After Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing Floyd on May 25, 2020, was found guilty Tuesday on all three charges in his killing, many companies issued statements declaring it not a victory, but a step in the larger fight for racial justice. 

Derek Chauvin verdict sparks response from corporate America: 'Radical changes' still needed

Lisa Scherzer

Wed, April 21, 2021, 7:35 AM

Much of Corporate America declared solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd last year and vowed to address racial inequities in their own businesses. 

After Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing Floyd on May 25, 2020, was found guilty Tuesday on all three charges in his killing, many companies issued statements declaring it not a victory, but a step in the larger fight for racial justice.

The CEO of Minneapolis-based retailer Target (TGT) said the verdict in the Chauvin case is a sign of forward progress:

"The murder of George Floyd last Memorial Day felt like a turning point for our country. The solidarity and stand against racism since then have been unlike anything I’ve experienced. Like outraged people everywhere, I had an overwhelming hope that today’s verdict would provide real accountability. Anything short of that would have shaken my faith that our country had truly turned a corner. Today’s guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial is another sign of forward progress," Target chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said in a memo to employees obtained by Yahoo Finance.

Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook tweeted “Justice for Black people cannot be achieved without radical changes in the structure of our society.”

Starbucks (SBUX) wrote on Twitter that the verdict was a “step forward,” but the need to address the “root causes of what led us to this day” still remains. 

Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote: Right now I'm thinking of George Floyd, his family and those who knew him. I hope this verdict brings some measure of comfort to them, and to everyone who can't help but see themselves in his story. We stand in solidarity with you, knowing that this is part of a bigger struggle against racism and injustice.

The Business Roundtable, a nonprofit whose members are CEOs of major U.S. companies, wrote: “Today’s verdict confirms that George Floyd was the victim of a senseless crime. Though today’s verdict is a step toward justice in this case, unarmed Black men and women continue to die in encounters with the police. To ensure true justice and healing, our country needs to take steps to address its long history of racial inequity in law enforcement."

Former PayPal CEO David Marcus simply tweeted: "Justice has been served."

Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors (GM), posted a message on LinkedIn, saying in part: "While the guilty verdicts in the trial seeking justice for George Floyd are a step in the fight against bias and injustice, we must remain determined to drive meaningful, deliberate change on a broad scale."

Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Brad Smith wrote on the company's website: Today’s verdict is a step forward in acknowledging painful truths and for the continued cause of defeating racism and fighting discrimination. Our company remains committed to the continued path ahead.

Anthony Noto, CEO of fintech company SoFi, wrote: (abridged)

Ecolab, a food safety company based in Minnesota, tweeted: (abridged)

Sports leagues also issued statements following the verdict, including the NBA, NHL and NFL. 

The NBA said "there's much more work to be done" and will "redouble our efforts to advocate for meaningful change in the areas of criminal justice and policing."

Floyd’s murder sparked months of worldwide social justice protests and ignited a kind of reckoning in the U.S. particularly focusing on law enforcement’s treatment of people of color.

Dozens of companies and their executives — usually hesitant to take a political stand for fear of alienating customers — pledged to address systemic racial injustice following Floyd's death. They vowed to make changes within their own institutions, to create a more inclusive corporate culture, and donated millions of dollars to organizations dedicated to racial justice, such as the NAACP and Black Lives Matter Foundation.