Dear Friends,
AT&T Chairman and former CEO Randall Stephenson published an open letter to all elected officials about fulfilling our country’s “mandate for equitable justice.” You can read and share Randall’s letter here.
We’ve all seen messages from across the globe expressing grief and anguish over racial injustice against the Black community. Recent travesties of justice underscore the long history of violence and racism Black people in America still face.
AT&T was one of the first companies to endorse the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s, and for decades our advocacy has included financial support and engagement with civil rights groups. But there’s obviously much more work to do. Failure to address this reality is not an option. Engaging for change is a moral and business imperative—not just for AT&T, but for all companies, and for all communities and citizens.
This work must be done across our society and culture. Stories of injustice must be seen—captured by journalists and citizens alike. Institutions must step up—influencing public policy nationally. And we all must empower community initiatives. Our actions must be connected.
Telling the Story
Communicating with each other, telling our stories—even when they’re uncomfortable, new or challenging—is the only way to start. This is the work WarnerMedia is doing. In recent weeks, we have hosted a CNN/Sesame Street town hall on racism and made the Warner Bros. film Just Mercy, based on the life and work of civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, available to rent free through June. And we are making an additional contribution of $10 million that includes both cash as well as production assistance and advertising inventory on WarnerMedia channels to raise even more awareness and public support for the work to achieve racial justice.
Organizing Nationally
In addition to his open letter to elected officials, Randall Stephenson recently called on other chief executives to speak up and make change for racial justice on CNBC. Randall is representing AT&T in leading a new Business Roundtable committee of top CEOs to push for public policy changes that deliver equal justice outcomes for all. AT&T will also be working in Washington towards federal reforms.
Acting Locally
Change is so often local. Across the country, we’re working with many civil rights organizations, including Color of Change, National Action Network, National Urban League, NAACP, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and the Equal Justice Initiative. We’re encouraging employees to contribute to these organizations with donation matches from the company.
To learn more about our latest local actions, visit your state’s page.
AT&T is here to listen, learn and take meaningful action together with our communities. What we do now matters not only to Black Americans but to everyone.
Let’s get to work.
