For Immediate Release
Washington DC—September 7, 2021. Greenpeace launched a campaign to demand AT&T not wreck our democracy by funding racist voter suppression. Since Friday, and running day and night for 10 days, an animation calling on AT&T to stop funding extremist politicians who sponsor racist voter suppression bills will play on a digital billboard in Washington DC’s iconic 7th & H street intersection in Chinatown-Galleryplace neighborhood– right above DC’s flagship AT&T store.
Today Greenpeace activists will also stage a protest in front of the store at 785 7th St NW, Washington, and hand out information from 1 PM ET-2 PM ET [1].
A healthy democracy is a precondition for a healthy environment. We only have a handful of years left to reduce the power of companies polluting our communities, our climate, and our democratic systems before we will rocket past climate thresholds and find ourselves at a catastrophic point of no return—unless we first fix our broken democracy.
Unfortunately, AT&T is one of the worst culprits when it comes to voter suppression. According to Greenpeace analysis in Dollars vs. Democracy: Companies and the Attack on Voting Rights and Peaceful Protest AT&T is the #1 contributor to legislators sponsoring racist voter suppression bills.
Folabi Olagbaju, Greenpeace USA Democracy Campaign Director said:
“Corporations have a moral responsibility and a key role to play in upholding democratic practices and policies. Unfortunately, AT&T does not see this as a good business practice. In Texas, AT&T contributed $250,000 to Gov Abbot’s PAC the same day he called a special session to pass the most draconian voter suppression bill in the country. AT&T also gave thousands of dollars in PAC money to Texas lawmakers after they voted for voter suppression bill SB7, which has been described as “the largest step-back since Jim Crow. We simply cannot go back to that. We must strengthen our democracy so that everyone’s voice is heard—no exceptions.”
According to the same report, AT&T is also the #1 contributor to state legislators pushing anti-protest bills. Many of which were introduced after the Black Lives Matter-led racial justice demonstrations of 2020 and resistance to fossil fuel pipelines led by Indigenous water protectors.
Greenpeace is calling on AT&T to stop funding politicians who sponsor legislation designed to disenfranchise voters and silence protest—and instead support solutions for our democracy like the #ForthePeopleAct and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Olagbaju continued:
“When everyone’s vote counts, our government becomes more accountable and capable of meeting the urgent demand for racial justice and enacting solutions to the rapidly accelerating climate crisis. We only have a handful of years left to reduce the power of fossil fuel companies polluting our communities, our climate, and our democratic systems before we will rocket past climate thresholds and find ourselves at a catastrophic point of no return—unless we first fix our broken democracy.”
[ENDS]
[1] Photos will become available here.
Contact: Valentina Stackl, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, [email protected], (734) 276 6260
