One of the nation's leading civil rights organizations is condemning Walmart's recent decision to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Marc Morial, CEO and president of the National Urban League, told “CBS Mornings” that he was “disappointed by this decision.”
“I think what they did was succumb to the slander, the threats, the bullying, the secret emails from a small group of extremists,” Morial said.
He added that the National League of Cities and other members of civil rights groups told Walmart executives to discuss the changes to understand the reasons behind the decision before taking their own actions.
Walmart's changes include ending funding for the nonprofit Center for Racial Equality, which it launched in 2020 as a five-year initiative. We will no longer use the terms “LatinX” and “DEI” in official communications and will remove transgender products from third-party sellers marketed to children from our online marketplace.
The company will also no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which evaluates companies on their policies toward LGBTQ employees.
John Farner, CEO and president of Walmart US, told CBS Mornings that the company's downsizing was done to make sure everyone felt like they “have a place.”
“Like many businesses across the country, we are on a journey,” Furner said. “We continue to travel, and what we're trying to do is make sure that every customer, every employee feels welcome here and feels like they belong here. That's what I do.''
But Morial accused the company of making the changes without consulting stakeholders, including the National Urban League, a Superstore partner for 20 years.
“When it comes to diversity, they went from being the worst to being the best,” Morial said. “The idea of abandoning all of these programs without careful consultation with our partners and without serious evaluation of the success of these programs is disappointing to me.”
Morial said the company appears to have spoken to those who oppose DEI, and therefore it would be appropriate to also speak to those who support such efforts.
“This is a very important moment for this country,” Morial said. “We cannot throw away the progress we have made.”
Walmart becomes the latest in a series of companies to roll back DEI efforts, following Harley-Davidson, John Deere and Tractor Supply.
The rollback comes after conservative activist Robbie Starbuck has led multiple campaigns calling on companies to halt their DEI efforts or risk some form of scrutiny from him. It was held inside.
Starbuck said on social platform “I'm here,” he wrote on social platform X. “Businesses clearly understand that America wants to get back to normal.” The Age of Awakening is coming to an end before our eyes. The landscape of corporate America is rapidly shifting toward sanity and neutrality. We are now a trend, not an anomaly. We are winning, and one step at a time we will restore sanity to corporate America. ”
But Morial said Wednesday that business leaders must continue to uphold American values.
“One of the values of this country is equal opportunity,” Morial said. “This is what equity, diversity and inclusion are all about: creating a level playing field for everyone.”
He added that DEI is being “vilified” by “hate groups.”
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion are a set of terms designed to create a positive image and a positive conversation about an America for everyone, an America that is open to everyone,” he said. said.
“DEI is not a favoritism. It opens doors that have historically been closed,” Morial added.
