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Dear John, 

Last year, YouTube, and its parent company, Google, released an
anti-racism statement in response to the racial justice uprisings sparked
by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. They
proudly declared their support for Black people. The statements felt
sincere, inspirational even, as YouTube and Google espoused hopeful
statements about “coming together with the Black community” and taking
actions that met “the urgency of the moment.”^1 They then pledged millions
of dollars to support Black creators through fellowship programs and funds
expressly dedicated to the development and amplification of Black
voices.^2 But instead of supporting the Black community, Google blocked
companies from using racial justice terms like “Black Lives Matter” to
place advertisements on related video content.^3 They said Black Lives
Matter when it was trendy, then implemented policies that block financial
sustainability for Black creators and the creators who cover the movement.

[ [link removed] ]This discrimination is unacceptable.[ [link removed] ]GOOGLE MUST CONDUCT A RACIAL
EQUITY AUDIT! 
At the same time that Google prevented advertisers from choosing ads based
on Black Lives Matter content, they actively allowed advertisers to search
and place their content on tens of millions of videos tagged with white
nationalist terms like “White Power” or “White Lives Matter.”^4 This
pattern is not just unacceptable, it’s evil. When advertisers cannot use
search terms associated with Black Lives Matter, they are prevented from
finding Black creators and the fans who support them, which diminishes the
Black creators’ income and cuts into their own business’ profits. In turn,
small Black businesses are prevented from growing wealth within the Black
community and building financial stability for our families. 

Blocking racial justice terms like “Black Lives Matter” and Black Power”
while simultaneously allowing search terms like “White Lives Matter” and
“White Power” shows us that Google doesn’t actually care about Black
lives; they care about upholding white supremacy. 

However, problems like this can begin to change by conducting an
independent, racial equity audit. Such an investigation will provide
Google with specific areas where it must eliminate discrimination in its
products and workplaces. Right now, for instance, Black Googlers face a
hostile work environment. Black Googlers bear the burden of educating
their colleagues, and may even face retaliation for flagging
discriminatory products, features, or policies. Black Googlers frequently
resign as a result, searching instead for employers who recognize their
humanity. Google must conduct a racial equity audit in order to truly
begin to combat the racism and discrimination proliferating at its
companies. 

It’s time for Google to stop spouting ideas about racial justice and make
real change. Join us in calling on Google to go #BeyondTheStatement and
make tangible commitments that benefit Black people.

[ [link removed] ]SIGN THE PETITION![ [link removed] ]TELL GOOGLE TO CONDUCT A RACIAL EQUITY AUDIT.

Until justice is real, 
—Jade Magnus Ogunnaike and the Color Of Change team

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References:

 1. “Standing with the Black community,” Sundair Pichai, Blog.Google.com,
June 3, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 2. “Susan Wojcicki: My mid-year update to the YouTube community,” Susan
Wojcicki, Blog.YouTube.com, June 11, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 3. “Google Blocks Advertisers from Targeting Black Lives Matter YouTube
Videos,” Leon Yin & Aaron Sankin, The Markup, April 9, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 4. Ibid


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[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Please
help keep our movement strong.

[ [link removed] ]Make a Donation

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