Press Releases

For Immediate Release April 29, 2020 Contact: kon@newtolerance.org Worcester State University (WSU), a public university in Massachusetts, boasts “open exchange of ideas” as one if its key principles, but its Student Government Association’s (SGA) recent rejection of a student application for a Turning Point USA chapter displays clear viewpoint bias, violating both the school’s own standards and their First Amendment obligations as a public university. New Tolerance Campaign is calling on WSU President Barry Maloney to stand by the university’s stated principles and stop this reckless discrimination! According to an investigation by the non-partisan Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), students Tony Winship and Alvin Marchena went through WSU’s standard process of establishing interest in a new club and obtaining a faculty supervisor. The students then made a presentation to the SGA who denied their request because of potential “negative impact on campus climate.” Turning Point describes itself “as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote freedom,” and its ideology is unmistakably right-wing. Turning Point’s leaders’ controversial statements and members’ edgy activism have gained national attention on more than a few occasions. But WSU describes itself in the student handbook as “an inclusive community that supports each person’s First Amendment right to express opinions and ideas, including unpopular or controversial viewpoints, without governmental interference, retaliation or punishment.” Winship had this to say: “We spoke to hundreds of students while tabling and only a retired art professor had an issue with our group. Clearly the SGA doesn’t represent the students anymore. Despite all of this we remain hopeful the university will eventually do the right thing.” Though WSU officials have said the decision was the SGA’s to make, as FIRE wrote in a letter to the school, “public colleges and universities cannot deny official recognition to student organizations based on viewpoint. Doing so is an abdication of their well-established constitutional obligations.” Public universities are a place where students should be engaging with controversial ideas, and their right to do this is protected by the Constitution. With just a few clicks, concerned activists can join NTC in telling WSU that their discriminatory behavior is not only violating students’ First Amendment rights, but setting a terrible example for its students. ###

For Immediate Release April 14, 2020 Contact: kon@newtolerance.org Freedom of the press is essential to American freedom. Our nation’s largest universities should be defenders of that freedom, not obstacles to it. This is especially true of one with “Liberty” in its name. That is why New Tolerance Campaign is calling on activists across the country to tell Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. to retract the arrest warrants his university issued against two journalists.  Under the leadership of Jerry Falwell Jr., Liberty obtained arrest warrants against two journalists accusing them of trespassing on its campus. The journalists, a freelance photographer for The New York Times and a reporter for ProPublica, had both visited campus before contributing to unflattering stories about Liberty’s controversial response to COVID-19. NTC takes no position on the validity of these articles. While the journalists were technically on private property without permission, pedestrians stroll onto college campuses all the time without fear of criminal prosecution. Falwell defended the criminal charges by saying that he was protecting his students from these journalists who were likely coming from COVID-19 hotspots like New York and D.C., though students are allowed to return to campus regardless of where they had traveled so long as they self-quarantine for two weeks. Further, just days after the arrest warrants were issued, Liberty’s own news outlet wrote a story lamenting that an alumnus’s arrest while protesting an abortion clinic “is evidence that the government is intent on using regulations imposed by COVID-19 to suppress religious expression.” If the First Amendment is as sacred to Liberty as this story suggests, its stance on the First Amendment on its own campus is hypocritical. Liberty President Falwell’s inconsistent policy towards tolerance does his students and those that follow his leadership a great injustice by leading them down the path of hypocrisy. Liberty should live up to its name by immediately dropping the charges against the journalists and taking the First Amendment seriously. ###

