Later this month, Queer Nation will be executing a zap to Coca-Cola urging them to break their silence on their sponsorship of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
Our demand: That Coca-Cola denounce Russia’s anti-LGBT laws and extend its anti-discrimination policies protecting LGBT employees to all countries in which it does business —including Russia.
Details for the action — including what you can do to spread the word via social media — are forthcoming. Stay tuned!
Immediately after the Queer Nation meeting on 9/19, we will proceed to the finale of the Most Original Stoli Guy contest at:
289 10th Avenue @ West 27th Street Thursday, Sept. 19th at 8:00 PM
We will set up a picket protesting Russian vodka Stolichnaya, the sponsor of the event run by GayCities, the parent company of Queerty.com. Stolichnaya is one of the Russian products being boycotted by the LGBT community.
Please bring anti-Stoli signs to the meeting. Those who cannot attend the meeting can still protest with us at Marquee at 8:30 PM.
The Met Strikes a Homophobic Chord:
Our upcoming action at the Metropolitan Opera’s Opening Night Gala is on Monday, September 23, at 5:30 PM.
We will be planning the logistics of a picket and flyering outside the opera house to protest the appearance of two pro-Putin artists, soprano Anna Netrebko and conductor Valery Gergiev, at a performance of Eugene Onegin, an opera by gay Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky.
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See you at the Queer Nation meeting on Thursday 9/19 at The Center!
LGBT groups hold protest against Coca-Cola for its sponsorship of Olympics in Russia
Demonstration in New York’s Times Square includes dumping Coke into street and crushing cans
Coca-Cola was poured into the street and Coke cans were crushed in Times Square today to protest the soft drink giant’s sponsorship of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Queer Nation and other LGBT groups accuse Coca-Cola of sponsoring hate because of Russia’s controversial anti-gay propaganda law that has been casting a shadow over The Games for months now.
Coca-Cola Agrees with Queer Nation and RUSA LGBT, But…
The Coca-Cola Company has issued a statement in response to the Queer Nation and RUSA LGBT#DumpCoke demonstration held in Times Square today, Wednesday, August 28. LGBT groups gathered to protest Coke’s sponsorship of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
The statement by The Coca-Cola Company may be viewed by clicking here.
Queer Nation issued the following statement in response to The Coca-Cola Company:
Coca-Cola made a horrendous error when it sponsored the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany. This company knows better and it must not sponsor any Olympic Games in Russia as long as Russia’s anti-gay laws remain in force.
We also commend Coca-Cola for its Global Mutual Respect guidelines. Unfortunately, they are just that – guidelines. They are not binding. The guidelines close as follows:
“The Company reserves the right to amend this policy at any time. Nothing in this policy says or implies that a contract exists between the Company and its employees or that participation in this program is a guarantee of continued employment with The Coca-Cola Company.”
Coca-Cola’s U.S. non-discrimination policies and benefits packages are binding, and they are to be praised. That is why we demanded that Coca-Cola implement those policies worldwide.
The LGBT community has won respect on its own since the 1969 Stonewall Riots. What we demand is equality before the law in every nation around the world. Coca-Cola cannot provide that, but it can and must extend its non-discrimination policies and benefits packages to all of its employees around the world.
And so we reiterate our demands.
Coca-Cola must:
Withdraw its sponsorship of the 2014 Winter Games in Russia.
Release a statement in English and Russian that condemns workplace discrimination, harassment, and bullying directed at customers and employees based on gender identity and sexual orientation
Publish and publicize its LGBT employment policies on its Russian website in Russian and on physical bulletin boards and websites at all Coca-Cola owned and operated facilities.
Conduct periodic company-wide sensitivity trainings about its LGBT employment policies worldwide.
Institute a long-range policy to widely distribute its LGBT employment policies in human resources documentation and internal communications at all owned and operated facilities worldwide.
Require that all Coca-Cola bottlers, distributors and vendors implement LGBT employment policies as a condition of their contract with The Coca-Cola Company.
More than 100 LGBT protestors and supporters braved the pouring rain to take to the streets in New York’s Times Square.
Protestors dumped cans and bottles of Coca-Cola into the sewer and crushed Coke cans to demand that The Coca-Cola Company end its sponsorship of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
Click the arrows on either side of the current photo to see more photos in the photo gallery.
