Should you and your company speak up on civil rights issues?

There has been quite a bit of unrest among the civilian population. We’re still in the first wave of COVID and that has greatly affected everyone and we’re all realizing that we’re in this for the long haul. But there are also the events that have happened as a result of the murder of George Floyd and many other black people at the hands of the police.

As a business, how can you properly address civil unrest while still being true to your business and getting the marketing message out?

It’s a hard thing for anyone to understand if it’s even the place of a business to comment on events like these. But some of the events that have happened are just so profound that it’s ridiculous to ignore them and just continue with your own messaging. These are significant events in our country and if you’re not at least commenting on them, you are not in tune with what’s going on in the world.

That’s not to say a company should jump on every civil issue that comes around. It’s not your place and your customers likely don’t want that anyway. But when a civil issue becomes a civil rights issue, especially when it affects you, your employees, and/or your community, then that’s when you should weigh in on the matter.