For Immediate Release April 2, 2020 Contact: kon@newtolerance.org The COVID-19 pandemic has infected 930,000 people and killed at least 47,000 globally. It has brought many cities and countries to a near stand-still, creating historic rates of unemployment and economic hardship with no end in sight. The New Tolerance Campaign recently ran several campaigns thanking some of our society’s good Samaritans that have risked their physical and economic health to keep people healthy and safe. Unfortunately, not all responses to the COVID crisis have been positive. University of Wisconsin-Parkside Professor Seif Dana’s comments are too reprehensible to ignore.  NTC is calling on its activists to tell Chancellor Debbie Ford of UW-Parkside to fire Dana for his despicable comments on terrorist organization Hezbollah’s television station. Dana is the Associate Dean of UW-Parkside’s College of Social Science and Professional Studies, and Institute for Professional Educator Development Department Chair. On April 1st, the Jewish News Syndicate broke the story that Dana had told terrorist organization Hezbollah’s television news station that COVID-19 is the result of a leak “from a laboratory at Fort Detrick in the United States,” and compared it to America’s bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.  In the same interview, Dana simultaneously downplayed the impact of the coronavirus, stating that “more people die every year, not just from diseases that you can get vaccinated for, like malaria, but also from the West’s economic policies…than what is happening now.” Dana then compared the situation to Hitler’s actions in World War II: “This is exactly what happened with Hitler. Hitler did not do anything out of the ordinary. He did not do anything that had not been done by the Europeans before….Hitler came to be viewed as Satan just because he did what he did in Europe.” These outrageous comments, clearly meant to spread a conspiracy theory designed to rile the audience up rather than ease the tension and stress that everyone is feeling, are an abomination of the responsible and fact-based approach we expect our professors of higher education to take. UW-Parkside’s mission includes the effort to “generate, disseminate and apply knowledge through research, professional and creative activity that benefits communities throughout the region and the world.” Dana not only missed that mark completely, but he purposefully flouted it in conduct that is unacceptable for someone with his dual leadership roles at a respected university. He must go. Join New Tolerance Campaign in calling on UW-Parkside’s Chancellor to fire Dana and expel his poisonous conspiratorial worldview from campus. ###

For Immediate Release March 19, 2020 Contact: kon@newtolerance.org The New Tolerance Campaign (NTC) has a reputation for calling out organizations and leaders for their wrongdoings and demanding they correct course. Today, however, we’re switching gears to recognize and thank five companies that are doing good in the face of the deadly Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic by going above and beyond to help their employees and communities. To do this, NTC is creating a series of thank you cards that people can digitally sign and personalize. NTC will also give signers a simple way to tweet their gratitude and ask others to sign the card as well. NTC will then send a copy of the thank you card and responses by both email and snail mail to the recipients. We will engage our current network of activists and run ads on Facebook inviting people across the country to participate. The first thank you card launching today will go to restaurateur and philanthropist José Andrés and his company ThinkFoodGroup. Andrés proactively turned his upscale restaurants in the NYC and Washington D.C. areas into “community kitchens” where those who are struggling can get free meals, while those who can afford to pay can get a meal for an unusually reasonable price of $7. The continued cash flow will allow ThinkFoodGroup to pay all employees their full wages as they serve those in the community who need it most. He described his decision in a moving video that’s well worth a watch.  NTC has four additional recipients that will be rolled out daily over the following week, but suggestions are welcome and can be sent to info@newtolerance.org. New Tolerance Campaign was founded on the belief that businesses, organizations, and community leaders have the power and responsibility to create a more tolerant and compassionate society, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to lift up those who are doing it right!  ###

