Last week, Making Change at Walmart (MCAW) and UFCW’s OUTreach group released an open letter to the nation’s leading LGBT Pride organizations calling for them to reject Walmart’s donations because of the retailer’s long history of allowing LGBT discrimination in its stores.
The letter states: “As you may know, one of the corporations sponsoring Pride events in your city is Walmart. Walmart is the nation’s largest employer and millions of Americans shop there every day. Their actions – or lack of action – matter. When it comes to LGBT issues, the sad reality is that they are trying to pass themselves off as an ally to the LGBT community by writing checks, while ignoring allegations of discrimination and hate. This must stop, and it must stop now.”
The new initiative is part of a larger MCAW national campaign during Pride Month that is calling on leading LGBT organizations to speak out against Walmart’s anti-LGBT practices. MCAW will also be educating Walmart customers and the LGBT community about the company’s real record on LGBT issues in front of Walmart stores and at Pride events throughout the country. As part of the education effort, grassroots actions will be held in at least 17 cities during Pride parades or celebrations.
“Walmart’s donations to Pride events is nothing more than an attempt to rainbow-wash its troubling history,” said Jess Levin, communications director at MCAW. “The truth is that Walmart all but ignores when LGBT customers and employees face harassment, bigotry and discrimination in its stores. We don’t expect Walmart to share its real record with Pride organizations, let alone the American people, but we will.”
To view the letter in its entirety, visit http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/2016/06/10/making-change-at-walmart-calls-out-walmarts-anti-lgbt-practices/.