
JP Morgan Chase in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. (Via The Saker)
Why are big corporations so solidly behind the George Floyd protests?
Apple replaced all of the radio stations on its music app with a single stream playing “Fuck the Police” on #BlackOutTuesday to show support for the protests. Lego pulled advertising for its police-related toys. Executives of JP Morgan Chase were photographed “taking a knee” to show support for the George Floyd protests.
Amazon, General Motors, McDonald’s, Target and other big corporations all issued statements supporting the protests. The companies that held back are in the minority, and have been called on to explain themselves.
The two big Black Lives Matter organizations – the Black Lives Matter Global Network (not to be confused with the Black Lives Matter Foundation) and the Movement for Black Lives – have been pulling in millions of dollars in foundation grants for years.
In 2015, Borealis Philanthropy, established the Black-led Movement Fund to attract gifts from major philanthropists, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations. In 2016, the Ford Foundation, announced a $40 million donation to the Movement for Black Lives for “capacity strengthening.
Last summer Ford and Borealis announced “a six-year pooled donor campaign aimed at raising $100 million for the Movement for Black Lives coalition,” to which BLM is a central part, to support organizing efforts.f
I wasn’t able to find out exactly how much money Black Lives Matter groups have received from foundations and corporate donors, nor how much they received from grass-roots small donors. Whatever the exact amounts, the two top groups seem to be well-funded. The Movement for Black Lives itself announced $6.5 million in grants to local BLM organizers.
Again: Why do big corporations and wealthy philanthropists give such support for this particular cause?
The most obvious answer is: Because it is right and just. Abuse of poor and black people by police is real, it has been going on for a long time, and it is time to end it.
Another answer is: Because it is popular. Public opinion polls show this. Support for the protests improves their reputations.
But there is more to it than that. Another reason is that the Black Lives Matter movement, unlike, say, the labor movement, is no threat to cooperate revenues, profits or dividends nor to CEO salaries and bonuses.
The current anti-racism movement is not an attack on what used to be called the power structure. Its representatives see think the source of evil is the racism of white people in general. Its solution is to change the attitudes of white people, and to silence those it can’t change.
The movement seeks to suppress not only actively racist white people, but white people who are unwilling to be affirmatively anti-racist or who inadvertently say or do things that are perceived as racist.
This attitude is, in my opinion, a threat to basic freedoms, and also counter-productive. If you can’t frankly discuss issues, how can you address them? It also distracts attention from the real racists. But it is not a threat to corporate power and profit.