Friend,

This Pride month, you’ve likely seen a lot of corporations selling rainbow merch or changing their logos to include rainbows. While this does signify cultural progress, it does NOT mean more allies in the fight for liberation.

In fact, as Rep. Pramila Jayapal has been pointing out, many corporations branding themselves as LGBTQ+ allies have also donated thousands of dollars to Mitch McConnell’s campaign while he was actively blocking the Equality Act—the federal legislation that would expand civil rights protections regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.

	Rep. Pramila Jayapal @RepJayapal
	Happy #Pride from Raytheon’s Twitter logo! Less happy about their PAC also donating $18,500 to Mitch McConnell’s campaign while he was actively blocking the Equality Act. 🏳️‍🌈

One new study found that 25 corporations who’ve expressed LGBTQ+ support have spent more than $10m to homophobic and transphobic federal and state politicians over the past two years.¹ Many of these politicians are behind the wave of transphobic bills around the country, which further bully and oppress trans youth. If you’re actively persecuting and harming the LGBTQ+ community, sponsoring Pride events is just performative—and it’s called pinkwashing.²

After the uprisings following George Floyd’s murder, many corporations conveniently came out in support of racial justice. But new studies show that those same companies made significant financial contributions to Republican candidates who’ve introduced Jim-Crow-style voter suppression bills around the country, which would particularly disenfranchise Black and brown Americans.³

These hypocrisies highlight the problematic nature of corporate political spending.

Already corporations have way too much influence over our government. For years I’ve been fighting corporate greed and the way it harms communities like mine. So I’ve never taken money from corporate PACs, and I never will.

Our team is not beholden to corporate PACs or to corporate conventional wisdom about what’s possible. Often, standing up for the health and safety of my constituents means pushing back against billionaire bullies. We rely on our grassroots donors, like you, so we can do visionary work at the scale we need and with the urgency we deserve.

I don’t take money from corporate PACs, and I never will. Instead, I work in partnership with grassroots supporters like you so we can make the bold changes we need. Can you chip in $5 or whatever you can afford to our shared fight for a better future?

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:

Thank you so much. I’m honored to serve you.

Rashida

P.S. For LGBTQ+ readers, I want to say thank you for expanding possibilities for all of us to be our full, free selves. No matter where you are in the coming out process, you are valid just as you are and I thank you for being you.