Corporate anti-racism is all the rage these days. We’ve exposed the hypocrisy of companies from Amazon to Airbnb that have taken to social media in recent weeks to speak out against systemic racism and express support for the Movement for Black Lives, but refuse to adopt corporate policies to back up their claims. McDonald’s is the latest company we’ve called out for joining the chorus of brands releasing hollow solidarity statements and launching a full on woke-washing marketing campaigns to profit from the Movement for Black Lives, while doing nothing to change worker policies that perpetuate systemic racism.

After the killing of George Floyd, McDonald’s produced a digital ad to honor Floyd and six other victims of police brutality. “We do not tolerate inequity, injustice, or racism,” reads the text that flashes momentarily on the screen before it ends with “Black Lives Matter.” 

The ad begs the question — do Black lives REALLY matter to McDonald’s when it comes to its own workers? McDonald’s actions speak louder than words. The reality is that 80 percent of McDonald’s majority Black and Brown workforce don’t have access to paid sick leave. That is dangerous under normal circumstances; during a global pandemic, it’s deadly. By failing to ensure that workers have access to paid leave, the McDonald’s solidarity statement feels more like a PR stunt than a real commitment to the cause.  

In another recent attempt to “woke-wash” its brand, last month McDonald’s used its live air time and social platforms during the BET awards to amplify Black voices — putting the spotlight on a number of Black artists, advocates, educators and more. While this tactic arguably did some good by elevating Black issues in the media, it was also a thinly veiled attempt to distract the public from the many ways McDonald’s exploits Black workers. Many Black McDonald’s workers have led protests and strikes for paid leave and basic COVID-19 protections for months. Workers have even filed lawsuits against the company, claiming the dangerous workplace conditions — including being told to use coffee filters and “puppy pads” as face masks — pose a “public nuisance” that put entire communities at risk. McDonald’s has so far failed to meet these worker demands and consistently discredits their advocacy — while paying shareholders nearly $2 billion since the pandemic began.

If McDonald’s wants to show it cares about Black and Brown people, it needs to begin the work to change company policies and practices that perpetuate inequality. Immediately adopting a policy that gives all workers access to paid sick days and family and medical leave is an important step in the right direction. 

Failing to give its majority Black and Brown workforce paid time off to care for themselves and their families is just the tip of the iceberg. McDonald’s has a long record of failing to protect workers from racial discrimination and harassment. 

For years, McDonald’s has ignored sexual harassment complaints from many women of color workers. Over the past 18 months, the ACLU has represented dozens of McDonald’s workers around the country, filing Equal Employment Opportunity Commision complaints and lawsuits against the company for failing to protect them from sexual assault and harassment. A lawsuit filed earlier this year by two Black executives alleges a company culture rife with systemic racial discrimination. And most recently, McDonald’s’ inability to protect its majority Black and Brown workforce has led to COVID-19 outbreaks in a number of restaurants across the country, and without access to paid leave, has left hundreds of its workers with the impossible decision of choosing between a paycheck and risking their health and the health of others. 

It’s clear that McDonald’s cares a LOT about attracting Black consumers and socially conscious consumers who care about the Movement for Black Lives. What’s also clear is that it will gladly co-opt a global movement to end white supremacy and stop police brutality to pad its bottom line. As consumers, we must use our power to call McDonald’s out and show the company that woke-washing won’t work on us. Now is the time for McDonald’s to reckon with its past, address systemic racism within its red and gold walls, and implement policies that support Black people. 

Today, July 20, marks the nationwide Strike For Black Lives, which calls for an end to white supremacy and fundamental changes to our society, economy, and workplaces. Many McDonald’s workers are planning actions to pressure the company to give all workers access to paid leave and other basic protections. Now is the time to show workers that we have their backs. McDonald’s cares about consumer reviews, which is why we’re flooding more than 300 McDonald’s restaurant Facebook review pages with messages amplifying worker demands for paid leave. McDonald’s should listen to their demands and respond with real policy changes. Anything short of that is unacceptable.

McDonald’s workers don’t need a marketing campaign telling them McDonald’s cares about Black people. They need policies that show it.  

The first time I voted was in 1968. As a blind man, I needed the assistance of a poll worker to cast my ballot. I’ll never forget the moment the poll worker looked at my ballot and said loudly, for everybody to hear, “You want to vote for who?”
 
The poll worker’s comment left me shocked, embarrassed, and wondering whether she marked the ballot the way I wanted. Years later, I would ask my wife to mark my ballot. She would joke with me, “I know you love me, but now I know you really trust me.” I knew my wife would mark my ballot the right way.
 
I’m lucky to have the help of someone I trust, but I shouldn’t need to rely on somebody else to exercise my constitutional right to vote. People with disabilities have the same legal right to a private, independent vote as anybody else. By forcing people with disabilities to compromise these rights, election officials are disenfranchising us and sending the message that our votes don’t matter — and breaking the law.
 
