U.S. Corporations Cut Dividends And Employees While Dumping Billions Into Race-Hustling Groups

The first few years of the 2020s were marred by pandemic-related disruptions, forced lockdowns, layoffs, and the Black Lives Matter (BLM)-fueled riots, which Shareholders will also remember as a tempestuous time for the market. Many companies announced mass layoffs and made significant cuts to dividends and share buyback programs. For example, Disney’s last dividend date was on Dec. 12, 2019.

However, our BLM-Funding Database shows that companies have made significant contributions and pledged over $83 billion to the BLM movement and related causes following the death of George Floyd. According to McKinsey and Company, our figure is conservative, and companies have committed over $340 billion to these causes—a substantial amount compared to the $411 billion estimated by the World Bank to reconstruct Ukraine’s economy.

Our database tracking contributions and pledges to the BLM movement and related causes is full of companies prioritizing racial justice over their shareholders and employees’ welfare. For instance, AT&T, a Texas-based telecommunications giant, made headlines in 2021 for its racist, anti-white “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs. However, in June 2020, at the height of the pandemic and riots, AT&T laid off 3,400 employees and shut down more than 250 retail stores. In 2022,