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Is Chick-Fil-A Really Changing Their Stance On Anti-LGBTQ Donations?

Marilyn Drew Necci | November 22, 2019

Topics: anti-LGBTQ donations, Boycott, Chick-Fil-A, CNN, Dan Cathy, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Franklin Graham, Greg Abbott, Tim Tassopoulos

We have reason to believe that the religiously-guided chicken sandwich chain is being given more credit than they deserve. If you read this article, you’ll see why.

Back at the beginning of this week, you couldn’t escape discussion of the fact that Chick-Fil-A would no longer donate to anti-LGBTQ donations. That, in fact, was the headline of the article CNN ran on Monday, November 18: “Chick-fil-A will no longer donate to anti-LGBTQ organizations.”

This was cause for both joy and sorrow. Advocate proclaimed this decision by the chain a victory for LGBTQ activists. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who earlier this year signed the “Save Chick-Fil-A” bill to force San Antonio’s airport to accept a Chick-Fil-A franchise, publicly declared his intention to boycott the fast-food chain over their decision. A lot of social media users proclaimed themselves to have made the same decision on Twitter.

Boycott Chick-Fil-A! Stop patronizing their stores! pic.twitter.com/05Lpska9Eb

— Larry Carter (@LarryCa67390424) November 19, 2019

Boycott #ChickFilA and donate to #SalvationArmy , instead. No more Chick-fil-A gift cards, but generous donations to The Salvation Army, instead, each Christmas, from now on.

— Thomas Christopher (@waterguard06) November 19, 2019

But what’s really going on here? Did Chick-Fil-A really ever commit to making no more donations to groups with anti-LGBTQ policies? As you could probably predict, it’s way more complicated than that. What Chick-Fil-A said in the statement all these articles were based on was that they were “introducing a more focused giving approach… Staying true to its mission of nourishing the potential in every child, the Chick-fil-A Foundation will deepen its giving to a smaller number of organizations working exclusively in the areas of education, homelessness and hunger.”

As a result of this change in policy, they would be focusing donations in the immediate future on the education-focused Junior Achievement USA and the homelessness-focused Covenant House International. Those donations and $25,000 donations to local food banks on the occasion of each new Chick-Fil-A location opening would be the the sole donations the fast-food chain would make in 2020.

This wasn’t done specifically to end donations to anti-LGBTQ groups. Indeed, as a result of this decision, Chick-Fil-A ended donations not just to the three anti-LGBTQ organizations they’d previously donated to, but to over 80 organizations that had received donations from the chain in the previous year.

In a statement quoted by Fox Business, Tim Tassopoulos, President and COO of Chick-Fil-A, said that the new fundraising decisions were based on more strictly targeted goals. “Our goal is to donate to the most effective organizations in the areas of education, homelessness and hunger,” he stated. He further refused to rule out any future donations to anti-LGBTQ organizations.

“No organization will be excluded from future consideration – faith based or non-faith based,” stated Tassopoulos.

Therefore, despite the effect of their changed donation policy being that they will give no money to anti-LGBTQ groups in 2020, there’s no reason to see this policy change as indicative of any change in their anti-LGBTQ stance. That’s true regardless of whether or not they plan to give any more money to anti-LGBTQ organizations like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes — who, let’s not forget, has received over $2 million from Chick-Fil-A in the past two years.

Meal from Chick-Fil-A
Photo via Chick-Fil-A

No less an anti-LGBTQ authority on the evangelical right than Franklin Graham confirmed this with a post on his Facebook page Thursday. Beginning the post with the question, “Has Chick-Fil-A caved?” Graham went on to describe a phone call he’d had with Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-Fil-A — the one whose commentary back in 2012 made everyone aware of the fast-food chain’s anti-LGBTQ beliefs and policies.

“Dan was very clear that they have not bowed down to anyone’s demands, including the LGBTQ community,” Graham wrote in the post. “They will continue to support whoever they want to support. They haven’t changed who they are or what they believe. Chick-fil-A remains committed to Christian values. Dan Cathy assured me that this isn’t going to change. I hope all those who jumped to the wrong conclusion about them read this.”

Did you jump to the wrong conclusion? Did you think maybe you could stop ordering your chicken sandwiches from Popeyes and go back to the fast-food chain that claims to have started it all?

