Giving Compass' Take:

• Eric Horvath explains why corporations' commitment to racial justice must encompass much more than financial support and police reform.

• Why is a deep understanding of racial injustices essential for corporations to truly impact change? How does your commitment to racial justice include supporting systems change in the economy?

• Learn more about how to be most effective in your commitment to racial justice.

Companies across corporate America have come out with proclamations expressing their solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Accompanying many of these statements are large, multi-million dollar donations in the name of racial justice. Companies like Apple, Facebook, and Netflix have collectively committed millions of dollars to support organizations that are fighting for better policies, practices, and structures to support a more just society.

This inflow of financial support is certainly welcomed. However, in the absence of a richer, deeper understanding of racial inequity in this country and the investments required to dismantle it, corporations are making the dangerous mistake of having a quick fix to racial justice, which can slow progress.

A quick lesson from the LGBTQ Rights movement is instructive as to why our work must have a wider lens. Imara Jones, a prominent Black trans activist, recently discussed the ongoing struggles of Black trans people in America. Jones references the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which garnered such fierce support and energy. She notes how much emphasis was placed on marriage equality and the false belief that once it was achieved, positive momentum would obliterate the remaining LGBTQ injustices.

By narrowing the conversation to criminal justice, racial justice is incorrectly reduced to prisons and police, which overlooks the holistic vision of a racially just society. If our newest allies for racial justice, be it individuals or corporations, view criminal justice reform like DOMA, will racial injustices around education, health, and the economy ever be heard? Or will society, so conditioned to view Black Lives Matter-inspired protests focused on criminal justice, misguidedly assume that the rest of the dominoes will magically fall?

Read the full article about corporate commitment to racial justice by Eric Horvath at Medium.