ViacomCBS President of Entertainment and Youth Brands Chris McCarthy has announced that all entertainment, youth brands, and platforms will be going dark, Monday, in honor of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless others.
"The last few weeks have brought to the surface long-standing racism, videos of unspeakable behavior and the harsh reality of inequality many in our community deal with on a regular and daily basis.=," McCarthy explained in a memo sent to his staff. "In Minneapolis, the horrifying murder of George Floyd, in Georgia the senseless killing of Ahmaud Arbery, and in Kentucky, the deplorable shooting of Breonna Taylor, to name just a few recent examples.
"While I am not a person of color and can never fully understand this experience, I am offended by the systemic racism and want to stand together with our communities of color in the hurt and pain. We must all do our part – discrimination against one of us is discrimination against all of us."
The brands will go dark for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the time in which Floyd was killed.
ViacomCBS also went dark in 2018 for 17 minutes in solidarity with the National School Walkout. The walkout was held to honor the 17 students killed from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Check out the full internal memo here.
[Via]