In the past few weeks, many organizations, some for the first time, have begun to seriously consider the role that race plays in perpetuating inequality in our country and have started to take action aimed at changing our broken system. There have been a number of approaches to this — some in the form of publicized donations, others in a commitment to examine their own hiring practices. Some, like Apple and YouTube, are launching multi-million dollar initiatives within their own companies committed to providing resources for change.
Many have pledged support to organizations committed to racial justice including Black Lives Matter, the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, and the Equal Justice Initiative. Disney has committed $5 million to social justice causes, starting with a $2 million donation to the NAACP. Bad Robot, J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath’s production company, announced that it would donate $2 million annually over the course of five years to organizations with “anti-racist agendas that close the gaps, lift the poor and build a just America for all.” Independent production house A24 pledged $500K to a host of national and local community organizations, with a particular focus on criminal justice and policing reform. Some organizations, like the beauty brand Glossier, have taken a hybrid approach by donating to existing nonprofits and starting their own funds to support Black-owned businesses in their industry.
Other high-profile companies and individuals are using their platform to push for political and social change and recognition of Black voices. Bozoma Saint John, CMO of the powerhouse agency Endeavor, organized the #sharethemicnow campaign with the goal of centering the perspectives of prominent black women in academia, business, and beyond by having them take over the accounts of white women with large social media followings. (Saint John took over Kourtney Kardashian’s Instagram.) At organizations including Vox Media, Twitter, and Square, Juneteenth is now a paid holiday. Lakers star LeBron James recently announced the launch of More Than a Vote, a new group he’s leading that’s aimed at protecting and promoting Black voter’s rights.
Last week, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian resigned from the company’s board, urging leadership to replace his seat with a Black candidate. Just a few days ago, the Reddit board heeded that call by appointing Michael Seiber, an investor, entrepreneur, and partner at early-stage VC firm Y Combinator. In all corners of the corporate world, from beauty (with the Pull up for Change campaign) to advertising (in the form of an open letter to industry leaders), there have been calls to collect information on the number of Black employees, especially those in leadership positions.
Some cultural organizations have recognized the need to highlight Black artists whose work is often excluded from the artistic, cinematic, and literary canons. In addition to a monetary pledge ($25,000 to support the Black Lives Matter movement, along with an ongoing $5,000 per month), the streaming service from the Criterion Collection has lifted the paywall on a selection of titles from Black filmmakers. For the month of June, Paramount has made rentals of Ava DuVernay’s 2014 film Selma available for free.
And we’re already seeing the impact the Black Lives Matter movement has had on a new generation of artists. In the music world, a number of artists have written, produced, and even released songs ahead of their label’s recommendation. Meek Mill’s recent release “Otherside Of America” samples a 2016 campaign speech from then-candidate Donald Trump. Rapper YG played his new track “FTP,” at a Los Angeles protest of over 50,000 demonstrators, which he co-hosted in conjunction with BLMLA and BLDPWR. Just this week, the Recording Academy announced that it would drop the term “urban,” from future Grammy Awards, renaming the category best “progressive R&B album,” among other proposed changes. (This change calls to mind the debate around genre and race that Tyler the Creator commented on earlier this year following his win in the rap category.)
Revolutions happen in many different places — at home, in the streets, at the ballot box. As the events of the past few weeks have shown, many businesses are no longer hanging back and letting others do the work.
