In 2009, more than 10,000 rape kits were found abandoned in a Detroit Police Department storage room. And since then, Wayne County, Mich., Prosecutor Kym Worthy has made it her mission to get the kits tested. But testing the kits comes at a hefty price: $490 each.
Enough SAID is a campaign of the Michigan Women's Foundation to help raise money to get the kits tested. Its partner, the African American 490 Challenge, named after the price of testing each kit, now has Erykah Badu on its side.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Badu has partnered with Right Productions to donate money from her Aug. 12 concert at Chene Park Amphitheater to the African American 490 Challenge.
"This is a huge day for Enough SAID/AA490,” Worthy said in a statement. “Everyone knows that Erykah Badu is a major, major talent in the music and songwriting industry. For her to lend her name, talent and time to this work is nothing short of a miracle. Justice for these forgotten sexual assault victims has been given a phenomenal assist.”
For each ticket sold, $5 will go to the African American 490 Challenge, as well as the proceeds from a $100-per-ticket reception before the concert and a $1,000-per-person VIP reception with Badu after the show.
Tickets for the Erykah Badu concert are available through Ticketmaster or by visiting the Chene Park mobile app. To donate to the African American 490 Challenge, visit its website.