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Today, July 20, service workers across the country are walking off the job as part of the Strike 4 Black Lives. Organized by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Movement for Black Lives, and dozens of grassroots labor rights and racial justice groups, the strike is a protest of the systemic racism and anti-worker policies that dominate our economy.

The American economy has always been dependent on Black servitude. Today, corporations in the fast-food and service industries rely on the exploitation of Black, low-income workers to fill their profit margins, all while they continue to rob workers of fair wages, health care, paid sick time and so much more. Many of these same corporations were quick to release statements of solidarity with Black Lives Matter earlier this summer, but they are still holding tight to policies that actively harm Black employees and communities. 

If we are serious about Black Lives Matter, then we must also take seriously the need to end structural racism within our economy and abolish anti-worker policies. We must hold the corporations accountable who’ve inflicted so much pain and exploitation on Black employees and communities. As the Othering & Belonging Institute outlines in this powerful video, corporations stopped being accountable for their actions against the public good when it meant that the public they served expanded to include Black people, communities of color and women. 

The Strike 4 Black Lives is a step towards holding corporations accountable for the harm they’ve done to workers, families, communities and our planet. To achieve real racial justice and liberation in our country, we must continue to push and take back control. We need our government to hold these corporations accountable and enforce policies that will invest in people over profits. 

Take action today by:

1. Commit to kneel, hold a moment of silence or walk off the job for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Take the 8:46 pledge here.
2. Go on strike for Black lives. Find a rally, protest, or car caravan near you, as well as information on how to strike here.
3. Text DEFEND to 90975 to take action with the Movement for Black Lives today, tomorrow and beyond.