Google's new ad shows extent of 'search' around racial injustice in the US

The ad shows how more and more people are 'searching' to understand and support racial equality.

If a coin were to define 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic would feature on one side, and racial injustice on the other.

The killing of Black American George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis cop sparked nationwide fury in the US, followed by the whole of the western world. It not only led to scathing criticism of public institutions on social media, but also prompted several brands to voice their support for the Black community and initiate progressive changes aimed at Black employees in their organisations.

Google is one of those organisations. In a new ad released on June 26, it highlights, through Google Trends, the unprecedented degree to which America is questioning and challenging racial injustice.

Here's what the 'trends' revealed:

• Search for 'Why are people racist' reached an all-time high in June in the US.

• So did 'Why do people say all lives matter'.

• 'What is systemic racism' saw more searches than ever.

A message at the end said, "If you are searching for an end to racial injustice, you are not alone".

In a blog post on June 17, Sundar Pichai, Alphabet Inc. and Google CEO, spoke about the company's commitments to racial equity. Some of the efforts it will take include:

1. Improve Black+ representation at senior levels, and committing to a goal to improve leadership representation of underrepresented groups by 30 per cent by 2025.

2. Do more to address representation challenges, and focus on hiring, retention and promotion at all levels.

3. Create a stronger sense of inclusion and belonging for 'Googlers' in general and our Black+ community in particular.

4. Establish a range of anti-racism educational programs that are global in view and able to scale to all 'Googlers'.

5. Focus on better supporting the mental and physical health and well-being of our Black+ community.

It also announced a $175 million-plus economic opportunity package to support Black business owners, startup founders, jobseekers and developers, in addition to YouTube’s $100 million fund to amplify Black creators and artists.