder and manslaughter murder days after video showing Floyd's death was posted onto the Internet and led to the beginning of the current protests. Three other police officers that participated in Floyd's arrest and were present for his death have not been arrested.

Several other D&D adjacent companies also announced their own plans to support the Black Lives Matter movement. The Dungeon Masters Guild, a site run by OneBookShelf and has a licensing agreement with Wizards of the Coast, announced plans for a Black Lives Matter charity bundle, with all proceeds going towards Black Lives Matter. Additionally, DMs Guild will also spotlight titles by Black creators, with OBS's and Wizards of the Coast's proceeds from those titles going towards a charity or bail fund of the creator's choice. D&D Beyond, a character builder and database managed by Fandom, announced that half of all proceeds from digital dice sales this week will be donated to Black Lives Matter.

Many individual D&D streamers and shows have also come out in support of Black Lives Matter. Critical Role, for instance, announced that their Twitch channel would go dark this week in solidarity with the protests, with the show's individual cast members also coming out in support of the protests. Rivals of Waterdeep, a D&D sponsored show with an entirely minority cast, has also posted several statements directing fans about the proper use of the Black Lives Matter hashtag, specifically to allow for community organizers to use the hashtag to coordinate resources.

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