Color Of Change PAC Demands Accountability for Corporate PACs that Continue to Donate to January 6th Insurrection Inciters
Political action committee launches Insurrection Incorporated to track corporate funding of insurrectionist members of Congress and GOP Committee Funds
NATIONWIDE — Since the Capitol riot that attempted to overturn the 2020 Presidential election certification nearly six months ago, Color Of Change PAC — the political action committee of the nation’s largest racial justice organization — has been calling for corporations to halt funding to the members of Congress that voted against the certification and consequently incited the insurrection. Many of these companies pledged to withhold corporate PAC donations to the number of Republican lawmakers that voted against the certification. Color Of Change PAC launched Insurrection Incorporated, a website to monitor corporate PAC donations to members of Congress who voted against the election certification. The website has since tracked the number of corporations — including Toyota, JetBlue, T-Mobile, AT&T, Cigna, and Intel — that have gone back on their pledge to withhold funds in January.
Nearly one month after their pledges to halt funding, AT&T quietly donated $5,000 to committees that support insurrectionist members of Congress, JetBlue donated directly to election objectors, and Cigna donated $15,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee which support members of the Senate that voted against the election certification. These are just a few instances of the many companies directly going against their commitments to withhold PAC donations. Color Of Change PAC is calling on their members to contact the leadership of these corporations and their political action committees to demand they halt their continued financial support to the members of Congress that fueled the Capitol riot.
“Corporate funding wrongfully legitimizes the members of Congress who fueled the riot at the Capitol,” said Arisha Hatch, Executive Director of Color Of Change PAC. “We know the Capitol riot was not an isolated event, we know the attempts to subvert the democratic process of elections are still being threatened today, and we know the safety and rights of Black communities are most compromised when white nationalist violence and rhetoric goes unchecked. Without accountability, these corporations will only continue to go back on their word. Color Of Change PAC, alongside our millions of members, will continue to demand that these corporations be held accountable for funding, enabling and empowering white nationalist violence that put Black people and other marginalized communities in harm’s way.”
Insurrection Incorporated accompanies Color Of Change PAC’s campaign to track companies — including which members of Congress they have donated to, how much they’ve donated, and the ways in which the supported insurrectionist politicians have worked to subvert democracy. These acts include voting against the election certification, supporting the baseless claim of a stolen election, and supporting bills that disenfranchised Black voters. Members of Congress have chosen voter suppression as a tactic in their effort to suppress the democratic process; 360 bills with restricting voting provisions have been introduced in 47 states.
Color Of Change PAC has consistently pushed for accountability from companies that were complicit in the white supremacist organizing of the Capitol riot. In partnership with other leading advocacy groups, the racial justice organization successfully pressured 13 major corporations to suspend their donations to the lawmakers that enabled the insurrection. These companies include Amazon, Bank of America, Walmart, Disney, Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft, PwC, Deloitte, Comcast, KPMG, and Ernst & Young, and AT&T. These initial pledges seemed like a step in the right direction but were evidently only lip service — none of the companies have committed to permanently stop funding insurrectionist members of Congress. Color Of Change PAC is dedicated to holding institutions accountable for fueling racist and far-right extremists through corporate PAC donations.
###
About Color Of Change PAC:
Color Of Change PAC is a Political Action Committee focused on building independent Black political power, amplifying Black voices, electing candidates who share our values, and holding them accountable to our communities. For more information on Color Of Change PAC, visit votingwhileblack.com.
Paid Pol. Adv. paid for by ColorOfChange PAC,
1714 Franklin St., Oakland, CA 94612, independently of and not authorized by any federal, state, or local candidate or candidate’s committee.