Cox donating $1M for social justice, civil rights

Cox Enterprises announced Friday it will donate $1 million to nonprofits involved in social justice programs, part of the company’s response to the ongoing national reckoning on racial inequality.

Cox employees will have a say in which organizations receive the money. Over the next several weeks, the company’s internal diversity and inclusion teams will hold listening sessions with employees to gather feedback about recent events and which nonprofits they believe the company should partner with to best foster community healing. How many ways the money will be divided has not been determined, said Maury Wolfe, of Cox public affairs.

A company statement said no one should suffer mental anguish, violence or death, as did George

Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and others, because of racism and discrimination.

“Racism still pervades our society but at Cox, we believe equal rights are the foundation of a free and just society,” the statement said. “We believe in human rights, justice, and empowering our communities through investment — not only money, but also kindness and compassion.”

Cox Enterprises is the parent company of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and employs some 55,000 people nationwide.

On Monday, Atlanta-based Home Depot announced that spurred by the killing of Floyd, Arbery and other black men and women, it was donating $1 million to support efforts to end racism and injustice. Other Atlanta businesses have recently made pledges of action on racial justice, including Coca-Cola Company, Southern Company and Chick-fil-A.