Wall Street banks and corporate executives have wasted no time
trying to establish themselves as allies of the Black Lives Matter movement,
professing support for the historic protests against police killings
of Black people.
But when you peel back their PR stunts and press releases,
the truth comes into focus:
Far from being the solution to systemic racism in America,
these billionaires and their corporations are actively perpetuating it.
Consider Jamie Dimon, billionaire CEO of JPMorgan Chase,
who recently took a knee before a lineup of cameras at a branch of his bank.
In a statement, Dimon urged his employees to "be inclusive
in our work and in the neighborhoods where we operate."
Well, let’s look at that inclusivity, shall we?
In 2017, the bank paid $55 million to settle a Justice Department lawsuit
accusing it of discriminating against Black and Latino mortgage borrowers
— causing some 53,000 borrowers tens of millions of dollars in extra costs.
According to the lawsuit, even when the bank knew about the discrimination,
they did nothing to stop it.
When it’s not discriminating against its customers, JPMorgan Chase is
excluding Black people from the upper echelons of management.
Just 4 percent of the bank's top executives are Black,
despite years of bragging about increasing diversity.
"We're doing really special things to advance Black leaders
inside our company.
Our people love it."
Under Dimon, the bank also agreed to pay $19.5 million in a settlement
for racial discrimination against Black employees in 2018.
It’s not just Chase. CEO Larry Fink of the giant investment firm BlackRock
recently wrote a letter to colleagues about the Black Lives Matter movement
and police brutality, opining that,
Well that’s rich, considering BlackRock is one of the largest investors in the
notorious private prison companies GEO Group and CoreCivic.
If Larry Fink were serious about addressing structural racism,
he would stop BlackRock’s investment in an industry that disproportionately
incarcerates and terrorizes Black and brown men.
It doesn’t end there.
Wall Street even manages to profit off police brutality.
Cities often issue municipal bonds to cover the costs of settlements related
to wrongful police shootings, beatings, and imprisonments.
These so-called
in recent years.
As if this weren’t egregious enough, banks – including Goldman Sachs,
Wells Fargo, and Bank of America – collect heavy fees on these bonds.
Of course, this hasn’t stopped them from rolling out empty statements
declaring “Black Lives Matter.”
Hypocrisy isn’t limited to Wall Street.
Amazon has pledged to fight systemic racism,
but Amazon refuses to provide paid sick leave to all warehouse
and delivery workers, the majority of whom are people of color.
"Everbody's close to each other."
"We're going to die."
"We are people."
Walmart, the nation’s largest corporate employer of Black Americans,
recently announced that it would create a center on racial equality,
"We need to listen to a diverse group of people ...
and that we're finding creative ways to drive change."
but Walmart has overworked and mistreated its employees for decades.
"Treat your workers like you should."
The company also donates to Republican politicians,
including Senator Tom Cotton, who openly called for the military to
crack down on predominantly Black protesters.
Similarly, AT&T, whose CEO called on companies to speak out against racism,
"Is it time to step up our game? Is there more that can be done?"
has donated to Senator Rand Paul, who stalled legislation to make
lynching a federal hate crime.
Many CEOs also fight against instituting a living wage
and universal basic income,
two policies that would lift more Black Americans out of economic oppression.
And the very banks plastering Black Lives Matter banners
on their websites not only oppose tighter regulations against redlining,
they also have provided $5.5 billion in credit to the payday lending industry.
Of course, both redlining and payday lending disproportionately hurt
Black and brown communities.
So don’t be fooled by glitzy press releases and flashy PR stunts.
Wall Street and corporations profit from and reinforce
systemic racism in America.
"They have money behind them. And we know how the system work."
We have the power — as their consumers, clients, and employees —
to demand that these companies and their CEOs stop their racist practices.
It’s time they back up their lofty rhetoric with fundamental change.
So raise your voices and stay vigilant.