Facebook employees are under fire for repeatedly crossing out “black lives matter” with “all lives matter" on the walls of the company's Menlo Park, California campus.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the issue in an employees-only Facebook group on Thursday afternoon asking his mostly white staff to stop censoring messages of the social movement that addresses police brutality and socio-economic issues black communities face in America.
“Despite my clear communication at Q&A last week that this was unacceptable, and messages from several other leaders from across the company, this has happened again,” Zuckerberg wrote, according to Gizmodo.
The Facebook co-founder was also forced to clear up misconceptions of the movement which gained steam after the fatal shootings of unarmed black teens Trayvon Martin in 2013 and Michael Brown in 2014. According to a 2014 internal report by Facebook, only 2 per cent of Zuckerberg's employees are African-American.
“There are specific issues affecting the black community in the United States coming from a history of oppression and racism. ‘Black Lives Matter’ doesn’t mean other lives don’t — it’s simply asking that the black community also achieves the justice they deserve.”
Zuckerberg concluded the memo by saying the experience was "hurtful" and "tiresome" to the black community and that his staff would investigate the incidents.
"I hope and encourage people to participate in the Black@ town hall on 3/4 to educate themselves about what the black lives matter movement is about."