Look, it’s your money, and no one at GayRVA is going to tell you how to spend it. But what we will tell you is that, if you were avoiding Chick-Fil-A due to their anti-LGBTQ stances before, you have no reason to stop doing so now.

Top Photo via Chick-Fil-A

Our Doors Are Open and Our Lights Are On: VA Politicians Boycott Trump at the Jamestown Commemoration

John Donegan | August 2, 2019

Topics: american evolution, Boycott, danica roem, deport hate, governor ralph northam, house of burgesses, ibraheem samirah, immigration, jamestown commemoration, Justin Fairfax, kathy spangler, politics, Ralph Northam, refugees, thomas norment, trump, virginia black caucus, Virginia Democrats

From widespread boycotts to protests of Trump’s speech, this year’s Jamestown Commemoration didn’t feel like much of a celebration.

The year is 1907. President Theodore Roosevelt, in his second term, visits Norfolk, where celebrations for the 300th Term-Centennial Anniversary of colonial America are underway. 

His arrival is an extravagant spectacle; the presidential yacht swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, docking alongside an international fleet of 47 battleships, and was received in salutation by cannon fire. 

“At last the smoke cleared away, and the President was perceived — on the deck of the Mayflower — with his high hat in hand and his frock coat flapping in the breeze,” the Philadelphia Inquirer said of the event, at the time called the Jamestown Exposition. 

Roosevelt spoke before a sea of bowler caps; 40,000 attended to hear his address. Speeches were also made by Booker T. Washington and Mark Twain. 

An estimated 1.2 million turned out for the week-long 1907 exposition, yet most already knew the basic story of Jamestown. They came for festivities likened to the World’s Fair, and enjoyed promises of progress. 

The site spread like the state fair across 340 acres of ground and water, while carnival rides and games filled the grounds. The “War Path” amusement park, a Wild West show and a re-creation of the San Francisco earthquake, came included with the general admission price of 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. 

Fifty years after the Jamestown Expedition, construction finished on Colonial Parkway — and Queen Elizabeth II delivered a personal address to the crowds. Fifty years after that, in 2007, after the attacks and subsequent questioning of public safety, George W. Bush spoke before an outdoor commemoration of 9/11. Bush gave a cheeky address, and later directed the Virginia Symphony Orchestra before an outdoor crowd.

That was 12 years ago. And this Tuesday, President Donald Trump travelled here to Jamestown to give his keynote speech celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the first legislative body within what would become the United States of America, Virginia’s House of Burgesses. 

But unlike when Roosevelt arrived 112 years ago, there were no rides, no attractions, no special fair foods, no celebration. And unlike the queen’s address in 1957, or Bush’s conducting in 2007, there was no sense of festivity, no big shows, and no attendance by the Royal Family. 

The event, instead, was private. Bulletin boards informed of delays in tours until the afternoon.  Much of Colonial Parkway was closed off. Layers upon layers of barricades besieged the Jamestown settlement. Signs and police checkpoints instructed anyone uninvited to steer clear. 

Photo by Branden Wilson

The event saw more security than attendees, and a tension in the air that, even sitting next to an industrial sized A/C vent, made it hard to breathe. 

Inside the inner layer, squad cars and local party members filled the parking deck. Wild West shows and reenactors were replaced by body scanners and checkpoints. 

Snipers nested on the roofs that overlooked the breakfast buffet. Older individuals filed into the air-conditioned tent, clad in prim summer suits and red hats to cover balding scalps and spun-up hair. 

Indeed, the only “War Path” of the day was for anyone who dared contend with the narrative of the planned proceedings. 

The event was organized by American Evolution, a sub-company of Dominion Power. When asked for specifics on who was chosen to be invited and who funded the event, AE failed to comment — though when speaking to guests and purveying the grounds, it was clear most of the invitees were elected officials, members of law enforcement, or interested stakeholders. 

Technically, the event was not meant to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the English’s first arrival to America in 1607 — that was what Bush was celebrating 12 years ago. Instead, this event honored the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1619. Yet many speakers, from erudite historians to Trump himself, spoke at great length of the initial arrival in Jamestown and the creation of the United States’ first legislative body as one and the same. 

Most of the day consisted of speeches by Virginia officials. Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment, R-James City, led the opening discussion, about learning from the mistakes of the past — which would become a theme for the day’s speeches. 

