Pride season is nearly in full swing, and that means virtually every company (except Chick-fil-a) will soon roll out their annual rainbow-tinted initiatives.
State Farm insurance company appears to have tripped out of the gate.Less than 24 hours after it became public, the company has abandoned a program to distribute LGBTQ-themed books to teachers, community centers, and libraries following a right-wing outrage campaign.Just hours after news outlets started covering the book initiative, an internal email went out to all State Farm agents and staff members announcing the cancelation.Victor Terry, chief diversity officer and vice president of public affairs, told employees State Farm would back out of its partnership with GenderCool, an organization that promotes LGBTQ teaching via speaking events, mentorship programs, DEI/HR consulting, and advising for parents of transgender children.“Conversations about gender and identity should happen at home with parents,” the email, obtained and published by the homophobic Libs of TikTok account, read. “We don’t support required curriculum in schools on this topic.
We support organizations providing resources for parents to have these conversations,” Terry wrote.The abrupt turnaround came after a whistleblower accused the company of “targeting” children as young as 5 with books about sexuality and gender identity, leading to intense backlash online.