The Color of Change PAC announced that it has “confronted” Silicon Valley employees with a series of billboards “urging tech companies to stop supporting the Republican National Convention in protest of presumptive nominee Donald Trump’s bigoted rhetoric and policies.”
Color of Change credited itself with pressuring companies such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and most recently Hewlett-Packard with reducing or eliminating their financial support for the RNC to protest Trump’s nomination.
“However, many tech companies in Silicon Valley have yet to publicly disassociate themselves from the convention and continue to align their brands with the divisive nominee,” the PAC complained.
“Workers at our nation’s biggest tech companies may be surprised to learn that they are providing a megaphone to someone who actively encourages racism, misogyny, and hate speech. By supporting a Trump-led convention, companies are endorsing rhetoric that is bringing out the worst in America and inciting violence and vitriol at rallies across the country,” said Color of Change spokesperson Rashad Robinson.
“Divesting from Trump and the RNC does not mean companies have to undermine their dedication to civic engagement and the Cleveland community,” he continued, referring to the city where the RNC convention will be held.
“Based on Trump’s thinly-veiled threats of violence at the convention itself, declining to support the convention will protect the Cleveland community from a candidate who would bring significant harm. Companies, many of which claim to value diversity in the workplace, have the power to send a strong message that racism and other forms of bigotry are bad for business, bad for their brand, and will not be tolerated,” Robinson said.
The Color of Change statement did not address the actual violence perpetrated by left-wing protesters outside Trump rallies, but perhaps they will “confront” those protesters with a future billboard campaign.