“Between the James and York rivers, you will find the birthplace of our nation whose legacy can still be felt here, and not just because you may bump into someone at the grocery in a tri-corner hat or a hoopskirt,” Norment said. “We honor history here, and we must preserve our past, but we also have a duty to learn from it.” 

While 1619 brought major changes pertinent to America’s emerging representative democracy, it also brought slavery to the new world. Historically, Jamestown brought both success and failure, both progress and atrocity. Speakers attempted to observe this duality of our nation’s past, and without stirring the pro-Trump crowd, made tongue-in-cheek allusions to similar mistakes we make today. 

“Here in Virginia, we try to live up to those American ideals,” Governor Ralph Northam said. “We know our diversity is our strength, and we welcome immigrants, refugees, and all those who, like those who stood on this spot 400 years ago, come to Virginia in search of a better life.”

Our doors are open and our lights are on, no matter who you love, no matter who you are, or no matter where you come from — you are welcome in Virginia. And there is no ideal more American than that. 

“Extremism, racism, nativism, xenophobia and isolationism driven by a fear of the unknown tend to spike in periods of stress… a period like our own,” said Jon Meacham, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and historian. “Yet history teaches us that we’ve always grown stronger the more widely we’ve opened our arms, and the more generously we’ve interpreted the most important sentence ever rendered in English: Thomas Jefferson’s assertion that all men are created equal.” 

Meacham, most notably the author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, marked the history of Jamestown as the history of America. 

“Jamestown is a mirror of who we were and who we are,” he said. “Dreamers and doers came here and they built, and we stand in the light of their achievement.” 

Current lawmakers and local supervisors of the original boroughs were in attendance, but both the Virginia Black Caucus and state Democratic leaders skipped the commemoration organized by American Evolution. Their absence was intentional, a boycott of Trump’s attendance and a protest of his recent Twitter attacks on four congresswomen. The caucus instead held their own commemoration in Richmond, which focused on the “400-year evolution of African-Americans.” 

“We will not be attending any part of the commemorative session where Donald Trump is in attendance,” said a statement by the leadership of the Virginia House and Senate Democratic Caucuses. “The current President does not represent the values that we would celebrate at the 400th anniversary of the oldest democratic body in the western world.” 

Photo by Branden Wilson

However, some Democrats attended as a stance for inclusion. 

“I represent everyone by being here today, and in particular, I’m hoping we’re able to send a different message about the value of inclusivity, equality, equity and diversity here in the Commonwealth,” Del. Danica Roem (D – Prince William) said, according to NBC 12. 

Lt. Gov. Justin Fairax, who also attended, was leery of the President’s speech. 

“I listened to the words, but they rang hollow, and were very empty because they are not reflective of the actions of this administration,” Fairfax said, according to NBC12. 

Many of the state’s Democratic political leaders did not attend the event for similar reasons. A spokesperson for the Virginia House Democratic caucus said it was up to individual lawmakers to decide if they wanted to attend, but leadership would not be there. 

“My reaction is that, certainly, this is our democracy in action, and we all have a right to make our position and make our statement,” said Kathy Spangler, the Executive Director of American Evolution, according to WTKR News. 

By the time Trump came on to speak, the day’s proceedings were almost over. 

“As we can see today on this great anniversary, it would not be the last time that God looked out for Virginia,” Trump said. “Together, the settlers forged what would become the timeless traits of the American character. They worked hard, they had courage and abundance, and a wealth of self-reliance. They strived mightily to turn a profit, they experimented with producing silk, corn, tobacco, and the very first Virginia wines.” 

“For in America, no challenge is too great. No journey is too tough. No task is too large. No dream is beyond our reach. When we set our sights on the summit, nothing can stand in our way. America always gets the job done. America always wins.” 

I just disrupted the @realDonaldTrump speech in Jamestown because nobody’s racism and bigotry should be excused for the sake of being polite. The man is unfit for office and unfit to partake in a celebration of democracy, representation, and our nation’s history of immigrants. pic.twitter.com/0okD7eRVer

— Delegate Ibraheem Samirah (@IbraheemSamirah) July 30, 2019

Trump’s ending remarks were interrupted when Del. Ibraheem Samirah (D – Herndon) held a sign reading “Deport Hate,” “Go Back To Your Corrupted Home,” and “Reunite My Family.” 

