Civil rights advocates are decrying the Walton Family Foundation’s alleged ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group responsible for advancing “stand your ground” statutes and other laws that activists say promote minority voter suppression.
“ALEC is a creature of evil,” that few people understand, said Bill Fletcher, labor and civil rights activist and creator of {BlackCommentator.com}. “Hiding under the shroud of a nonprofit, this is a highly politicized outfit that provides ammunition for the Far Right to carry out its state-based initiatives.”
On July 6, Fletcher and other key civil rights leaders, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson of Operation PUSH, actor and civil rights activist Danny Glover and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, fiery pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, sent an open letter to the foundation, which was created by the family that founded Wal-Mart.
The letter expressed dismay that despite Wal-Mart’s and the Waltons’ avowed support for civil rights and civic participation, the pair supposedly has donated more than $1 million to politicians with close ties to ALEC and its agenda.
“We are disturbed that, despite your company’s image about support for Civil Rights, you are funding an organization that has helped to propel serious attacks on our communities,” the letter stated.
Phone calls and e-mails to the foundation requesting a response were not returned by AFRO press time.
Wal-Mart was among several institutions, including PepsiCo, Coca Cola, Amazon.com and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, that publicly disconnected and distanced themselves from ALEC and its mission.
However, the letter alleged, a Wal-Mart executive co-chaired the ALEC task force that endorsed the “stand your ground” law, which has been shown to disproportionately victimize Blacks.
Similarly, the Black leaders say they were appalled that Wal-Mart and the Waltons, through their campaign donations, are supporting Republican-initiated voter ID and other laws that disenfranchise Black and other voters of color.
“We are facing an election that could very well be stolen, much like the one in 2000….There is an orchestrated effort on the part of the Right-Wingers to create fear that there is some epidemic of voter fraud out there, when there is not,” Fletcher told the AFRO.
He added, “The Walton family cannot sit back and just say they’re contributing to this otherwise legitimate organization, that is, ALEC, when that institution is aimed at promoting laws that have the objective of disenfranchising—deliberately—millions of voters.”
Fletcher and others said countering such attacks will take more than just Black leaders signing a letter. It will require educating the Black community and then having the Black community use its muscle—particularly its spending power—to force change.
Dr. E. Faye Williams, national chair of the National Council of Black Women, said she now makes it a point to ask the businesses she patronizes whether they have ties to ALEC and similar organizations. And, she has already stopped doing business with several companies that are linked to ALEC.
She said, “If we spend our dollars with businesses that support ‘stand your ground laws’ and voter suppression then we’re supporting our own suppression. We need to come together and say, if you’re not going to support us, we’re not going to support you.”
