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Ryan Serhant Pledges to Pause His Business and Match Black Lives Matter Donations
"It's clear we have a long way to go," wrote the MDLNY broker.
Ryan Serhant has pledged to support the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s death on May 25. The Million Dollar Listing New York broker has shared his plans to make a difference with his real estate team, as well as individually.
“I STAND with the Black community. I’ve taken the past few days to really listen, and understand, as best I can,” Ryan noted in a June 2 Instagram post, adding, “I live and work in SoHo, and I’ve walked these streets for hours since this weekend. I know everyone is posting black screens, and I think it’s pretty amazing to see, but when social media is the reason we are all able to come together and fight back against the disgusting violence against the Black community, I don’t want to just go silent and post a black tile. That’s just my opinion.”
The black tiles Ryan is referencing were part of Blackout Tuesday, a social media initiative intended by its creators, Brianna Agyemang, senior artist campaign manager at Platoon, and Jamila Thomas, senior director of marketing at Atlantic Records to observe "the long-standing racism and inequality" in the music industry. However, as the movement continued to gain traction, it was met with some controversy. Many utilized the trend to post solely about the Black Lives Matter movement, while others unintentionally filled #BlackLivesMatter hashtags with a flood of blank posts.
Ryan urged his followers to use social media as a tool to share information, writing, “We should continue to post photos and videos and use these platforms to spread information and educate the world because that’s the only way we can actually create change. Like Will Smith said, racism isn’t new. It’s just being filmed.”
Ryan also explained that The Serhant Team will pause operations for the week, instead focusing their efforts on sharing information and donating money.
“It’s clear we have a long way to go and that the injustices the Black community has continuously faced are far superior to anything I can ever imagine,” he wrote. “So my team will continue to spread news and information but we will be pausing all other operations for the week and donating to Black Lives Matter.”
Ryan also pledged to “personally [match] any individual donations up to $5,000 per person,” adding that he is open to any other ideas for ways in which he can help.
For the latest reporting on the George Floyd protests from NBC News and MSNBC’s worldwide team of correspondents, including a live blog with minute-to-minute updates, visit NBCNews.com and NBCBLK.
