[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change PAC

 

 

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John,

You may have seen an email from me earlier this week exposing Disney’s
funding of Florida’s hateful “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would make it
illegal to discuss LGBTQ+ issues, including history, in Florida
classrooms. Well, our pressure is working! On Friday, Disney’s CEO Bob
Chapek released a statement in which he apologized for Disney’s silence
over the bill and said that he “missed the mark in this case,” and
that Disney has decided to suspend political donations in Florida and is
reexamining how they engage in political advocacy.^1 However, Chapek
stopped short of naming the political party responsible for this heinous
legislation.

[ [link removed] ]TELL DISNEY: STOP FUNDING HATE!

Disney is under pressure to take more accountability every single day
because of people like you, and we can’t stop now. Despite Disney’s forced
evolution on this issue, Chapek’s words didn’t stop the Florida GOP from
following up their “Don’t Say Gay” bill by passing the “Stop Woke Act” on
Thursday. The “Stop Woke Act” would make it illegal for schools and places
of business to mandate diversity trainings or lessons that could make
members of certain races or gender identities “feel discomfort, guilt,
anguish, or any form of psychological distress” due to the actions of
their ancestors. In fact, after speaking with Chapek, DeSantis doubled
down on his support of such legislation by stating that the state’s
“policies will be based on the best interest of Florida citizens, not the
musing of woke corporations.”^2

Clearly, Chapek’s recent statements are too little, too late. These bills,
along with the rash of other anti-Black and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation we’ve
seen across the country in recent months, would deny our children the
chance to learn the truth about American history. Disney and Pixar
employees are speaking out too, but their concerns have not yet been met
with the necessary action by Disney’s leadership.3 We must stand with them
and force CEO Bob Chapek to do the right thing.

We’re asking you to take two minutes to send an email to Disney demanding
that they immediately halt any political giving to candidates and elected
officials across the country, not just in Florida, that support removing
American history from our children’s classrooms. We’re also taking it a
step further and demanding that Disney use its considerable wealth and
power to stop Georgia’s new “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was introduced
just this week.^4

Join us in fighting for the future of America’s classrooms to give every
child a chance to learn the truth about our collective history. 

[ [link removed] ]Demand that Disney stop funding anti-black and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation!

Until justice is real,

- Jade Magnus Ogunnaike

 

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References

 1. Sarah Whitten, “Disney pauses political donations in Florida, CEO
Chapek apologizes for silence over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill,” CNBC, March
11, 2022,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
 2. Tim Craig, "Florida Legislature passes bill that limits how schools
and workplaces teach about race and identity," Washington Post, March
10,
2022, [ [link removed] ][link removed]
 3. "DeSantis attacks Disney day after CEO speaks against 'Don't Say
Gay,'" WESH2, March 10,
2022,  [ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 4. "A Statement To Leadership From The Queer/LGBTQIA+ Employees of TWDC
DMED &
Their Allies," March 8,
2022, [ [link removed] ][link removed]
 5. Tat Bellamy-Walker, "Georgia legislators introduce a Florida-style
'Don't Say Gay' bill," NBC News, March 10, 2022,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

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FWD:

You’ll never guess who funded Florida’s horrific “Don’t Say Gay” bill,
which would make it illegal to discuss LGBTQ+ issues, including history,
in Florida classrooms.^1 That funder is none other than Walt Disney
Company.^2 In the past two years, they have donated $197,126 to supporters
of the bill.^3 That’s right; the beloved institution behind our beloved
childhood movie nights is bankrolling the very same politicians who want
to make it illegal to teach our children accurate and complete history in
schools. That's why we're asking you to join the fight and demand that
Disney stop funding the legislators who voted for this bill and any
legislators across the country who support similar legislation restricting
what our children can be taught in schools. Let’s be clear: a simple
statement is not enough because the harm has already been done. Now Disney
must publicly commit to ending any and all funding of politicians who push
these harmful restrictions.

[ [link removed] ]TELL DISNEY: STOP FUNDING HATE!

