The leaders of Facebook and Snap Inc. condemned the death of George Floyd, adding to the list of companies that have spoken out about the issues of police brutality and racism in the United States.
“We stand with the Black community — and all those working towards justice in honor of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and far too many others whose names will not be forgotten,” Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post Sunday night, referring to other African Americans who have been killed in recent months.
He said Facebook needed to do more to “support equality and safety for the Black community through our platforms” and announced the social media giant would donate $10 million dollars “to groups working on racial justice.”
“I am heartbroken and enraged by the treatment of black people and people of color in America,” said Evan Spiegel, CEO of the parent company of the social media site Snapchat, in an internal memo. “We must begin a process to ensure that America’s black community is heard throughout the country.”
The statements follow nights of protests and riots after Floyd, an unarmed black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer put his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.”
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Facebook and Snap join companies such as Nike, Netflix, and Intel Corp., which have already made statements about the incident. Nike, for instance, flipped its symbol and released a video to raise awareness about racism in the country. Twitter added the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag to its bio.
“I hope that as a country we can come together to understand all of the work that is still ahead and do what it takes to deliver justice — not just for families and communities that are grieving now, but for everyone who carries the burden of inequality,” Zuckerberg said.
