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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has ordered employees to stop crossing out the phrase “Black Lives Matter” on the walls at its Menlo Park, California, headquarters.
In an internal post to employees this week, Zuckerberg said there have been several instances of the phrase being crossed out and replaced with “all lives matter” on the company’s chalkboard and white-board walls, which employees and visitors are encouraged to write on.
“Despite my clear communication at Q&A last week that this was unacceptable…this has happened again,” Zuckerberg wrote, according to a copy of the post obtained by Gizmodo. “I was already very disappointed by this disrespectful behavior before, but after my communication I now consider this malicious as well.”
Like other tech companies in Silicon Valley, this isn’t the first time diversity has been an issue for Facebook. As of May 2015, only 2 percent of Facebook’s US employees are black. The social network has partnered with organizations to improve its diversity and pledged to make changes to is hiring and recruiting practices. Despite modest gains, the company has a long way to go before its workforce — which remains predominantly white and male — reflects its user base.
In the post, Zuckerberg also expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which campaigns against racial discrimination and police brutality. He encouraged employees to attend a town hall next week to learn about the movement.
Zuckerberg said the company is investigating the incidents and described it as “a deeply hurtful and tiresome experience for the black community and really the entire Facebook community.”
