John,

Since news broke that Disney had donated nearly $300,000 to the sponsors and supporters of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Color Of Change PAC has worked to get Disney on the right side of history.¹ Our demands are simple: 

• Disney must stop funding bills that block the teaching of accurate Black and LGBTQ+ history;
• Disney must work to stop Georgia’s new anti-LGBTQ+ bill.² They must use their considerable wealth and influence to lobby against the bill and threaten to pull film production from the state if the legislation is made into law; and 
• Disney must direct their political giving to candidates committed to making our country a more loving and inclusive place.

Donate now to help fund our work to STOP Disney from funding hateful bills! 

Our work has been a whirlwind so far. All this happened in just one week:

• On Sunday, March 6th, Disney CEO Bob Chapek sent out an internal memo to all Disney workers that justified the company’s decision to remain silent on the bill. As soon as the memo leaked, we reached out to Disney and scheduled a meeting to discuss our concerns.³ 
• After our meeting with Disney, we jumped into action; we sent emails to over a million Color Of Change members asking them to take action, and demanded that Disney halt their political giving to bigoted politicians that peddle hateful anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-Black history legislation.
• On Wednesday, March 9th, Chapek walked back the memo, publicly announced that Disney did not support the legislation, and called Florida’s governor to express Disney’s opposition to the bill.⁴ 
• On Friday, March 11th, 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.” He also stated that Disney would suspend political donations in Florida and reexamine how they engage in political advocacy.⁵

Since then, we have made progress in forcing Disney to take aggressive steps to end its funding of this kind of legislation. Thousands of Color Of Change members like you stepped up; over 7,000 members sent emails to Disney’s CEO, and over 13,000 members signed our petition. We’re not done yet, but Chapek’s moves so far show just how powerful we are when we act together.

CAN YOU CHIP IN TO HELP US GET DISNEY ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY? 

There is still more to be done. Just this week, hundreds of Disney’s LGBTQ+ workers and allies staged walkouts at several Disney parks and buildings to protest Disney’s willful funding of hateful legislation across the country.⁶ Color Of Change PAC stands in solidarity with these brave workers, and we’re doing what we can to make Disney do the right thing… but we can’t do it alone.

It’s because of people like you that we can afford to do this work, John, but there is so much more we must do. 

Though Disney has paused political donations in Florida, they are still funding legislation like this across the country. We need your help to fund our work and find out exactly who Disney is giving to in states like Ohio, Texas, and Georgia and hold them accountable for funding hate bills. We must keep communicating with our members and make sure that Bob Chapek knows EXACTLY how we feel about Disney’s political giving.

For every state that passes heinous anti-Black history and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, millions of Black people will suffer. In a system where political contributions can make or break the success of a candidate or proposed legislation, we must demand better from major corporations like Disney. If Disney is going to keep capitalizing on queer and Pride-themed branding with Pride events and merchandise, they must meet our demands and hold themselves accountable in a concrete way.⁷ Can you help us get them there by donating today?

Power our work by donating today!

Until justice is real,

- Jade Magnus Ogunnaike

 

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References

1. 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, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/349789?t=7&akid=53143%2E4731121%2EiOFApZ. 

2. Tat Bellamy-Walker, “Georgia legislators introduce a Florida-style 'Don't Say Gay' bill,” NBC News, March 10, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/349915?t=9&akid=53143%2E4731121%2EiOFApZ

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, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/349789?t=11&akid=53143%2E4731121%2EiOFApZ. 

4. Frank Pallotta, “Disney CEO says he will meet with Ron DeSantis to oppose 'Don't Say Gay' bill,” CNN, March 9, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/351028?t=13&akid=53143%2E4731121%2EiOFApZ

5. Sarah Whitten, “Disney pauses political donations in Florida, CEO Chapek apologizes for silence over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill,” CNBC, March 11, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/349923?t=15&akid=53143%2E4731121%2EiOFApZ

6. Brooks Barnes, “Disney Employees Walk Out Amid Furor Over Florida Legislation,” New York Times, March 22, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/351029?t=17&akid=53143%2E4731121%2EiOFApZ

7. Anthony Armenia, “Gear Up For Pride Month with A Colorful Array of Disney Pride Products,” Disney, May 3, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/351030?t=19&akid=53143%2E4731121%2EiOFApZ