You may not have heard of ACT for America.
But they’ve heard of you: ACT for America is the country’s largest anti-Muslim hate group, and they work tirelessly to undermine Muslim communities and our allies. They support a broad racist, anti-Muslim, and White Nationalist agenda—not just the Muslim Ban, but a wall on the US-Mexico border, and the ending of DACA, too.
At their last national event back in June, ACT for America was joined by members of Identity Evropa and Vanguard America—the same groups involved in the deadly neo-Nazi riot in Charlottesville.1
Now, ACT is planning their annual conference next weekend (October 2nd and 3rd)—at the Marriott in Arlington, VA.
Last month, ACT was planning a series of anti-Muslim, pro-Trump rallies across the country, but after the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, they quickly canceled them—after it was exposed that similar organizers were behind both events.2
But they're still pressing ahead with their conference next week—and so far, Marriott has refused to back away from hosting this hate group's convening. In fact, they're even offering them a discounted nightly rate.3
After the deadly violence in Charlottesville, several companies decided to rescind platforms, services, and domains for hate groups like ACT and their members. The companies that stood against hate and bigotry include: Tiki Brand Products, Airbnb, Discord, PayPal, Patreon, GoFundMe, GoDaddy, and Google.4
Marriott International states in its principles that it will do business with "integrity and ethical behavior" and that they will "take care" of their customers, "even in the most challenging times."5
Well Mr. Sorenson, these are challenging times for groups targeted with hate rhetoric and violence by neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, and anti-Muslim bigots.
Dozens of businesses and CEOs have begun abandoning Trump's White Nationalist agenda and groups like ACT for America that support it. That's because they've heard our protests and public outcry.
They know that any business that allows for groups like ACT to convene a national platform to bolster an anti-Muslim agenda is one that is responsible for subsequent hatred and violence.
We're continuing to hold companies accountable because right now, we can't stop pushing to make hate a losing business plan for corporations on the fence.
In solidarity,
Kifah, Linda, Mohammad, and the MPower Change team
Sources:
1. "Will ACT for America Provide An Outlet for the 'Alt-Right' Post-Charlottesville?" Southern Poverty Law Center, Aug 18, 2017
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/08/18/will-act-america-provide-outlet-alt-right-post-charlottesville
2. "White nationalists akin to Charlottesville organizers behind upcoming ACT rallies" Imagine 2050, Aug 17, 2017
http://imagine2050.newcomm.org/2017/08/17/white-nationalists-akin-charlottesville-organizers-behind-upcoming-act-rallies/
3. "Marriott says it will not cancel conference hosted by anti-Muslim hate group" The Washington Post, Sep 22, 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/marriott-says-it-will-not-cancel-conference-hosted-by-anti-muslim-hate-group/2017/09/22/5983cda4-9efb-11e7-9083-fbfddf6804c2_story.html
4. "These companies are taking a stand against white supremacy" USA Today, Aug 16, 2017
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/tech/2017/08/16/these-companies-taking-stand-against-white-supremacy/104631932/
5. "Principles of Responsible Business" Marriott, Oct 2012
http://www.marriott.com/Multimedia/PDF/CorporateResponsibility/Principles%20Responsible%20Business.pdf