Netflix Moves $100 Million to Banks Serving Black Communities

Netflix has committed to addressing systemic racism inherent in banking by moving 2 percent of its cash holdings into banks and credit unions that support Black communities, according to a statement released by the company.

The streaming production company/network has spread the funds through six banks: Hope Credit Union, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), The Change Company, Enterprise Community Impact Note, OneUnited Bank and Calvert Impact Capital’s Community Investment Note.

The aim is to make sure more home and business loans are distributed throughout the African American community.

“Because we pegged our commitment to 2 percent of Netflix’s cash, the investment also grows overtime [sic]. So we will be ‘topping up’ our commitment at the end of the year and moving more cash — over and above the $100 million already committed — into these institutions,” Netflix’s Aaron Mitchell and Shannon Alwyn wrote in a Dec. 1 post.

This move was replicated by other content producers, including Comcast donating $75 million over three years to groups like the National Urban League and the NAACP, Sony Music donating $100 million to groups that “foster equal rights,” and ViacomCBS giving $5 million to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and other groups.

“It’s been rewarding to see … the impact these changes have had for people like Dominique Lumpkin, who just bought her first home in Memphis. Or Colby Midget, who kept the doors open to her floral shop despite the toll of the pandemic,” the Netflix executives added in the post.