EA is committed to fighting racial injustices internally and in society, according to an official note from CEO Andrew Wilson to EA’s team. The company will donate $1 million to organizations that work against discrimination around the world, starting with the Equal Justice Initiative and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.
The Equal Justice Initiative is a non-profit organization based in Montgomery, Alabama that provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes or anyone who may have been denied a fair trial.
The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund is a civil rights organization and law firm based in New York. It primarily focuses on the civil rights of African Americans in the U.S., but it’s also been replicated to promote equality for Asian Americans, Latinos, and women. The organization has a worldwide influence, being involved in campaigns for human rights in South Africa, Canada, and Brazil, for example.
Other organizations will receive donations, but these were the only ones mentioned by EA so far. The company will also “double match” donations to the YourCause program in June, where employees donate to the charities the company supports and to local organizations.
Internally, EA is organizing a community conversation day on June 9 so employees can express their “thoughts and feelings on these issues” aside from giving feedback and suggestions to what can be done in the EA community.
The company will also launch a new program to give all employees an additional paid day each year if they apply it to volunteering in their community. “With all of our employees around the world, that will represent more than 75,000 hours applied to the change we can make,” Wilson said.
