General Motors pledges $10m to promote racial justice

Automobile giant General Motors has announced that it has designated $10 million to support organisations that promote inclusion and racial justice. An initial $1 million will go to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, America’s leading legal organisation fighting for racial justice.

Recipients of additional funding will be determined with input from GM’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and the recently announced GM Inclusion Advisory Board (IAB). GM’s IAB, chaired by Chairman and CEO Mary Barra, will consist of leaders from inside and outside the company, who will work towards the goal of making GM the most inclusive company in the world.

The program includes the opportunity for employees to make donations to organisations, with the company matching those employee contributions. The employee contributions and the GM matching funds are part of the $10 million.

“Through today’s donations, GM is taking action in helping root out intolerance – and that means racism, bigotry, discrimination and any other form of hatred,” said Barra. “We want to be part of meaningful, deliberate change and we will not allow ourselves the passivity of urging others to act. We are taking action.”