DEI is a ‘strategic decision’ CEOs can make, business leaders tell companies

A coalition of business leaders sent letters to the CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies on Wednesday urging them to maintain a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as they come under conservative attack.

“Business decisions intended to capture the value from diversity initiatives have been politicized by a vocal minority of ideologically motivated voices who ignore both facts and the law,” the letter from groups including US Black Chambers and the Global Black Economic Forum read. “We believe it is imperative that CEOs and other company leaders are able to make strategic decisions for their companies without threats of frivolous lawsuits and political pressure.”

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The letter is one of the first from diversity-focused business groups that explicitly outline concerns about the conservative legal movement targeting DEI and pressure for companies to protect their diversity policies.

“It is vital that we do not allow the voices of an extreme few to outweigh the voices of the many,” the letter said. “We cannot and will not sit idly by and allow that to happen.”

Following the US supreme court ruling against affirmative action at US colleges and universities last summer, the conservative legal movement has turned its attention toward the business sector.

In August, Edward Blum, the conservative legal activist who brought affirmative action back to the supreme court, sued a venture capital firm that awarded grants to Black women entrepreneurs. Blum, through his group the American Alliance for Equal Rights, argued that the firm, called Fearless Fund, was discriminating against white entrepreneurs by making the grant exclusively for Black women. The case could eventually make its way to the supreme court, where it would face the same panel of conservative judges that overturned affirmative action.

The letter comes a week after conservative judges in Miami heard arguments in Fearless Fund’s case. A separate federal court in September had blocked the firm from awarding $20,000 grants to Black entrepreneurs, largely coming from corporations like Mastercard and Bank of America, pending the outcome of the case.

In Miami, lawyers for Fearless Fund argued that the grants are protected by the first amendment because they are charitable donations. Kevin Newsom, a federal judge appointed by Donald Trump, asked the lawyers if a grant program for only white applicants would also be protected by the first amendment.

“No matter how repugnant I might find that, the first amendment protects all speech,” Jason Schwartz, a lawyer for Fearless Fund, told the judge.

At a news conference after the hearing, Arian Simone, co-founder of Fearless Fund said that they lost “upwards about eight figures of investments” following the lawsuit’s filing.

“When people hear lawsuits, sometimes the spirit of fear has gotten to them,” Simone said. “We have been financially impacted due to this lawsuit.”