For immediate release March 9, 2020 NTC is mobilizing activists to demand that Apple stop its grotesque use of forced Uyghur labor in their Chinese factories. This hypocritical practice – Apple often claims to be socially aware – is incredibly inhumane. Now that Apple is aware of their human rights violations, they must stop them immediately. Over the last two years, the world’s eyes have been opened to the cruel treatment of China’s Uyghur Muslim population by its government, which has been using an advanced surveillance state to abduct, isolate and brainwash innocent Uyghurs because of their religious beliefs. On March 1st, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) released an explosive report revealing a sickening new twist to the terrifying saga: many of these already tortured Uyghurs are being rented as slave labor to Chinese manufacturers producing products for well-known American companies. After being held in dystopian brainwashing camps, Uyghurs are shipped across the country to work in factories. They aren’t allowed to leave or practice their religion, and any time away from the factory floor is spent in indoctrination classes meant to strip them of their Uyghur identity. Through extensive research, ASPI found that participating factories were in the supply lines of at least 83 American and international brands including Apple, Nike, Amazon, Victoria’s Secret, and Nintendo. While it’s possible that these companies previously had no idea what was going on, they know now. We’re starting with Apple because they claim to “hold ourselves and our suppliers to the highest standards to ensure everyone is treated with dignity and respect.” Yet, ASPI identified at least four Apple-linked factories that are using forced Uyghur labor, including one that CEO Tim Cook visited in 2017. In addition to the activism platform, NTC is also running Facebook ads targeting Apple employees: Apple responded to the initial report with a statement saying that they were unaware, but they need to know that their customers and the American people are watching closely and expect them to take absolutely corrective action as soon as possible. They can choose to be heroes to thousands or willing perpetrators of one of the greatest human rights abuses of our time. ### Photo Source: ‘Strengthening patriotism education and building a bridge of national unity’ (加强爱国主义教育搭建民族团结连心桥), China Ethnic Religion Net (中国民族宗教网), 7 November 2019, online.

For Immediate Release On Jan. 31, Montana State Rep. Rodney Garcia sparked outrage by claiming at a public forum that the United States Constitution calls for all socialists to be jailed or shot. Whether Garcia knew this was a lie or not, it is un-American to silence political opponents, especially forcibly. Montana would be better off without him in public office, and he must resign. The Constitution actually says the exact opposite of Garcia’s claim and goes to great lengths to enshrine the right to free speech and ensure that our government does not have the authority to silence or punish political rivals. It is imperative that we guard against attempts to weaponize government power against political opponents, especially during fractured times like we have today. That’s why New Tolerance Campaign (NTC) is mobilizing Americans from every political background to take a stand. When given a chance to clarify his statements, Garcia doubled down, telling the Billings Gazette that “[socialists] are enemies of the free state. What do we do with our enemies in war? In Vietnam, (Afghanistan), all those. What did we do? … according to the Constitution, I’m telling you.” On Feb 3, the leadership of the Montana Republican party called on him to resign, addressing him directly by saying that “your actions have irreparably undermined the body in which you serve and irrevocably broken the trust of those you were elected to represent.” They are absolutely right. Garcia has the right to express disagreement with socialism, but it is never okay for an elected official to call for government violence against fellow citizens because of their political views. This is an insidious form of intolerance that has historically led to brutal atrocities time and time again.  NTC is providing activists with an opportunity to tell Garcia directly that he must go with just a few clicks. We are also collecting email-senders’ political affiliation, if they are willing to share it, in order to demonstrate that people of all political backgrounds oppose his remarks. All emails will be sent directly to Garcia immediately, and in addition, we will mail a list of all signers and a copy of the Constitution to Garcia. It is our hope that he will actually read the Constitution he claims to abide by and amend his ways accordingly. ###

For Immediate Release Earlier this month, New Tolerance Campaign launched an initiative empowering concerned citizens to send emails to the Jersey City Board of Education pushing for Joan Terrell-Paige’s resignation. Over 1,700 people have sent emails through NTC’s campaign, but Terrell-Paige remains in her position. NTC’s next step is to empower its concerned activists to call out the people making excuses for Terrell-Paige’s racism. On Dec. 18th, the Hudson County Democratic Black Caucus issued a statement that begins by saying that they “[do] not condone hatred towards any group.” It then spends the rest of its words trivializing Joan Terrell-Paige’s hateful words towards Jewish people by dismissing them in the name of another cause. Imagine a situation in which an elected Jersey City leader blamed the city’s crime on its black community, and people rushed to the leader’s defense by saying that, in the words of the Hudson County Democratic Black Caucus’ statement, “While we do not agree with the delivery of the statement,” the leader “has heightened awareness around issues that must be addressed.” Would the black community – and all peace-loving communities – accept anything less than that person’s resignation? NTC wouldn’t. There would be a national outcry. Every principled person would insist on immediate resignation. That’s why NTC is providing people with an easy, quick and effective way to contact all 6 signers of this despicable statement with just a few clicks and tell them to take their words back. NTC issued the following statement: “The right course of action for all Jersey City leaders including the Hudson County Democratic Black Caucus is to call for Terrell Paige’s resignation. That is why New Tolerance Campaign is asking its supporters to email the signers of the unacceptable statement, demanding both a retraction and a public statement calling for Terrell-Paige’s resignation. We will not let this blatant racism be forgotten while Terrell-Paige remains in a position of power over the city’s youth, especially those from the Jewish community which she grotesquely maligned.” The call-to-action page can be found at: https://www.coolidgereagan.org/topcampaign/tell-jersey-city-leaders-to-stop-protecting-anti-semitism/ ###

