Erykah Badu Concert To Benefit Effort To Test Rape Kits

Erykah Badu is supporting an effort to help get old rape kits tested.

The Detroit Free Press reports the singer partnered with The Right Productions to donate money from her Aug. 12 Detroit concert to the African American 490 Challenge.

The effort last year started urging black women to raise multiples of $490 – the cost of processing a single rape kit. The 490 Challenge is working with Enough SAID (Enough Sexual Assault In Detroit).

Shahida Mausi, president and CEO of The Right Productions, said the 490 Challenge would get $5 from each ticket and proceeds from two receptions with Badu.

Photo: Al Powers / Powers Imagery / Invision / AP
Soul Train Awards, Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nev.

With state funding, Michigan and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office tested more than 10,000 kits dating back decades that were found in Detroit in 2009.