Virgil Abloh has provided receipts that Off-White has been “fighting systemic racism” following severe criticism he’s received for his “streetwear is dead” commentary and making a mere $50 donation amid nationwide protests.
Abloh took to his Instagram Story to share a number of examples of how his work with Off-White and Louis Vuitton has made a direct positive change and uplifted the Black community. Some examples also included his work with Nike for the Boys & Girls Club during this year’s All-Star Weekend in Chicago and Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
He wrote, “All these posts I’m re-sharing are on my timeline already. But given the light of where we’re at, this Sunday I’ll shed light on how I fight systemic racism in plain sight but under the cover of my work.”
He added, “I’m almost 40. It took 20 years of facing that same attack that happened last week before I learned these skills.”
In another post on his story, he wrote, “I have receipts for days. So this ideology for a content stream will be here until further notice on my Instagram video channel. Tons of past projects for days ‘cause I understand it hadn’t been explicit. I assume it was obvious.”
He continued, “The premise is all dedicated to how i and you can fight systemic racism with poise, style & grace. I’ll give it all up before [I] switch [sic] the same tone and intelligence that got me here.”
“Negative energy is an unfortunate trait of humanity. But if I don’t decide to halt the greater mission, then all my work goes to waste.”
Abloh came under fire last week for making comments about the death of streetwear following the looting of Sean Wotherspoon’s Round Two Vintage and Don C’s RSVP stores in Los Angeles. He also faced backlash after donating $50 to Fempower in Miami, which many viewed as insufficient. Now, Twitter has dubbed that amount of money a “Virgil.” He later took to Instagram to apologize.