Washington D.C. –  Since the New Tolerance Campaign (NTC) launched its latest campaign on Jan 17., nearly 5,000 Americans have signed a petition calling on 120 members of Congress to walk back their unwarranted gushing letters of praise they sent to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) to celebrate their 25th anniversary. Given the stakes of America’s legislators putting support behind such a troubling group, many notable influencers have promoted the petition, including Clinton accuser-turned activist Juanita Broaddrick, Parkland survivor Kyle Kashuv, and author and activist Andrew Pollack. In addition to providing a way for concerned Americans to tell Congress directly that they shouldn’t be endorsing CAIR, NTC is sending “CAIR Bears” (Care Bear toys) to the offices of eight key Members of Congress for each 1,000 petition signatures we receive. We already have 4 rounds of bears on their way to the Hill, and more are eagerly waiting to be shipped out.  This effort is critical as CAIR has spent 25 years giving a platform to people with unapologetic anti-Semitic views. The group was an unindicted co-conspirator in one of our country’s largest terrorism financing trials, and continues to voice support for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. The 25th anniversary gala, where the letters were presented, was headlined by Linda Sarsour, who was recently removed from the Women’s March leadership team because of her blatant anti-Semitism, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has been praised by white supremacist leader David Duke for an on-going streak of anti-Semitic comments that have shaken Congress.  In light of the campaign’s momentum, New Tolerance Campaign issued the following statement: “It is hard to believe that these 120 Members of Congress are all ignorant of CAIR’s problematic history. While America is a free country and they can endorse whomever they like, they are making a grave mistake elevating a group like CAIR. Doing so demonstrates terrible judgment and leadership. It is imperative that they stand against racism in all forms and retract their support rather than enable it as they’ve done by sending these letters. Anything less is un-American. We are encouraged that so many have already taken a stand by signing the petition, and optimistic that our elected officials will choose to do the right thing.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Washington, D.C. – New Tolerance Campaign is mobilizing concerned citizens to call on Time Magazine to rewrite an article that badly mischaracterizes the situation with Soleimani and Iran. The article by Time for Kids’ executive editor, Jaime Joyce, called “How to Talk to Your Kids About the Situation with Iran” has received negative attention for its truly terrible job explaining the facts and the one-sided picture it paints. In the name of responsible journalism that presents the full picture truthfully, especially when it comes from a noteworthy magazine that aims to shape young American minds, Time for Kids must rewrite the article from the perspective of a genuine desire to educate. Should Qasem Soleimani have been killed by American action? Joyce seems to believe the answer is “no” and has written an article for parents on how they can explain this to their kids. President Trump’s decision is falsely portrayed as poorly received by anyone who matters, and a reasonably adequate explanation of why Soleimani is considered a terrorist is avoided altogether. Instead, Joyce has written a bogusly even-handed article that gives parents a one-sided playbook for casting doubt on an event that many around the world, including many in Iran, have reacted to as historically positive. Joyce points out that the death of Soleimani “is a difficult topic to explain to kids.” Problem is, it’s harder if one avoids details, as she does. Whether one believes that the assassination was justified, making that judgment requires knowing the objective and well-known facts which Joyce chose not to include: Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, and over 600 American military members. The problems begin right away with Joyce’s description of Soleimani, who was far more than “a top military leader in Iran,” as she oversimplifies it. He was the man who had been directing military action in Iraq, Syria, Gaza, and elsewhere for more than a decade, representing conflicts in which hundreds of thousands have been killed, including Americans, with no end in sight. Soleimani wrote to then US General David Petraeus in 2008, informing him that “you should know that I, Qasem Soleimani, control the policy for Iran with respect to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, and Afghanistan.” The Washington Post recently noted that “According to the Defense Department under both Trump and Barack Obama, Iran’s activity in Iraq included the provision of and training on several weapons systems deployed against Americans and Iraqis.” Regarding American deaths, the US government’s most recent estimate is 608. Further, Soleimani was more than just a crusader against the West. His role in fomenting the Syrian civil war has also been well reported, with many attributing Bashar al-Assad’s hard-earned and horrific success to Soleimani’s support and direct, routine intervention. The current death toll estimate of the conflict is 400,000. Yet the word “Syria” does not appear in Joyce’s article even once. It is easy to notice that Joyce likely disagrees with the decision to assassinate Soleimani. She presents the decision by President Trump in the light of how some people have reacted negatively to it but has left out any of the many examples of agreement that followed the event. Joyce also avoids pointing to the significant evidence of support among Iranians for Soleimani’s death that immediately followed it, and proactively perpetuated the myth that Iran is a country in collective morning. Maybe Joyce believes that America’s children can’t handle the truth. But at NTC, we believe our kids are resilient, and must not be coddled by being told the blandest version of a semi-truth, as Joyce has done. Time for Kids and Joyce must immediately revise their explainer to include some of the ample evidence of Soleimani’s character and a representative description of the reactions in Iran and around the world. They owe it to America as journalists to be responsible and present the full picture, especially when dealing with such an important issue.

