North Central College marketing professor quoted in The 19th

Xiaoye Chen discussed how companies followed through on promises towards racial equity

After video footage of 46-year-old George Floyd’s death reignited a call for social justice in the summer of 2020, public support for the Black Lives Matter movement reached an all-time high. Corporate America responded on an unprecedented scale. Hundreds of companies made financial pledges to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

Corporate social responsibility — in which companies consider social and environmental issues — is hardly a new concept. However, Floyd’s murder ignited a wave of corporate messaging that experts deemed unprecedented.

Xiaoye Chen, associate professor of marketing at North Central College, interviewed with reporter Mariel Padilla of The 19th, where she addressed many corporate executives mentioned the words “racism” or “racial” at investor-facing events for the first time.

“It is fairly common for companies to donate to general social causes, but rare for them to voice support of singular events. They tend to be “highly selective” when choosing who or what to support.”

Click here to read the full story on The 19th.