“Virginia is our home! You can’t send me back!” Samirah shouted. Trump fell silent and stuck his nose towards the ceiling as the crowd began to shout and boo. Police escorted Samirah out. Some of the more stirred in the crowd began to chant “Trump, Trump, Trump.” 

In order to leave, we required an escort to guide us out of the premises. While this may seem fairly common for a political event today, this is a stark difference from the way we celebrated democracy in both recent and long time past. 

In those moments, I began to wonder — would Roosevelt, Bush, or members of the original House of Burgesses do the same? In the face of grievances, is it normal to ignore, look away, and simply wait for security to handle it for them? 

We walked out on the speech early, cameras in hand, trying to get some photos of Del. Samirah, who was brought outside for questioning. After some walking, I looked up to my right and noticed two of the snipers posted on the wall, binoculars glued to their eyes, watching us. And for a moment, I didn’t know whether to feel afraid or proud. I wondered if 112 years ago, if they had snipers on the roof, or protesters on the lawn. 

Either way, what a day to be an American. 

This Facebook Group Boycotting the Black Panther Film is Getting Trolled Hilariously Hard

RVA Staff | February 7, 2018

Topics: Black Panther, Boycott, Christians, Facebook, Fake Accounts, Trolling, White Tears, WYPIPO

Black Panther, the next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), is set to smash box office records with pre-sales exceeding all of Fandango’s advance ticket sales up to this point. The movie will focus on the superhero, T’Challa, who was first introduced in 1966 through the Fantastic Four comic series and is king of the fictitious African nation of Wakanda – played by the charismatic Chadwick Boseman. Created by Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee and equally legendary artist Jack Kirby, Black Panther is a hero known for his superhuman prowess, including speed, healing, durability, and heightened strength. Yet beyond all that, Black Panther is also a skilled diplomat, strategist, and scientist, making him unique in the Marvel Comics universe.

Recently, American philosopher, intellectual, author, and journalist for the Atlantic Ta-Nehisi Coates has been writing the Black Panther comic series, with the first Coates-penned issue going to press in April 2016. This also coincided with the introduction of the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe during Captain America: Civil War.

The anticipation surrounding Black Panther is notable for a few reasons, not least of all because the movie looks fucking awesome. The movie is also unique in the MCU, in that it has a cast that is 90 percent black. And in an age where Hollywood notoriously whitewashes characters of color (anyone remember Tilda Swinton playing a Tibetan in Dr. Strange?), this protection of the comic series’ cultural lexicon is a deeply welcome change.

Nonetheless, this celebration of blackness was always going to be hard-fought, because let’s face it: It’s 2018 and this is Donald Trump’s #Murica. Which brings us to the Facebook group, Christians Against Black Panther Movie (BOYCOTT NOW!!). The group claims that Black Panther “is try[ing] to push their views on us as well as blatant racism” and that “Marvel was acquired by the ‘Liberal Mega Propaganda Machine’ Disney. That’s right!!! the same company that owns CNN, ABC, and our nation’s biggest distraction ESPN.”

The group is administered by three fake accounts under the names Wade Wilson (assumedly a reference to the Marvel character Deadpool), MS Enterprise, and Mike Sican, yet, this is clearly an attempt (by Russia?) to lead an actual boycott of the Black Panther movie. Or just to be divisive, but either way, the motives are nefarious. Last Thursday, Newsweek broke a story about alt-right trolls attempting to tank the score on Rotten Tomatoes, much as they did for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The article was quoted as saying, “Fringe right-wing activists love some of the same pop culture as the rest of the nation—they just don’t want to see it begin to reflect the rest of the nation.”

Regardless of the intent, events have not turned out as planned for the “God-fearing trio,” as over 8,000 people – as of writing – have joined the group to troll the ever-loving Christ out of their mission and boycott.

White people claiming they are victims of “racism” is ridicilous, and Facebook certainly did not fail to point this out, with people from all over the US dialing it in at warp speed in the comments section.

The Facebook pile-on did not stop there though, especially when one of the group’s admins tried to jump in and moderate the trolling.

The outcome was amazingly predictable, and consistent with only the most brutal Facebook comment section smack-downs.

As of Wednesday morning, the trolling game was still going strong, with thousands of comment threads being posted.

One person in the group summed up the boycott group page perfectly.

Making America Great Again.

Cover Art by Marvel 

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