More than 70 employees of Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropy, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, signed a letter demanding major changes at the organization in an effort to tackle systemic racism, Recode reported Thursday.

The changes include putting more Black people in leadership positions and forming an advisory board with people from marginalized backgrounds, according to Recode.

According to Recode, employees asked in the letter: "What side of history will this organization be on moving forward?"

The rare display of employee activism within a major charity comes just days after 140 scientists funded by CZI slammed the Facebook CEO over his inaction on controversial Trump posts.

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Employees at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative — the philanthropic foundation run and funded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan — have signed a letter demanding significant changes within the organization aimed at combating systemic racism, Recode reported Thursday.

"We acknowledge the impactful work that CZI has done recently, from our grants work to our industry-leading diversity stats. But the deeper needs of this organization remain unaddressed," the employees reportedly wrote, adding: "What side of history will this organization be on moving forward?"

The public document, which was signed by 74 employees and delivered to leadership Tuesday, calls on CZI to commit to 12 changes including increasing the number of Black leaders at the organization and forming an advisory board of people from marginalized backgrounds to help CZI evaluate its philanthropic priorities, Recode reported.

Raymonde Charles, a spokesperson for CZI's education team, told Recode that "racial equity is already a focus of some of our work" but that CZI is "committed to expanding beyond these efforts."

The rare show of activism by employees within a major charity comes two weeks after more than 140 scientists who receive funding through CZI signed a letter slamming Zuckerberg over Facebook's content moderation policies and his refusal to take action against President Donald Trump's controversial posts.

"The spread of deliberate misinformation and divisive language is directly antithetical to [CZI's] goal, and we are therefore deeply concerned at the stance Facebook has taken," the scientists wrote.

CZI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Source: Business Insider

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