In the past few months, America has entered a serious conversation about racial injustice, specifically surrounding police brutality against African-Americans. Protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement are all following the death of Breonna Taylor in March 2020, George Floyd in May, the shooting of Jacob Blake almost two weeks ago on Aug. 23rd, and countless others.

Recently many big companies have scrambled to make their statements of support of Black Lives Matter. Companies such as Nike, Google and Walmart have not only made statements of support but also made large donations in the fight against racial injustice. While it’s great that some of  corporate America has made efforts to play a bigger role in combating systemic racism, many others have not done enough.

The term performative activism is one we should all know by now; it allows for companies (and individuals) to appear socially conscious while not putting in any real action. Consumers and activists have called for all larger corporations to open their wallets if they truly want to support them.

Many companies have been called out for having racist work environments, and are accused of only supporting BLM in fear of losing their customer base. This isn’t surprising if we recognize that many of the people behind most big companies are rich, white men. It’s hard to consider their support as anything more than a marketing ploy because many of these executives have never and may never understand the full extent of racial issues in this country.

One corporation that got a huge backlash for supporting BLM was the NFL. The backlash is warranted when considering their treatment of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick is most known for his peaceful protests against police brutality in 2016 and has not been signed onto any football team since then.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has since made a statement saying, “We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter.”

Hopefully, these companies will take this moment as an opportunity to examine their role in the perpetuation of racism within their own organizations. Some companies have made an effort toward benefitting Black businesses and people. Sephora has committed to donating 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned beauty brands, and LEGO suspended marketing for police-themed sets.

It’s great to see that some companies are showing a true interest in dismantling systematic racism but not enough has been done.

Destiny Blanchard is a junior management major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or at dblanchard@eiu.edu.