{"id":20882,"date":"2020-06-04T23:50:13","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T23:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=20882"},"modified":"2020-06-05T00:52:34","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T00:52:34","slug":"brands-backing-black-lives-matter-it-might-be-a-marketing-ploy-but-it-also-shows-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/brands-backing-black-lives-matter-it-might-be-a-marketing-ploy-but-it-also-shows-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Brands backing Black Lives Matter: it might be a marketing ploy, but it also shows leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bree Hurst<\/a>, Queensland University of Technology<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This quote, or part of it, has been circulating on social media this week.<\/p>\n

It is attributed to South African Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu in the 1984 book Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes<\/a>. So it dates from Tutu\u2019s time as a leading opponent of the apartheid system in South Africa, in which only white people were afforded the full rights of citizens.<\/p>\n

But in recent days Tutu\u2019s quote has encapsulated many people\u2019s feelings about what\u2019s going on in the United States today.<\/p>\n

The killing by Minnesota police of George Floyd, arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, has become the latest ignition point for grievances about the systemic overpolicing and extrajudicial killing of African Americans.<\/p>\n

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\nThe fury in US cities is rooted in a long history of racist policing, violence and inequality<\/a>
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But the protests involving millions of people across the US and outside of it are fuelled by more than that. These protests are also about the systemic inequities that have recently seen America\u2019s poorest communities take the brunt of both health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

So given the Black Lives Matter protests are in part about the failings of American capitalism, how the corporate world is responding is worth talking about.<\/p>\n

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\nRichard Branson\/Twitter<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brands supporting Black Lives Matter<\/h2>\n

A bevy of the world\u2019s best-known brands have used their marketing channels to offer support.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be silent is to be complicit. Black lives matter,\u201d said Netflix on Twitter<\/a>. \u201cWe have a platform, and we have a duty to our Black members, employees, creators and talent to speak up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar tweets have come from Disney-owned Fox<\/a> and Hulu<\/a>. Apple Music joined the \u201cBlack Out Tuesday<\/a>\u201d campaign to raise awareness about issues of systemic ethnic inequity.<\/p>\n

Nike has repurposed its famous slogan with its \u201cFor once, Don\u2019t Do It\u201d advert:<\/p>\n