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You and more than 85,000 ColorOfChange members have called on
corporations to stop supporting the American Legislative Exchange
Council (ALEC) because of its role in voter suppression. In the last two
weeks, news broke that Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kraft Foods, Intuit,
McDonald's, Wendy's, and Mars have all ended their relationships with
ALEC — a major step forward in our campaign. But many major corporations
are still funding ALEC.
State Farm is one of them. We contacted State Farm to make sure they
understand that through their membership in ALEC, they are supporting
racially-discriminatory voter ID laws1,2 that have the potential to disenfranchise over 5 million people in the upcoming elections.3
But despite correspondence including letters and telephone
conversations, we can't get State Farm's management to give us a
commitment that they'll leave ALEC. They need to know that people like
you want them to do the right thing.
Will you help us hold State Farm accountable for supporting voter suppression? Please take a moment to call State Farm and demand that they stop supporting ALEC:
State Farm is a well-known household brand. By associating itself with
ALEC, the company lends legitimacy to a reactionary organization that is
undermining voting rights and democracy.
State Farm has made a substantial amount of money from Black consumers,
and they have many Black employees. But they are placing a hefty
membership fee in the hands of a group that is working to weaken the
Black vote. We can't let State Farm take our money with one hand and
take away our vote with the other.
The ballot box isn't the only place where ALEC's policies are dangerous for Black people.
Florida's "Shoot First" law has thus far stopped George Zimmerman from
being arrested for shooting Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old armed only
with a pack of Skittles and an iced tea. ALEC views the Florida "Shoot
First" law as a "model" piece of legislation for other states to adopt
and they have helped push it into over two dozen states, with it under
consideration in eight more.4 The group has also written
legislation to impose harsher criminal penalties on juveniles, to
privatize education, and to break unions.
State Farm's financial support of ALEC must end. Please join us
in calling on State Farm to disassociate itself from ALEC and stop
supporting an agenda that harms Black people and anyone who cares about
equality in our democracy. It just takes a minute:
Thanks and Peace,
-- Rashad, Gabriel, Dani, Matt, Natasha, Kim and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
April 17th, 2012
April 17th, 2012
P.S. We want to acknowledge our partners at CREDO Action, the Center for
Media & Democracy, Common Cause, Progress Now, People for the
American Way, and SumOfUs, who have been doing excellent work to help
expose ALEC.
Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org
is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from
lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our
tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute
here:
References
1. "New Evidence of ALEC Connections in All Successful Voter ID Legislation," Campus Progress, 09-08-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/
http://act.colorofchange.org/
2. "First, show your face," The Economist, 09-17-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/
http://act.colorofchange.org/
3. “GOP, ALEC Could Make It Harder For 5 Million To Cast Ballots,” Mother Jones, 10-3-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/
http://act.colorofchange.org/
4. "Blood for Money: NRA, ALEC, & 'Shoot First' Laws," Center for Media and Democracy/ALECExposed.org,
http://act.colorofchange.org/
http://act.colorofchange.org/
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