Issa Rae Started a GoFundMe for Alton Sterling's Children and Raised Over $200K in 9 Hours

After hearing Alton Sterling's 15-year-old son weep for his father during a heartbreaking news conference, "Awkward Black Girl" actress Issa Rae launched a GoFundMe fundraiser on Wednesday for Sterling's children.

Rae raised over $200,000 in nine hours.

Rae, who will appear in the upcoming HBO series Insecure, said she wanted to start a scholarship fund for Sterling's children because she felt "helpless" hearing the news of his death.

"Some of us feel helpless when these things happen, but that's a small step," she tweeted about the fundraiser.

As of Thursday afternoon, the GoFundMe had raised over $300,000 from nearly 11,000 people. All of the funds will go directly to Sterling's children.

Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was selling CDs outside of a convenience store when two officers from the Baton Rouge Police Department tackled him to the ground, pinned him down and shot him repeatedly in the chest and back. Sterling is the 114th known black man, and 558th known person, killed by the police in the United States in 2016. 

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