Some of America's biggest companies are responding to public pressure to donate to anti-racism campaigns and publicly stand by the black community following the death of George Floyd in police custody.

Tim Cook
© Getty ImagesApple CEO Tim Cook said the company is donating an undisclosed amount to the Equal Justice Initiative
  • Home Depot has contributed $1 million to the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
  • Gaming companies have joined donation efforts to anti-racism organizations: EA has pledged $1 million to groups including the Equal Justice Initiative and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund; Square Enix has donated $250,000 and is matching employee donations to Black Lives Matter; Ubisoft has contributed $100,000 to the NAACP and BLM.
  • Minnetonka-based United Health Group is donating $5 million to the YMCA Equity Innovation Center of Excellence and another $5 million, as well as 25,000 hours of employee volunteer time, to help rebuild businesses in Twin Cities neighbourhoods affected by riots.
  • Facebook pledged $10 million to organizations campaigning for racial justice, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Monday.
  • Apple CEO Tim Cook announced unknown donations would be made by the company to organizations including the Equal Justice Initiative, "a non-profit committed to challenging racial injustice."
  • Chipmaker Intel is donating $1 million to community efforts fighting racial injustice including Black Lives Matter and the Centre for Policing Equity, CEO Bob Swan told employees.
  • Beauty company Glossier has committed $500,000 to Black Lives Matter and another $500,000 to support black-owned, CEO Emily Weiss announced on Sunday.
  • Other beauty companies have made smaller donations to anti-racism efforts, including DECIEM, which pledged $100,000 to the NAACP and BLM, SheaMoisture which pledged a further $100,000 to activists fighting for social change, and Sunday Riley, which is donating $50,000 to the NAACP. e.l.f. Beauty is donating $25,000 to Color of Change.
  • Fitness company Peloton is donating $500,000 to the NAACP's legal defense fund, CEO John Foley said.
  • Levi's is donating $100,000 to the ACLU and a further $100,000 to the mass incarceration campaign group Live Free USA, the company announced on Monday.
  • Clothing retailer Banana Republic has donated $250,000 to the NAACP and EmbraceRace.




A number of companies have released statements pledging support to the black community. Amazon, Spotify, Snap, Netflix, Microsoft, Zillow and Disney are some of the corporations to speak out. But there have been calls by some online for companies to specify exactly how they are supporting the black community, while others are pointing out a perceived double standard in firms' actions. After Amazon tweeted: "Together we stand in solidarity with the Black community," the American Civil Liberties Union responded: "Will you commit to stop selling face recognition surveillance technology that supercharges police abuse?"



The NFL was also criticised by filmmaker Ava Duvernay for being "hollow + disingenuous." Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has not found work in the league since 2017, after he would protest police brutality and the racist treatment of black people in the U.S., by kneeling.


The death of unarmed black man George Floyd after white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck sparked outrage across the U.S. and the world, and led to widespread Black Lives Matter marches across more than 75 U.S. cities. London, Copenhagen, Toronto and Berlin are just some of the cities globally that have protested in solidarity.