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Friend,
We just wrapped up our #EyesOnAmazon Week of Action June 7 - 11, a week of virtual events calling on Amazon to permanently ban facial recognition and end surveillance partnerships with law enforcement agencies. Here’s what happened.
TAKEAWAY of the Week
Amazon’s strategies and tactics aren’t new—its policies are modern slavery at scale. There’s a big difference between what Amazon says to the press (that it supports Black and brown people) and what it does behind closed doors (exploits our communities for profit then uses that wealth to influence lawmakers and arm police). We need more Black and brown voices at the table to fight back against the mentality that colonial capitalism and corporate monopolies have normalized.
STAT of the Week
10,000: The number of petitions MediaJustice and our partners delivered to Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy to protest Amazon and demand it permanently ban surveillance tech, end contracts with police, and ensure workers are safe and respected.
QUOTE of the Week
“All Amazon did was find ways to monetize exploitation at scale—it’s not new. There’s a God Complex in Silicon Valley that’s similar to Carnegie’s “The Gospel of Wealth.” ‘We’re white men who have done such great things for the world, it’s our duty and our right to profit as much as we would like because we’re “innovators.’” Myaisha Hayes (MediaJustice) at the “Fighting Corporate Power and Racism” Instagram Live
SNAP of the Week
Moderated by Ryan Gerety (Athena), the “Worker Surveillance at Amazon” panel featured sisters who work at Amazon, Allegra and Courtenay Brown; remarks from Gabrielle Rejouis (Color of Change); and research from David Rosenblatt (Strategic Organizing Center). The discussion centered around how Amazon’s brutal worker surveillance encourages and enforces a degrading and dangerous pace of work.
FOLLOW UP
Our Week of Action might be over but our work isn't. Here are 3 things you can do to keep the momentum going.
- READ the Recap to get the full breakdown from the week including recaps, insights, and quotes.
- WATCH the Playlist on YouTube to catch up on events you missed.
- DONATE to MediaJustice to make sure we have the resources to keep holding Amazon accountable.
In Solidarity,
Myaisha Hayes
Campaign Strategies Director
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