Back in 2020, when Corporate America virtue-signaled in its entirety at the altar of the Marxist grifters of Black Lives Matter, Coca-Cola was among those who led the way in support of those who torched major cities, including the company’s home of Atlanta.
In a promotion of its Sprite soft drink product, the company proudly announced a $500,000 donation to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, at the time headed by Patrisse Cullors, whom NLPC later found in several investigations to be misusing millions of dollars it had raised following the George Floyd riots, much of it from major corporations. Under a cloud, Cullors left the organization in June 2021, as NLPC reported at the time.
But now that BLM has embraced the cause of Hamas following its terror attack on Israel, Coca-Cola has scrubbed from its website all past references to the race-baiting pressure group, as Sen. Ted Cruz informed listeners to his podcast last week. BizPacReview reported the news:
“For every corporate donor who sent millions to BLM—including Amazon, Apple, BlackRock & Bank of America—do you regret supporting such a virulently antisemitic organization?” Cruz said on his podcast.
“Do you support Black Lives Matters’ Marxist agenda supporting Hamas? Are you anti-Semites? Do you support that we need to end Israel?” he added.
According to Cruz, someone at Coca-Cola apparently listened to the podcast, because by Friday morning, the company had deleted all pro-BLM rhetoric from its website.
Specifically, Coca-Cola, which owns Sprite, deleted all pro-BLM language in a June 24th, 2020 press release.
“Earlier this month, Sprite announced a $500,000 contribution to the Black Lives Matter Global Network in a social post committing action in the fight for racial justice. On June 28, the brand debuted a new TV commercial during the 2020 BET Awards telecast showcasing Black America’s resilience, excellence and optimism,” the release originally read, as seen in this archived copy.
“The 60-second spot titled ‘Dreams Realized’ emphasizes Sprite’s commitment to making young Black creators’ dreams a reality and to inspire the next generation to do more and dream bigger,” it continued.
This lengthy paragraph has since been removed from the release, as seen in the updated version.
Cruz wasn’t pleased by this removal because it didn’t come with an apology.
“Editing your website is not enough. Americans DEMAND an apology,” he tweeted Friday.
NLPC, which owns stock in Coca-Cola, has sponsored shareholder proposals at the last two annual meetings, both of which sought to hold Chairman and CEO James Quincey (pictured above) accountable for repeatedly immersing the company in divisive political issues, including abortion. NLPC also filed a proxy memo earlier this year with the Securities and Exchange Commission to explain our rationale for the need “to keep Quincey’s left-leaning political excursions in check.”
