Pastor Al Sharpton said Thursday that Bill Ackman has “declared war on all of us” over his efforts to fight diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at a protest against the hedge fund billionaire. Stated.
Mr. Sharpton and his organization, the National Action Network (NAN), picketed outside Mr. Ackman's office in response to the resignation of Harvard University President Claudine Gay, which the MSNBC host called ” “This is the result of Bill Ackman's persistent opposition.”
Sharpton told reporters at the protest that Ackman, a Harvard graduate, was being targeted for trying to “kill DEI” by supporting her ouster.
“Those who run this business say the only way to solve the problems at Harvard and elsewhere is to kill DEI. demanded the resignation of the entire board of directors. This issue is not just about what they did to the first black and first black woman president of Harvard University. It’s about … how they used her as a scapegoat to fight DEI,” Sharpton said.
Republican Al Sharpton announced a protest Wednesday outside the office of billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. (Getty Images)
Behind him, protesters holding placards chanted: “Tell me what democracy looks like/This is what democracy looks like,” “No justice, no peace,” and “DEI will never die.” They were shouting slogans such as “.
Al Sharpton slams Harvard president's resignation as an attack on 'all black women': 'Go away'
Sharpton continued to champion DEI as a whole as a way to support historically discriminated against minority groups.
“Without the veto, we wouldn't have needed to have DEI. We were denied. DEI was designed to compensate for the historical denial of black people, women, gay people, Latinos, and Asians. Since this man decided to stand up and say, “Getting rid of Dr. Gay is killing people or getting rid of DEI.'' I went to his office and said I would fight him. “I want to tell you,” he said, “he didn't say anything during the fight at Harvard. But now he's declared war on everyone, 'us.'
National Action Network (NAN) founder and president Reverend Al Sharpton speaks to NAN members protesting in front of hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman's office in New York City on January 4, 2024. speaks to media personnel. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Claudine Gay is gone, but diversity ideology still haunts Harvard
Sharpton added, “DEI is what we have to do to level the playing field, and that's why we're here today. We fought and stood up with the ADL and others against what happened. This is not about anti-Semitism. So why come to DEI now and talk about hate?”
Ackman's office declined to comment.
Ackman has previously criticized Gay's comments before a congressional committee, saying that whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard's code of conduct depends on the “circumstances.”
He also criticized her multiple plagiarism accusations, suggested that she be hired To meet DEI standards as president of Harvard University.
Bill Ackman accused former Harvard University President Claudine Gay of being hired solely to carry out diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. (Chris Ratcliffe/Michael Fine/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We can only speculate without knowing all the facts, but gay leadership in the creation of Harvard's Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and the infiltration of DEI ideology into corporate boardrooms, are likely to have led to gay This search was conducted at a time when many other top universities were conducting similar searches for presidential candidates with DEI preferential treatment, and this search was conducted in light of the intensifying competition for talent. The number of qualified candidates has decreased,” Askman wrote in a lengthy X post on Wednesday. Regarding the Harvard University controversy since October 7th.
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