Black leaders boycott BP

A GROUP of American black leaders including the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are to boycott British oil giant BP, accusing it of exploiting customers and racially discriminating in its business practices.

Rev Jackson said: “One of the biggest issues of our time is energy exploitation. We are encouraging people to go to other stations.”

The London-based firm was targeted because none of its upper-level executives were black and there were no black owners among its US distributors, he said.

BP spokesman Scott Dean defended the company’s diversity, saying 15% of BP’s US employees were black and accounted for almost 10% of senior officials.

“It is disappointing that (Rev Jackson) is playing the race card against a company that has a long-standing tradition of diversity, that has a workforce that mirrors the diversity of the American people,” Mr Dean said.

He said that while none of BP’s 600 US distributors were black, the company would like to find black-run companies to distribute petrol regionally.

Rev Jackson’s Rainbow Push Coalition began weekly protests against the company last week and he said there were plans to expand the demonstrations after he gained the support of 100 black leaders at a summit in Dallas that ended yesterday.

He said rising petrol prices had disproportionately hurt America’s poor. He called for the US Congress to cap petrol prices and institute a windfall profits tax that would redirect oil companies’ earnings to education and social programmes.

BP reported profits of nearly £3 billion (€4.34bn) in the first quarter of 2006. Mr Dean said high fuel prices were needed to ensure a steady supply and prevent shortages.

Rev Jackson said his group planned to protest at BP’s London headquarters.

And Rev Sharpton said: “If you give British Petroleum a good spanking, it will send a message to the other companies.”

Mr Dean said the boycott and protests would not affect “business as usual” at BP stations and offices.