Google asserts "support of racial equality" while its PAC donates to numerous anti-Black politicians
Alphabet workers news
Judd Legum's Popular Information newsletter just did a dive into the FEC record for several corporate PACs, including Google's, and unsurprisingly discovered that all of the corporations which are quick to performatively endorse racial equality are also donating large sums to many, many candidates with wretched ratings on support for equality. Some extracts below. Popular Information is generally a low-cost subscription-based service, however this particular post from Judd is free to read online.
- Bruce
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https://popular.info/p/corporations-tweet-support-for-black
Corporations tweet support for Black Lives Matter. Their FEC filings tell a different story.
In the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, major corporations are rushing to embrace the Black Lives Matter movement. But several of the same corporations have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to members of Congress that are rated "F" by the NAACP, the nation's largest civil rights organization.
The NAACP has produced a "Legislative Report Card" of key civil rights votes since 1914. The most recent report covers the 115th Congress and scored 32 votes in the House and Senate...
Google: $351,000 to politicians rated "F" by the NAACP
Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai, tweeted that his company supports "racial equality in solidarity with the Black community and in memory of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery & others who don’t have a voice." A message on the Google homepage states, "we stand in support of racial equality, and all those who search for it."
But FEC records reveal that, in this election cycle, Google is standing with 89 members of Congress who received an "F" from the NAACP. During this election cycle, Google, through its corporate PAC, donated $124,500 to 23 Senators rated "F." It also donated $226,500 to 66 members of the House with the same failing grade.
Amazon: 389,500 to politicians rated "F" by the NAACP
In a tweet posted Sunday afternoon, Amazon said that it stands "in solidarity with the Black community — our employees, customers, and partners — in the fight against systemic racism and injustice."
While the Black community got a tweet, 137 members of Congress rated "F" by the NAACP received $389,500 from Amazon. During this election cycle, Amazon, through its corporate PAC, donated $290,000 to 112 members of the House rated "F" by the NAACP. Amazon also donated $99,500 to 25 members of the Senate with the same failing grade...
Why do companies bother professing their commitment to civil rights issues while supporting politicians that pursue an incompatible agenda? New School professor David Lieberman offers an explanation in an interview with Josh Sternberg's Media Nut newsletter. According to Lieberman, the corporate embrace of Black Lives Matters is part of a strategy to reach young consumers and retain talented employees...
My advice: If you want to understand a corporation's values, ignore its tweets, and pay attention to its FEC filings.