The company that owns theme parks dubbed the “happiest place on Earth''
has been gleefully taking the LGBTQ+ community’s money with designated
Disneyland Pride celebrations and expensive Pride-themed merchandise;
then, Disney betrays those people by handing it to hateful legislators
that are shepherding our LGBTQ+ youth into an era of danger and
uncertainty and conspiring to make any teaching of Black and LGBTQ+
history impossible.^4 The company itself employs tens of thousands of
people in Florida, and many of those people have children in Florida’s
school system, yet Disney’s leadership has so far remained silent on the
issue and not decided to stop funding bigots who support bills like “Don’t
Say Gay.”^5 Disney knows what they’re doing is wrong, too. After Disney
was called out about their funding of these anti-LGBTQ+ legislators,
Disney CEO Bob Chapek said in a leaked internal memo that the company’s
"entire leadership team unequivocally stand[s] in support of [its] LGBTQ+
employees, their families, and their communities.” Chapek goes on to say
that Disney’s television shows like “Modern Family… are more powerful than
any tweet or lobbying effort” and that their “ability to tell such
stories… would be diminished if [Disney] were to become a political
football in any debate.”^6

Let’s be clear: Modern Family won’t stop Florida’s children from growing
up without the crucial knowledge and necessary community support that will
affirm and empower them for years to come. 

We’ve held Disney accountable in the past by forcing Disney to stop
funding supporters of the January 6th insurrection and stopped them from
white-washing Princess Tiana.^7 Now we’re pressuring them to stop
empowering and emboldening bigots who put our children at risk. Just weeks
before, Texas passed a controversial anti-trans bill that classifies
lifesaving gender-affirming care as “child abuse.”^8 We’ve seen this play
out in states across the country with so-called “critical race theory,”
with several states passing bills to make it illegal to teach accurate
American history – including the history of historically-marginalized
groups.^9 Make no mistake; the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and anti-critical race
theory legislation are essentially the same thing. They are a rejection of
our country’s history and prevent our children from learning the whole
truth. 

[ [link removed] ]Demand that Disney stop funding anti-black and anti-LGBTQ+
legislation!

Disney needs to understand that posturing on Twitter and riding on the
coattails of a show that’s been off the air for nearly two years is not
enough to protect the Black LGBTQ+ community from violence, homelessness,
and neglect. In fact, studies have shown that Black LGBTQ+ youth
disproportionately experience mental health illnesses, lower access to
medical care, higher levels of homelessness and confinement in the
juvenile justice system, and higher rates of discrimination and
violence. ^10,11,12

Disney can say whatever they want online and in internal memos; the money
they send to these bigoted legislators is violence in action. Our children
deserve to know the true history of our country; by bending to the will of
hatred, children across the country will continue to suffer. Everyone’s
history is essential to the fabric of our country, and companies like
Disney should denounce anti-Black and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation wherever it
occurs, not fund it.

Join us in demanding that Disney stop funding hate bills and direct their
political giving to candidates committed to making our country a more
loving and inclusive place.

[ [link removed] ]Join us. Take action now!

Until justice is real, 

Jade Magnus Ogunnaike

 

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References

 1. Kiara Alfonseca, “'Don't Say Gay' bill passes Florida Senate,” ABC
News, March 8, 2022,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 2. Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, and Rebecca Crosby. “The inside story of
how Disney turned its back on the LGBTQ community,” Popular
Information, March 8, 2022,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 3. Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, and Rebecca Crosby. “The inside story of
how Disney turned its back on the LGBTQ community,” Popular
Information, March 8, 2022,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 4. Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, and Rebecca Crosby. “The inside story of
how Disney turned its back on the LGBTQ community,” Popular
Information, March 8, 2022,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 5. Associated Press, “Some Original Staffers Say They're Still Happy To
Work At Disney World After 50 Years,” NPR, September 28, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 6. Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, and Rebecca Crosby. “The inside story of
how Disney turned its back on the LGBTQ community,” Popular
Information, March 8, 2022,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 7. Tambay Obenson, “How Disney Changed Its Mind About Princess Tiana:
Color of Change Is Normalizing Diversity in Hollywood,” Indiewire,
October 3, 2018,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
 8. J. David Goodman and Amanda Morris, “Texas Investigates Parents Over
Care for Transgender Youth, Suit Says,” New York Times, March 1, 2022,
[link removed]
 9. Amy Simonson, “Florida bill to shield people from feeling 'discomfort'
over historic actions by their race, nationality or gender approved by
Senate committee,” CNN, January 20, 2022,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
10. Liam Knox, “Black LGBTQ youth, despite high levels of mental health
issues, receive less professional care, study says,” NBC News,
February 20, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
11. Daiana Griffith, “LGBTQ youth are at greater risk of homelessness and
incarceration,” Prison Policy Initiative, January 22, 2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed] 
12. “Black LGBTQ Individuals Experience Heightened Levels of
Discrimination,” Center for American Progress, July 13, 2021,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]


 

Paid Pol. Adv. paid for by ColorOfChange PAC, 1714 Franklin St., Oakland, CA 94612, independently of and not authorized or approved by any federal, state, or local candidate or candidate’s committee.

Color Of Change PAC is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Contributions to Color Of Change PAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

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