Sharpton announces boycott of companies ending DEI
Rev. Al Sharpton on Monday announced a boycott of companies eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, saying the effort will be in the spirit of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
Speaking from the Metropolitan AME Church, Sharpton said his organization, the National Action Network, is calling upon all Americans, regardless of their race or gender, to boycott companies that will no longer support DEI.
“Why do we have DEI? We have DEI because you denied us diversity, you denied us equity, you denied us inclusion. DEI was a remedy to the racial institutionalized bigotry practice in academia and in these corporations. Now, if you want to put us back in the back of the bus, we gonna do the Dr. King-Rosa Parks on you,” Sharpton said as those gathered cheered.
“You must have forgot who we are,” Sharpton added. “We are the ones that you took everything and we still here.”
According to Sharpton, a council will engage in a 90-day study of what companies have given up on DEI and what their margins of profit are. After that, two companies will specifically be targeted in the boycott.
Meanwhile, Sharpton added, he’ll be supporting companies that have doubled down on DEI, like Costco.
Sharpton’s announcement was part of a larger ceremony at the church honoring the slain civil rights leader on the same day President Trump was sworn into office. The church – where abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s funeral was held and Rosa Parks’s casket was brought – was packed with supporters.
Trump intends to end DEI practices in the federal government through an executive order on his first day office, incoming White House officials said.
The order will ask the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management to coordinate with agencies to terminate what it deems as “all discriminatory programs” in the agencies, those officials said.
Sharpton in his remarks also painted a stark difference between those gathered at the church and those gathered to support Trump on Monday.
“We want people to see the tale of two cities in one district,” said Sharpton. “On this side of town, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life to open up America for everybody: Blacks, whites, gays, straights, it didn’t matter. We are with Dr. King.”
But Trump, Sharpton said, was on the side of violence. He pointed to Trump’s promise to pardon Jan. 6, 2021 insurrectionists.
“How are you Mr. Trump, on Martin Luther King Day, going to pardon folks that beat up police officers? How are you Mr. Trump on a federal holiday of a prince of peace and nonviolence going to excuse those that caused the death of a Capitol police officer in the nation’s capital?”
Monday was only the third time in history that Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inauguration Day collided.
In 1997, former President Clinton took the oath for the second time on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and in 2013 former President Obama did the same.
But with Trump’s history of racially charged comments, the Kings say this year’s MLK Day feels different.
“As we observe the inauguration, the hope is that the climate can be created so that the President will do things that bring us closer together,” Martin Luther King III told The Switch Up podcast.
“He obviously does not have a history of doing that, and that kind of leadership is needed now more than ever because of the tremendous division in our nation … if we continue to go down the road of division, hostility and what appears to be hatred, that is not sustainable.”
-
Trump to issue executive orders defining sexes, ending DEI practices in government
President-elect Trump intends to issue executive orders on his first day in office that will recognize only two sexes, male and female, and aim to end DEI practices in the federal government, ...The Hill - 7h -
NHL Star Power Index: Kyle Connor records natural hat trick to end drought, Connor McDavid joins elite company
Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski continues to provide offensive firepowerCBS Sports - 3d -
Meta announces end of DEI programs. Read the internal memo
Meta says it plans to end a number of internal DEI programs, designed to increase the company's hiring of diverse candidates.CNBC - Jan. 10 -
Meta joins companies rolling back some DEI policies
McDonald's announced earlier this week that the company would end some initiatives centered on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.ABC News - Jan. 10 -
Trump announces Dubai company will invest at least $20 billion in U.S. data centers
DAMAC Properties is the latest foreign investor to announce plans for the U.S. since Donald Trump's victory.CBS News - Jan. 7 -
McDonald’s Abandons Some DEI Policies, Following Other Big Companies Caving to Pressure Groups
Despite its apparent successes in diversifying the company, McDonald’s joined the growing list of big corporations revising or dropping DEI programs amid conservative attacks.Inc. - Jan. 7 -
McDonald’s is ‘retiring’ its DEI goals. Why more companies are expected to do the same.
Companies like Walmart, Harley-Davidson and Lowe’s have also changed their diversity initiativesMarketWatch - Jan. 7 -
Mark Zuckerberg announces end of fact-checking program for Meta
Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in a video that its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, will no longer implement a fact-checking policy, instead relying on community notes similar to ...NBC News - Jan. 7
More from The Hill
-
Why Biden pardoned Mark Milley ahead of Trump taking office
Former President Biden's pre-emptive pardon for retired Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will give the retired military official a shield against any action that ...The Hill - 56m -
President of Panama: 'The canal is and will remain Panama's'
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino says his nation intends to maintain control of the Panama Canal, after President Trump reiterated his intent to take control of the strategic waterway in his ...The Hill - 1h -
The final corruption of Joe Biden
Joe Biden pardoned members of his family in an attempt to avoid prosecution for corruption, exposing the corruption of Biden Inc. and the willingness of the media to deny or deflect the scandal.The Hill - 1h -
Hillary Clinton laughs as Trump announces 'Gulf of America' order
Hillary Clinton laughed when President Trump announced during his inauguration on Monday that he would be renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” “America will reclaim its rightful ...The Hill - 1h -
Trump's hand wasn't on the Bible during the oath of office: What does this mean?
Trump was sworn in as the country's 47th president on Monday.The Hill - 1h
More in Politics
-
Why Biden pardoned Mark Milley ahead of Trump taking office
Former President Biden's pre-emptive pardon for retired Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will give the retired military official a shield against any action that ...The Hill - 56m -
President of Panama: 'The canal is and will remain Panama's'
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino says his nation intends to maintain control of the Panama Canal, after President Trump reiterated his intent to take control of the strategic waterway in his ...The Hill - 1h -
The final corruption of Joe Biden
Joe Biden pardoned members of his family in an attempt to avoid prosecution for corruption, exposing the corruption of Biden Inc. and the willingness of the media to deny or deflect the scandal.The Hill - 1h -
Hillary Clinton laughs as Trump announces 'Gulf of America' order
Hillary Clinton laughed when President Trump announced during his inauguration on Monday that he would be renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” “America will reclaim its rightful ...The Hill - 1h -
Trump's hand wasn't on the Bible during the oath of office: What does this mean?
Trump was sworn in as the country's 47th president on Monday.The Hill - 1h