For Immediate Release
Contacts:
CJ Frogozo, cj@fitzgibbonmedia.com, 310.570.2622
Kayla Keller, kayla@fitzgibbonmedia.com, 281.682.6212
Despite more than 100,000 ColorOfChange members calling on GoFundMe to remove the Darren Wilson donation pages and return all profits, the company has taken no clear steps beyond deleting racist comments. In fact, GoFundMe has doubled-down on its defense of the Wilson fundraisers in a blogpost, even though it later took down the pages supporting Daniel Holtzclaw, the officer charged with sexually assaulting at least 8 Black women.
Here’s a statement from Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange.org:
“GoFundMe did the exact right thing by taking down the Daniel Holtzclaw fundraiser, and we urge them to follow suit with Darren Wilson — removing the pages once and for all, and returning all profits.
“GoFundMe’s defense of the Darren Wilson fundraisers has been appalling. There is no such thing as a ‘neutral technology platform.’ By siding with Darren Wilson and his supporters, the company is taking a side.
“The Darren Wilson GoFundMe pages lower the social and financial costs of killing Black men and boys. They send the message that you will be supported in the aftermath of taking Black life. We’ve seen this before when Trayvon Martin was murdered. These pages create a climate of sympathy for perpetrators of violence against Black teens.
“We urge the company not only to remove the pages and return profits, but also update their ‘Terms and Conditions’ so that perpetrators of racially-motivated or sexual violence can never fundraise on the platform again. We hope there are no more Darren Wilsons who use the site to profit hundreds of thousands of dollars in the aftermath of terrorizing or taking Black life.
“The ColorOfChange community will be paying close attention to what GoFundMe does next, and are ready to escalate our campaign if we’re met with silence or inadequate responses.”
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With more than 900,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the nation’s largest online civil rights organization.