For Immediate Release Jan. 7, 2020 In response to a Jersey City School Board Member’s anti-Semitic comments, last week New Tolerance Campaign began mobilizing concerned citizens to send messages to Jersey City’s Mayor and Board of Education calling on Board Member Joan Terrell Paige to resign. Terrell-Paige posted a now-deleted diatribe against the Jewish community after the December 10th shooting that took place at a local kosher market, calling some Jews “brutes” and sympathizing with the shooters. She has not apologized and refuses to resign. So far, over 550 principled people (and rapidly counting!) have joined the NTC effort to force Terrell-Paige’s resignation. Already, we have seen progress. Following weeks of silence and inaction, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop responded to an NTC activist, affirming that “We will continue to put pressure and look for avenues as I feel it is unacceptable what [Terrell-Paige] said.” Later, he published a tweet on Jan 3rd reiterating that he viewed her words as anti-Semitic.  We applaud Mayor Fulop for continuing to take a stand and have removed him from our list of people that we ask our supporters to contact. Nevertheless, NTC will not let this issue fall off the radar! After this small early victory for the campaign, NTC has decided to enlist our members’ help in asking U.S. Senator Cory Booker to show principled leadership and support her resignation. This past Thursday, a candlelight vigil was held in Terrell Paige’s honor. Since then, supporters have swarmed a Board of Education meeting to back her. This is an astonishing display of support for blatant anti-Semitism from a community leader. What a terrible example for the school system that Terrell Paige is supposed to lead! With that in mind, NTC is calling on U.S. Senator Cory Booker to weigh in. As both a national figure and a representative of the state of New Jersey, we must provide the leadership needed to clarify that bigotry is fundamentally unacceptable and that our community leaders must be held to the highest standards of tolerance. The campaign can be found here. NTC is encouraged by the support we have received so far and will continue to put pressure on Terrell-Paige to resign. ###

