31 March 2021
Microsoft became the latest major company to express concern about Georgia's law curbing voting rights, which critics say will especially impact Black communities' voting access.
Our thought bubble, via Axios' Ina Fried: These corporations, many of which are based in Georgia, could have spoken up earlier when the law was being considered or before the governor signed. States often take cues from how hard businesses push back.
- Activists pressed Georgia-based businesses to publicly oppose the legislation for weeks before it was signed into law, and are now calling for people to boycott the companies.
What they're saying:
Microsoft: "We are concerned by the law’s impact on communities of color, on every voter, and on our employees and their families.
- "We share the views of other corporate leaders that it’s not only right but essential for the business community to stand together in opposition to the harmful provisions and other similar legislation that may be considered elsewhere."
Coca-Cola: The Georgia law is "unacceptable" and "a step backwards," CEO James Quincey told CNBC Wednesday. "[It] is wrong and needs to be remedied, and we will continue to advocate for it both in private and now even more clearly in public."
Cisco: "Our vote is our voice, and everyone deserves the opportunity to be heard. Governments should be working to make it easier to vote, not harder," Cisco chairman and CEO Chuck Robbins tweeted. "Ensuring equal #VotingRights isn't a political issue, it's an issue of right and wrong."
Delta Airlines: "[I]t’s evident that the bill includes provisions that will make it harder for many underrepresented voters, particularly Black voters, to exercise their constitutional right to elect their representatives. That is wrong."
Home Depot: "We believe that all elections should be accessible, fair and secure and support broad voter participation. We’ll continue to work to ensure our associates, both in Georgia and across the country, have the information and resources to vote."
Citi Group: "We strongly oppose efforts to undermine the ability of Americans to avail themselves of this fundamental right."
BlackRock: "While BlackRock appreciates the importance of maintaining election integrity and transparency, these should not be used to restrict equal access to the polls."
AFLAC: "We remain committed to our previously stated principles that voting should be easy, accessible, secure and transparent."
72 Black executives, led by former American Express CEO Ken Chenault and outgoing Merck CEO Ken Frazier, also called on corporations to oppose voting restrictions in a historic open letter.
Civil rights groups clapped back immediately after the bill was signed, filing several lawsuits within the week.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.