Excellent blog post by Dr. Ed Rincon. He examines the purchasing power of people of color and how this could matriculate into either lower consumer spending on corporations' products, or at the other end, to boycotts that can make a massive difference on policy. Toyota certainly sent shock waves throughout the GOP by withdrawing their support in light of the delusional view that the election was stolen from Donald Trump, justifying the January 6, 2021 riot on the U.S. Capitol.
I hope that companies like Toyota similarly weigh in on voter suppression and anti-Critical Race Theory bills like we have in here in Texas, as these constitute a definite attack on an electorate that is similarly culturally diverse.
At a deeper level, republicans need to figure out how to engage and be inclusive of culturally diverse others, as opposed to shutting them out of the ballot box or curriculum. I'm sure that's what Jesus would want them to do anyway.
-Angela Valenzuela
Toyota Withdraws GOP Donations for Jan. 6 Riot Support
In the world of politics – money talks. The headlines across national and local news sources announced some rather bad news for Republic lawmakers who refused to certify the election of President Joe Biden: donations by the Toyota PAC will come to a stop.
This was a stunning announcement for two important reasons. First, it signaled that large corporations like Toyota cannot afford to sit on the sidelines on the Jan. 6 riot event and continue to make donations to these rogue Republican lawmakers. Secondly, the appearance that the behavior of these rogue legislators was endorsed by Toyota could potentially threaten the company’s competitive position in the automotive industry. Why should this matter to large corporations like Toyota?
Many large corporations have invested significant advertising dollars to capture the consumer dollars of U.S. multicultural consumers, such as African Americans, Latinos and Asians. Indeed, HIS Markit recently reported that 29 percent of new vehicles registered in 2020 were multicultural – translating to millions in vehicle sales. In addition, multicultural consumer spending is significant for brands in many industries other than automotive.
As illustrated by the chart below, the aggregate household income – a crude measure of buying power – was $885 billion for African Americans, $1.1 trillion for Latinos and $683 billion for Asians. Thus, the total buying power for these multicultural segments was $2.6 trillion in 2019.[1] It is hard to imagine that this buying power would not matter to an organization whose profitability depends on the multicultural consumer spending.
While several large corporations expressed initial interest in withholding donations to the GOP following the Jan. 6 riot, few had actually followed up on that commitment. [2] A report released by the progressive watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington that identified Toyota as the top donor to election objectors in the months following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. [3] Dallas-based AT&T and Austin-based Dell also continued their donations to these GOP lawmakers. A little nudging from the Boycott Toyota campaign initiated by The Lincoln Project may have provided the needed impetus for Toyota to make their recent announcement.
Although boycotts, either real or threatened, may not be the preferred way of negotiating business and political relationships, it is likely to gain momentum as the stakes continue to rise by aggressive GOP efforts to restrict the voting rights of communities of color. While GOP operatives are making significant strides with legislation to restrict voting rights, they are less prepared to interfere with a well-coordinated campaign to boycott companies that underwrite the political campaigns of Republican lawmakers who continue to undermine our democracy. The growing sophistication and penetration of social media is also likely to facilitate the economic impact of a boycott should it occur.
Whether they realize it or not, multicultural groups in the U.S. have tremendous economic clout to change the political behavior of corporations whose brands have benefited significantly from their consumer spending. The decision to launch boycotts against corporations that support controversial GOP lawmakers will be easier once corporate donation practices are publicly disclosed as The Lincoln Project did to justify their boycott campaign against Toyota. However, multicultural organizations may be hesitant to support a boycott against a corporate entity that is donating funds to these controversial GOP lawmakers while also contributing funds to community programs that support multicultural organizations – a delicate decision indeed.
It is also worth mentioning that GOP lawmakers often pursue agendas that are counterintuitive. For example, a pro-life legislative strategy that challenges abortion rights seems contradictory to support for gun rights legislation that contributes to the rise in mass homicides. Similarly, one can also question the logic of suppressing voting rights among people of color while also promoting low vaccination rates in predominantly Republican communities – how does this tactic promote election victories if many of the unvaccinated Republican voters will not live long enough to cast a vote in the next election?
The reader should be advised that I am not advocating for boycotts of corporate brands that support these controversial Republican lawmakers, but merely underscoring the potential vulnerability of corporations to a well-coordinated boycott that levels the playing field in the battle for voting rights.
Reference Notes
[1] American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B19025, Aggregate household income for Blacks, Latino and Asian Households. Accessed at https://data.census.gov/cedsci/
[2] DeFurio, D. (2021 July 8). Toyota says it will stop donating to politicians who opposed certification of Biden’s election win. Dallas Morning News. Accessed at: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/local-companies/2021/07/08/toyota-says-it-will-stop-donating-to-politicians-who-opposed-election-certification/
[3] CREW (2021, June 23). Accessed at: https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/this-sedition-is-brought-to-you-by/