Anti-Semitism is alive and well on the Jersey City Board of Education. One board member was given a free pass after posting an anti-Semitic rant following an anti-Semitic shooting. Jersey City Jewish students should not have to be concerned that the officials running their schools view them as “brutes” or deserving of violent attacks. That’s why New Tolerance Campaign is calling on all decent Americans to stand with Jersey City’s Jewish students and faculty by calling for the resignation of  Board of Education member Joan Terrell-Paige.    Terrell-Paige made her anti-Semitic comments in response to the December 10th shooting at a kosher market in Greenville, NJ. Two shooters killed a police officer and three others in the attack which authorities said was ”fueled by both anti-Semitism and anti-law enforcement beliefs.” In discussing the attack on Facebook, Terrell-Paige used classic anti-Semitic tropes to accuse the local Jewish community of marginalizing the local black community, finishing her post by asking “Are we brave enough explore the answer to [the shooters’] message?” The Facebook post is now deleted, but @ReaganBattalion posted a screenshot on Twitter:    Initially, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and NJ Gov. Phil Murphy joined many voices in calling for Terrell-Paige’s resignation. According to CNN, outgoing Board President Sudhan Thomas said he was going to request Terrell-Paige’s resignation at the next school board meeting, but the meeting was then canceled for vague “potential security risks” and Sudhan’s time in office ended at the close of 2019.   Since then, Jersey City officials have been strangely silent, but we have not forgotten that an anti-Semite sits on the school’s education board. NTC is calling on all concerned citizens to make sure Terrell-Paige resigns by sending messages to the full School Board (including Terrell-Paige) and Mayor Fulop demanding that they continue to push for her resignation.    Anti-Semitism has no place in our nation, and especially not in our public schools. Terrell-Paige must go!   View the campaign here: https://bit.ly/366R82k 

Photo of Naomi Mathew, courtesy of Rivera Eye Photography for FIRE The New Tolerance Campaign is launching a campaign in support of the free speech rights of Naomi Mathew, a student at Truman State University who had her application to start a student group associated with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) denied by the school because of the “’emotional risk’ of ‘hostile’ confrontations and the ‘reputational risk’ of associating with PETA.” In denying the application, Truman State appears to be denying Mathew’s First Amendment rights. This decision must be reversed.  On Tuesday, December 10th, Mathew and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) pushed back. In a detailed letter to Truman State President Dr. Susan Thomas, FIRE outlines the problematic history of Truman State’s administration in denying almost half of prospective clubs, including “ones advocating for first-generation college students, transgender students, children with cancer, and more.”   In the press release announcing the effort, FIRE’s Lindsie Rank said that “Truman State can’t reject student groups just because it doesn’t like what they might say, or what others may say in response. The law is clear: Naomi Mathew and her fellow students are free to exercise their First Amendment freedoms without a university committee making subjective decisions behind closed doors about what students can and can’t handle.”   The FIRE letter to Truman President Dr. Thomas concludes by requesting that she confirm by December 20th that Truman State will recognize Mathew’s group, Animal Alliance, and “suspend use of subjective criteria for evaluating recognition of student organizations.”  NTC couldn’t agree more. Universities and colleges are instrumental in the intellectual maturation of future generations, and efforts they make to stifle legitimate and legal speech sends the absolute wrong message to their students. Join NTC in supporting Mathew’s right to free speech. Tell Truman State President Dr. Thomas to approve Animal Alliance and revise the criteria for recognizing student organizations to eliminate risks of violating students’ First Amendment rights.  ###