In the 50 years since I cast my first vote, there has been some progress in increasing accessibility for people with disabilities, due to reforms included in the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Help America Vote Act, which aim to ensure accessibility. But our voting system will never be truly accessible until people with disabilities can vote without the assistance of another person, and without compromising their right to privacy. Unfortunately, that’s still not the case for the 35 million-plus eligible voters with disabilities, who face barriers that vary from state to state.
 
Here’s how I vote today as a Washington, D.C. resident: I request my ballot online and mark it electronically, using my screen reader. Then I must print the ballot, stamp it, and put it in the mail. The last part is feasible for me, but it may not be feasible for someone with paralysis or another disability that impedes mobility, or for someone without the financial means for a printer or computer. Due to hurdles like these, many people have to rely on a family member, poll worker, or even a stranger to cast their vote.

Expanding access to vote by mail has been a major step toward accessibility because it allows people with disabilities to avoid the challenges of getting to the polls, waiting in line, and facing physical barriers at a polling place. It should also be an option for all voters, especially due to the dangers posed by in-person voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. But for true accessibility, people with disabilities who vote by mail must be able to mark, verify, and cast their ballots privately and independently.
 
We should also have the choice to vote in person. In fact, voting in person can be the more accessible option for some voters, such as those with print disabilities. But it’s still far from being truly accessible. Too many times, I’ve encountered poll workers that don’t know how to operate accessible machines, even when they are available. This makes the process of voting take much longer than necessary. I don’t want to have to hold up a whole line of voters just because the poll worker isn’t properly trained on how to use a machine. I want to vote efficiently, and in secret.
 
Voting is one of our oldest, foundational rights, but voting laws are constantly changing. In some cases, it’s for the better. For example, a dozen states have expanded access to vote by mail for some elections this year. But there’s still more work to be done to make sure the right to vote applies to everyone, including people with disabilities.

Jim Dickson, President of the Aid Association of the Blind of the District of Columbia

I’ve been documenting violent and militarized police responses to protests in Portland for more than four years, but nothing prepared me for the unrestrained brutality I’ve witnessed and experienced in recent days. 

Night after night, since the police killing of George Floyd, people have been taking to the streets to demand an end to racist policing and a new vision of public safety for our community, one that protects the safety of our Black community members. Police in Portland, who have their own history of killings, have been meeting those demands with violent attempts to silence the protests.

(Doug Brown/ACLU of Oregon)

Repeatedly, police have indiscriminately fired tear gas and other munitions into peaceful crowds and have hit journalists and legal observers with batons and flash-bang grenades. This response has been escalating tensions in the community.

(Doug Brown/ACLU of Oregon)

A Black-led community organization called Don’t Shoot Portland, in partnership with the Oregon Justice Resource Center and other civil rights advocates first sued and successfully blocked local police from using tear gas. The ACLU of Oregon filed a lawsuit that prohibited police in Portland from dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, or directing physical force against journalists or legal observers. Several other lawsuits followed.

While some federal officers had already been in the streets, we now have additional militarized special ops officers occupying the streets of downtown Portland, bent on inflicting pain and terror on people who believe Black Lives Matter. 

Federal agents, including those from Trump’s Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, are terrorizing the community, threatening lives, and relentlessly attacking protesters demonstrating against police brutality.

(Doug Brown/ACLU of Oregon)

Militarized federal agents have flouted court orders protecting the rights of protesters from local law enforcement attacks, used sharpshooters to maim people, and deployed military tools and tactics — including sonic weapons and tear gas. Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland have been shot in the head with kinetic impact munitions, swept away in unmarked cars, and repeatedly tear gassed by federal agents. These government-issued weapons are funded with our tax dollars.

(Doug Brown/ACLU of Oregon)

Even more, federal agencies appear to be doubling down on these harsh tactics, saying they will not leave the streets of Portland and will take their disturbing practices nationwide. DHS, and its sub-agencies Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, already have a well-known history of abusing human rights and a documented disregard for human life. Now, they are using federal taxpayer dollars to militarize their agencies and ignore the bounds on their power.

This has to stop. We cannot sit idly by and accept this as the new normal — in Portland or anywhere else in this country. And we must not let federal or local law enforcement suppress or control what people know about their violent tactics by attacking journalists and legal observers. Public transparency is a baseline requirement for democracy and accountability.

Remember: Without people filming the police, the officers who murdered George Floyd would never have had to answer for his death.

That is why the ACLU of Oregon took our local police department to court, and secured a court order blocking its unconstitutional attacks on journalists and legal observers. And that’s why we’re taking the federal agents to court, too. We will not rest until law enforcement agencies — at all levels of government — are held accountable for their brutal, inhumane, and unconstitutional attacks on the people of Portland. 

This is a fight to save our democracy — here in Portland and nationwide. And we’re just getting started. We will not let up until these federal agents leave our city, and these unconstitutional attacks on the right to protest against police brutality end.

Doug Brown, Communications Associate, ACLU of Oregon