Abstract:
On May 25th, 2020 George Floyd, an innocent Black man, was unjustly murdered by a
police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mass Black Lives Matter mobilizations
occurred around the nation. Shortly after his death, corporations took to their own social
media pages and posted statements condemning this incident and what they would be
doing to help combat this injustice. Nike and Ben & Jerry’s released statements that
highly resonated with the public. This thesis looks at how corporations engage with
activism and shape public discourse. I conducted an online qualitative content analysis
looking at Nike and Ben & Jerry’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages and online
news articles. This study revealed that corporate activism can be categorized into three
categories: Conscientious Activism, which is when corporations boldly and shamelessly
engage with activism, Performance Activism which is when corporations only engage
with activism to appear proactive or socially just, and Reactive Activism, which happens when corporations engage with activism only after being pressured by other consumers,
the state, or other corporations.
