"No longer can Corporate America manipulate our culture into believing incremental progress is acceptable action."
Sean "Diddy" Combs has issued an open letter calling out corporations for not truly supporting Black empowerment. Posting on Twitter, he linked to the letter, which demands more from brands that he accuses of exploitation.
"Corporations like General Motors have exploited our culture, undermined our power, and excluded Black entrepreneurs from participating in the value created by Black consumers," Diddy's letter reads. "In 2019, brands spent $239 billion on advertising. Less than 1% of that was invested in Black-owned media companies. Out of the roughly $3 billion General Motors spent on advertising, we estimate only $10 million was invested in Black-owned media. Only $10 million out of $3 billion! Like the rest of Corporate America, General Motors is telling us to sit down, shut up and be happy with what we get."
The letter is the latest example of Diddy criticizing institutions for racism. In 2020, the Bad Boy Records founder blasted the Grammys for failing to honor contemporary Black music. “I say this with love to the Grammys, because you really need to know this. Every year, y’all be killing us, man,” he said during last year's pre-show. “I’m talking about the pain — I’m speaking for all the artists here, producers, the executives — the amount of time that it takes to make these records, to pour your heart out into it, and you just want an even playing field?"
Now, Diddy wants corporations to put money behind their shows of solidarity.
"The time is now!" Diddy's letter concludes. "Radical change is the only option. You’re either with us or you are on the other side."
You can read Diddy's full "Letter To Corporate America" here.