What you need to know
- Google has pledged $12 million to organizations tackling racial injustice.
- The company has already pledged $1 million to the Center for Policing Equity.
- Googlers will also be called to hold an 8 minute 46-second long moment of silence later today.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai today commented on the protests in the United States as well as the Black Lives Matter movement.
In an internal email shared on the Google Blog, Pichai said:
Our Black community is hurting, and many of us are searching for ways to stand up for what we believe, and reach out to people we love to show solidarity. Yesterday, I met with a group of our Black leaders to talk about where we go from here and how we can contribute as Google. We discussed many ideas, and we are working through where to put our energy and resources in the weeks and months ahead.
Google will be donating $12 million to organizations aimed at tackling racial justice. The company already committed $1 million from YouTube earlier this week to the Center for Policing Equity, another $1 million will go to the Equal Justice Initiative, and the other $10 million will go to other as yet unnamed organizations. Google will also provide $15 million in ad grants to assist organizations fighting racial injustice spread their message.
The company will also match a $2.5 million donation from an internal Googler giving campaign to address racial issues.
Finally, Googlers will hold an 8 minute, 56 second long moment of silence at 1 PM PDT, a reference to the killing of George Floyd in an incident of police brutality earlier this year.
As the backlash over police brutality rises, tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter have donated to organizations tackling racial injustice, even as they fall under long-overdue criticism.
