ATLANTA — Chick-fil-A is expressing its solidarity with black employees and communities, saying in a statement that "our hearts are breaking" for them.
Protests have flared nationwide in the last week in the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, with demonstrators demanding an end to police brutality and institutional racism.
"Our hearts are breaking, for our black Team Members, Operators and Staff and all those in the Black community who are suffering and who have suffered for too long because of racism," a Chick-fil-A post on the company website said.
It adds that, "Racism should have no place in society. Not now, not ever. It cannot be tolerated" and promises, "At Chick-fil-A, we know we have a role in moving all of us forward. We will listen. We will be intentional. We will share."
It also included a recent LinkedIn post by CEO Dan Cathy explaining his views, which includes him writing he's heard his black friends and colleagues telling him repeatedly they are tired.
"They are tired, because no amount of kneeling or marching seems to truly address what has ailed our country for generations: A controverted view of race which is sometimes overt and sometimes subtle but always destructive," Cathy writes.
"There are countless academics and analysts who have written about how our democratic capitalism benefits only a few hundred incredibly wealthy families, individuals and corporations, so that the American dream is now reserved almost exclusively for them and their descendants.
"Because I am among that demographic, I am calling on them — us — to use our power and influence," he adds.
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