It's Black History Month…Here's our Diversity in Retail Recap!
Happy Black History Month!
This year, in May, will mark 5 years since the infamous murder of George Floyd leading into a summer of promises and pledges to support equity for Black Americans. You may have read that these initiatives were short-lived as documented in this August 2021 Washington Post article.
From that era, you may also remember our Canna Conversations series or the WOC Brunch hosted at Nordstrom’s NYC Flagship Store highlighting conversations around initiatives designed to bring equity to fashion, beauty and retail. Well, here’s a list of people and brands who made promises, what they committed to do and what we found online about what they have (or have not) done:
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The initial June 9, 2020 announcement committed a total of $10 million to organizations working to bring about social justice and improve the lives of Black and African Americans. The company shared an update in June promising to match employee donations 100% up to $10,000 per employee to a curated list of 12 organizations for about 30 days. Amazon also committed $150 million to support Black-owned businesses through it’s Black Business Accelerator offering a combination of credits, funding and mentorship.
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You may remember on June 11, 2020 Tim Cook tweeted this: The unfinished work of racial justice and equality call us all to account. Things must change, and Apple's committed to being a force for that change. Today, I'm proud to announce Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, with a $100 million commitment. By January the team announced The Propel Center, an innovation hub for the entire HBCU community that will provide curriculum, internships, and mentorship opportunities plus an Apple Developer Academy to support coding and tech education for students in Detroit; and venture capital funding for Black and Brown entrepreneurs deployed through Harlem Capital and Siebert Williams Shank’s Clear Vision Impact Fund.
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Coke initially published a partnership focused announcement, “Taking A Stand” touting billboards and social initiatives, highlighting a $1.5 million dollar investment to various organizations for racial inequity, then followed up by December 2020 with a $500 million in additional spending with Black-owned suppliers. The Wall Street Journal published an article shortly after titled: Coke’s Elusive Goal: - Boosting Its Black Employees: Two decades after it settled a historic racial-discrimination lawsuit, Coca-Cola’s diversity efforts have lost ground. Its struggle offers lessons to companies trying to institute long-lasting change.
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In August 2020, Costco Wholesale Corporation committed $25 million to an innovative new impact investment fund that will fuel Black-led financial institutions and community development efforts. We could find any updates online about the progress of this initiative.
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CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged $10 million to groups working on racial justice, along with committing an additional $200 million to support Black-owned businesses and organizations. Those commitments were part of a broader $1.1 billion investment in Black and diverse suppliers and communities in the US outlined here.
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GAP pledged to increase representation, joined The Fifteen Percent Pledge (donating $200,000 to the organization) and donated $500,000 to HBCUs. You can read more about their pledge and progress here.
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Google was early in the announcement cycle. On June 3, 2020 the CEO announced $12 million in funding to organizations working to address racial inequities, with the first grants of $1 million each will go to our long-term partners at the Center for Policing Equity and the Equal Justice Initiative. Google also offered $25 million in Ad Grants to help organizations fighting racial injustice provide critical information, and an additional $2.5 million in donation matching.
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The inclusive clothing brand has always given a portion of proceeds to charity, but announced long-term partnerships with Black Lives Matter and Color of Change. More recently, the brand was called out by MusingsOfACurvyLady for appropriating content from black creators. Check out the TikTok video here.
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In January 2022, Hanesbrand announced a $2 million investment in three historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The four-year partnership involves North Carolina A&T, Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design and Winston-Salem State University. You can read the full press release here.
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In November 2020, Johnson & Johnson pledged to spend $100 million over 5 years to introduce alliances, collaborations and partnerships that support health equity solutions and educational programming, a partnership with The Executive Leadership Council to provide college scholarships and other resources to Black students, plus a commitment to invest in partnerships that address the disproportionate health impact of climate change on communities of color.
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Netflix promised to allocate two percent of our cash holdings - initially up to $100 million - into financial institutions and organizations that directly support Black communities in the U.S. Entering a class of their own, Netflix share an update on the remaining commitment at the end of 2021 - of course as content.
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In June 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, NIKE launched the Black Community Commitment, pledging $40 million over four years. Jordan Brand followed suit with a $100 million Black Community Commitment over 10 years. As recently as 2023 Nike announced an $8.9 million investment in 53 national and local nonprofit organizations focused on social justice, economic empowerment, and education innovation.
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Also on June 3, 2020, Proctor & Gamble announced a fund with an initial contribution of $5 million to accelerate and expand this work alongside organizations that fight for justice, advance economic opportunity, enable greater access to education and health care and make our communities more equitable. In May 2021, P&G shared an update with expanded impact here.
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In 2020, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation committed $100 million over five years to create the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity to help eradicate systemic disparities experienced by Black and African American communities in the U.S. In 2021, The Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity Awarded Over $14 Million in grants. The Walmart.org Center provided an additional update in July 2022 highlighting nearly $9.5 million in grants to support organizations driving economic development and building capacity in predominately Black communities with low food access.
Check out these articles to learn more about the companies commitments, share your thoughts below and be sure to hold them accountable with your spending power.