LGBT Groups Demand that Coca-Cola End Sponsorship of Olympic Games in Russia
New York, NY (August 27, 2013) — LGBT groups and supporters will stage a demonstration in Times Square on August 28, 2013 at 12:00 PM (noon) EDT (at West 46th Street and Broadway) to protest The Coca-Cola Company’s sponsorship of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
Gay groups charge the beverage giant of sponsoring hate and will dump Coke into the street and will crush Coke cans to protest of the company’s continuing silence on Russia’s anti-LGBT law and to demand that it immediately withdraw its corporate sponsorship of the Games. Protestors will use the hashtag #DumpCoke on all social media channels.
“By sponsoring the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Coca-Cola is associating its brands with state-sanctioned gay-bashing,” said Queer Nation co-founder Alan Klein. “Coca-Cola is sacrificing the safety and security of Russian LGBT people for profit – a position that opposes fundamental Olympic principles, runs counter to the International Olympic Committee charter, and that will tarnish its global image for decades to come.”
In June, the Russian government enacted its “anti-gay propaganda” law that bans any pro-LGBT statement or demonstration in public or private and on the Internet. The law makes being openly LGBT or being supportive of LGBT people a crime and caused a sharp rise in hate crimes in Russia. Brutal beatings of people perceived as gay have been widely reported as well.
Foreign nationals, including Olympic athletes and spectators, charged under the “anti-gay propaganda” law are subject to arrest, 15 days in jail, fines, and deportation. Russian authorities have already arrested and fined both citizens and visitors. Worldwide protests and boycotts of Russian products and of the Games were launched in response.
“Nations compete for the privilege of hosting the Games and Russia has squandered that privilege by targeting LGBT Russians for discrimination and violence,” said RUSA LGBT founder and co-president Yelena Goltsman, “With its sponsorship of the Games, Coca-Cola supports the Russian government’s LGBT discrimination.”
Queer Nation’s Klein added, “Sponsoring the Games gives legitimacy to the host nation and that is exactly what Coca-Cola did when it sponsored the 1936 Games in Nazi Germany. We hope that Coca-Cola does not ignore its own history and does the right thing by refusing to support another regime that targets groups for hatred.”
In addition to ending Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of the Games, LGBT groups demand that Coca-Cola implement the same employment non-discrimination policies and benefits packages that protect LGBT workers in the United States, in Russia. Activists further demand that Coca-Cola publish these policies not only in English, but also in Russian, and in the native languages of every country in which the company operates.
LGBT groups are issuing the following Statement of Demands to The Coca-Cola Company:
Coca-Cola must:
Withdraw its sponsorship of the 2014 Winter Games in Russia.
Release a statement in English and Russian that condemns workplace discrimination, harassment, and bullying directed at customers and employees based on gender identity and sexual orientation
Publish and publicize its LGBT employment policies on its Russian website in Russian and on physical bulletin boards and websites at all Coca-Cola owned and operated facilities.
Conduct periodic company-wide sensitivity trainings about its LGBT employment policies worldwide.
Institute a long-range policy to widely distribute its LGBT employment policies in human resources documentation and internal communications at all owned and operated facilities worldwide.
Require that all Coca-Cola bottlers, distributors and vendors implement LGBT employment policies as a condition of their contract with The Coca-Cola Company.
RUSA LGBT is a Russian-Speaking American LGBTQ association formed in 2008 to establish a network for those who identify with Russian-speaking and LGBTQ cultures. RUSA LGBT fights for social justice, human and civil rights for LGBTQ people in the United States and in the former Soviet Union. Website: www.rusalgbt.com Twitter: @RUSALGBT. Facebook.com/RUSA.LGBT.
Queer Nation & RUSA LGBT Town Hall Meeting on Russia
Please join us for a Town Hall Meeting on Russia on Wednesday, August 21, at 7:00 PM, to firm up action plans.
Our special guest will be journalist Masha Gessen, who will provide firsthand testimony about what it’s like for LGBT Russians today. Masha is a well-known and widely respected lesbian activist who last year published The Man Without A Face, the acclaimed biography of Vladimir Putin.
In the meantime, check continue to visit our site for ongoing press coverage of LGBT Russians and please see the wrap-up of last week’s meeting. New York magazine reported on the town hall’s sizable contingent of LGBT Russians, many of whom are now seeking asylum in the United States.
And help to spread the word about Wednesday’s meeting: WHEN: August 21, 7:00 PM WHERE:LGBT Community Center 208 West 13th Street, between Seventh and Greenwich Avenues
![[MEDIA RELEASE] LGBT Groups Demand that Coca-Cola End Sponsorship of Olympic Games in Russia
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