J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) announced Monday that it will be giving $1 million to nonprofit groups fighting extremism following the deadly white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Va.
“The events in Charlottesville have increased the urgency to confront hate, intolerance and discrimination wherever it exists,” Peter Scher, head of corporate responsibility at J.P. Morgan, wrote in a memo to employees, according to CNN Money.
The U.S.’s biggest bank said that the donation will be split equally between the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and is part of efforts to address “deep divisions” in the nation. In addition, the bank will contribute up to $1 million more by matching employee donations, according to Reuters. Separately, $50,000 will go to the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.
J.P. Morgan has donated to both groups in the past, and the money is to continue “tracking, exposing and fighting hate groups and other extremist organizations across the country.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a legal advocacy organization that fights against bigotry and tracks hate groups across the U.S., while the ADL works to “stop the defamation of the Jewish people, and secure justice and fair treatment to all.” In a statement to CNBC, the president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Richard Cohen, said: “Now more than ever, America’s leading institutions must speak out against white supremacism. While we appreciate J.P.Morgan Chase’s contribution, we are even more grateful for its strong public position against hate and bigotry.”
For more on Charlottesville, watch Coins2Day’s video:
Last week, CEO Jamie Dimon condemned President Donald Trump for equating white supremacists groups with counter-protestors in Charlottesville. “There is no room for equivocation here: the evil on display by these perpetrators of hate should be condemned and has no place in a country that draws strength from our diversity and humanity,” Dimon wrote in a statement to employees. Following Trump’s remarks, 11 members of his business advisory council quit in protest, prompting the President to disband the council entirely.
