OAKLAND, Calif.—The civil rights group ColorOfChange.org Thursday urged its 600,000-plus members to petition companies who advertise on Glenn Beck’s radio and television shows to urge them to cut off their advertising on Beck’s programs. The mobilization comes after Beck called President Obama a “racist” who “has a deep-seated hatred for white people” during an appearance Tuesday on “Fox and Friends.”
“What Beck is doing is race-baiting at its worst, it’s dangerous and it’s hard to imagine any company wanting their brand associated with it,” said James Rucker, executive director of ColorOfChange.org. “Beck has now shown that his extreme views are more appropriate for a street corner than a major media program. He no longer deserves the backing of mainstream advertisers.”
Among the advertisers who will be targeted as part of the campaign include GEICO, NutriSystems, Proctor & Gamble, and United Postal Service.
The ColorOfChange.org email urges members to go visit https://colorofchange.org/beck/, where they can send letters to CEO’s of target companies.
The Beck campaign comes on the heels of ColorOfChange.org members calling on CNN to fire Lou Dobbs after he revived the false and repeatedly debunked notion of so-called “birthers” – that President Obama was not born in America.
ColorOfChange.org’s decision to hold companies accountable for where they spend their advertising budgets is significant because of the increased consumer power of African-Americans. A 2008 report by the market research publication Report Buyer forecasts that the buying power of the country’s African-American community will hit $1.1 trillion by 2012.
With more than 600,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the largest African-American online political organization in the country.