ATLANTA — Georgia is one of only four states without a hate crime law. That fact is gaining attention more than ever in the wake of social unrest and demonstrations across the country.
On Monday, a coalition of more than 60 companies from across the state signed a letter urging the Georgia General Assembly to support, approve and sign into law, a comprehensive, specific and clear bill against hate crimes.
Some of the businesses include The Coca-Cola Company, The Home Depot, UPS, AT&T and Delta Air Lines.
In light of the continued national dialogue on race, the Metro Atlanta Chamber is encouraging businesses to voice their support.
"We are all employers in Georgia who value diversity, fairness and inclusion," the letter says.
"We must all stand strong and united against targeted violence and bigotry. Diversity extends to a wide range of issues from race and ethnicity, to gender, sexual orientation, religion and physical ability, among other important characteristics that make each of us different but also deserving of protection from any attack that is motivated by hatred for the victim due to bias or prejudice."
Other companies that signed the letter include:
Atlanta Braves, Derek Schiller, President & CEO
Atlanta Community Food Bank, Kyle Waide, President and CEO
Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, Executive Management, Owner and Chairman
Atlanta Hawks, Steve Koonin, Chief Executive Officer
Atlanta Gladiators Hockey, Jerry James, President
Atlanta United, Arthur Blank, Owner
AT&T, Venessa Harrison, President - AT&T Georgia
Bain & Company, Inc., Laura Miles, Partner, Atlanta
Bank of America, Wendy Stewart, Atlanta Market President & Co-Head Southeast Region
BlackRock, Claude Wade, Global Head of the Client Experience Platform and Head of BlackRock Atlanta
CenterState, Stan Kryder, President - Atlanta
Central Atlanta Progress, A.J. Robinson, President
Comcast, Bill Connors, President, Central Division
Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Alicia Philipp, President
Cousins Properties, Colin Connolly, President & CEO
Cox Enterprises, Inc., Alex Taylor, President & CEO
Cricket Wireless, John Dwyer, President AT&T Prepaid and Cricket Wireless
Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., John O’Neill, President, Southeast & Southcentral Region
Delta Air Lines, Inc., Ed Bastian, CEO
Dentons, Eric Tanenblatt, Global Chair, Public Policy + Regulation
Dragon Army, Jeff Hilimire, Co-Founder and CEO
Elavon, Jamie Walker, CEO
Emory University, Claire E. Sterk, President
Eversheds Sutherland, Mark Wasserman, Managing Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer
EY, Sam Johnson, EY Americas Vice Chair, Account
Gas South, Kevin Greiner, President & CEO
Genuine Parts Company, Paul Donahue, Chairman and CEO
Georgia Beverage Association, Kevin Perry, President & CEO
Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Chris Clark, President & CEO
Georgia-Pacific LLC, Christian Fischer, President and CEO
Georgia Power Company, Paul Bowers, Chairman, President & CEO
Georgia Restaurant Association, Karen Bremer, Executive Director
Goldman Sachs, Dave Dase, Managing Director
Graphic Packaging International, Inc., Michael Doss, President & CEO
Grady Memorial Hospital, John Haupert, CEO
H.J. Russell & Company, Michael Russell, CEO
Holder Construction, Tommy Holder, Chairman & CEO
IBM Corporaton, Kitty Chaney Reed, Senior State Executive, Georgia
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Elie W. Maalouf, Chief Executive Officer, Americas
Invesco Ltd., Marty Flanagan, President & CEO
Kaiser Permanente, Jim Simpson, President
KPMG, David Leiter, Managing Partner - Atlanta Office and MidSouth Hub
Mailchimp, Ben Chestnut, Co-Founder and CEO
Metro Atlanta Chamber, Hala Moddelmog, President & CEO
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Arthur Blank, Owner and Chairman
Microsoft, Terrance Herron, Senior Director, Government Affairs
Morehouse School of Medicine, Valerie Montgomery Rice, President & Dean
NCR, Mike Hayford, President and CEO
Nebo, Adam Harrell, Co-Founder
PGA TOUR Superstore, Arthur Blank, Owner and Chairman
Piedmont Healthcare, Kevin Brown, President & CEO
Porsche Cars North America, Inc., Klaus Zellmer, President & CEO
PulteGroup, Ryan Marshall, President & CEO
Purchasing Power, Trey Loughran, Chief Executive Officer
PwC, Reggie Walker, Chief Commercial Officer
Salesforce, Marc Benioff, Chair & Chief Executive Officer
The Coca-Cola Company, James Quincey, Chairman and CEO
The Cook's Warehouse, Mary Moore, Founder & CEO
The Home Depot, Craig Menear, Chairman, CEO and President
Troutman Sanders LLP, Steve Lewis, Managing Partner
Truist Bank, Jenna Kelly, President, Northern Georgia
United Distributors, Inc., Doug Hertz, Chairman & CEO
UPS, Carol Tomé, CEO
WarnerMedia, Rich Warren, President
Wells Fargo, Darryl Harmon, Lead Region President for Georgia
WestRock, Steve Voorhees, CEO
Zillow, Rich Barton, Co-Founder and CEO