The New Tolerance Campaign is mobilizing its members to tell AmazonSmile to stop relying on the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to determine who can and cannot participate in the program.   AmazonSmile gives its shoppers the option to direct .5% of every purchase to the charity of their choice. Any 501c3 non-profit can participate with one exception: those who have been designated hate groups by the SPLC. From the website:    Organizations that engage in, support, encourage, or promote intolerance, hate, terrorism, violence, money laundering, or other illegal activities are not eligible to participate. Amazon relies on the US Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Southern Poverty Law Center to determine which registered charities fall into these groups.  The SPLC has an admirable history of fighting truly bigoted groups like the KKK, and they are the only well-established group that even offers a blacklist of “hateful” organizations. However, they are also a poor choice as the sole non-government arbiter of who is and isn’t too problematic for Amazon due to serious outstanding questions about the organization’s more recent moral authority.   The SPLC has a habit of looking through an ideological lens that leads it to be harsher on those on the other side of the spectrum. In 2017, charity database GuideStar adopted and then quickly abandoned the SPLC’s hate classification, saying they themselves were driven by their “commitment to objectivity” and that they had received many reasonable concerns about the SPLC’s list.   More recent reports from SPLC employees about sexist and racist treatment within the organization caused a serious shakeup at the top, contributing to the resignation of SPLC President Richard Cohen and, before him, the firing of co-founder Morris Dees. In response to these actions, SPLC staffers raised flags that they were still broadly concerned with the “widespread pattern of racial and gender discrimination by the center’s current leadership, stretching back many years.”   The SPLC also has a troubling history of leveraging lawsuits that net tens of thousands it secures for their clients to raise tens of millions for itself. They’ve stashed some of their millions in Cayman Islands bank accounts – curious behavior for a “poverty” non-profit. Former SPLC employee Bob Moser relayed an anecdote in The New Yorker that he and his former colleagues used to translate a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote etched an SPLC wall from “Until justice rolls down like waters” into “Until justice rolls down like dollars.”   By relying on the SPLC, AmazonSmile lets organizations through that don’t register on the SPLC’s list but have a history of questionable actions. Some have already complained about right-wing sting group Project Veritas’s inclusion in the program. Two groups commemorating the Black Panther Party are included. And People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), famous for dousing people in fake blood and creating a video game where players beat up scientists, can also receive donations.    Facilitating charity is a fundamentally good thing, but it is problematic that the group Amazon chose to do the screening of charities for them has a troubling record of failing to be objective and morally consistent themselves. NTC is calling on Amazon to stop relying on the SPLC, establish their own criteria, and apply it evenly.    About the New Tolerance Campaign:  NTC promotes “unbiased tolerance” by encouraging organizations, businesses, schools, and government agencies to maintain clear standards of acceptable conduct.  ###

The New Tolerance Campaign (NTC) is a new initiative focused on upholding consistent standards of tolerance in mainstream society. Its next public pressure campaign aims to force Duke University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Princeton University and the Rockefeller Foundation to address the possibility that their financial investments are supporting the Chinese government’s oppression of the country’s Uyghur Muslims and other minorities. These institutions must give a straight answer: are they profiting from these atrocities?   The compelling possibility that they are profiting from the atrocities was reported by Buzzfeed on May 30th, 2019 in an article titled “US Universities And Retirees Are Funding The Technology Behind China’s Surveillance State.” Each of these four institutions was identified as being affiliated with investments in two Chinese technology companies whose products are integral to the Chinese government’s human rights abuses. All four refused to comment for the article about whether their money was invested in the two companies. They have also ignored NTC’s request for comment.  Reporting on the Chinese government’s cruel treatment of their Uyghur population and others has been prolific since 2018. It is thoroughly proven now that over 1 million Uyghurs and other minorities have been forced into concentration-style camps where they are put through “re-education” treatment to “indoctrinate” them with Communist beliefs and Communist Party allegiance. Most startlingly, legitimate reports have surfaced showing evidence that the harvesting of organs of “hundreds of thousands of victims” has occurred in these camps.   These activities directly contradict the values displayed publicly and proudly by Duke, MIT, Princeton and Rockefeller:   Duke’s mission statement includes empowering students “to help those who suffer.”   MIT’s mission statement is “to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world.”   Princeton’s informal motto is “In service of humanity.”   The Rockefeller Foundation “promotes the well-being of humanity throughout the world.”   As leading American institutions self-charged with educating millions of young adults and advancing human society around the world, they are setting a terrible example by refusing to address the very real possibility that they are profiting off truly appalling actions by the Chinese government. NTC is demanding that they either ensure their money is not invested in ways that advance this despicably intolerant behavior, or admit that profits matter more than values and remove those values from their mission statements and mottos.   About the New Tolerance Campaign: NTC promotes “unbiased tolerance” by encouraging organizations, businesses, schools, and government agencies to maintain clear standards of acceptable conduct. Find out more at www.coolidgereagan.org.     ###