Corporations continue to be at the center of the culture war as the NAACP weaponizes nearly $2 trillion in “Black dollars” to keep DEI alive.
“If corporations want our dollars, they better be ready to do the right thing.”
Rising to prominence during then-President Joe Biden’s administration, diversity, equity, and inclusion policies permeated all aspects of society from business to education and even the military. Now, as conservative pressure and the leadership of President Donald Trump have many proponents backing down and reversing course, the NAACP launched a Black Consumer Advisory to direct spending to those who’ve bought into the discriminatory policies.
“We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again — diversity is better for the bottom line,” argued NAACP President Derrick Johnson as the initiative was launched Saturday. “The NAACP stands firm in our belief that, in a global economy, those who reject the multicultural nature of consumerism and business will be left in the past they are living in.”
Highlighting that black consumers equated to roughly $1.7 trillion in annual spending, the organization put companies on notice, “if you want our dollars, it’s time to do the right thing.”
While companies backtrack on diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments, the @NAACP’s Black Consumer Advisory is designed to leverage the $1.7 Trillion spending power of the Black community to hold corporations accountable to #DEI and social justice. https://t.co/6YR3EhYHgh
— Derrick Johnson (@DerrickNAACP) February 15, 2025
Within the advisory, the NAACP highlighted the likes of Apple, Ben & Jerry’s, Costco, and Delta Airlines for holding fast to DEI and, in some instances, expanding partnerships for the “critical” agenda.
By contrast, the organization called out corporations like Amazon, Lowe’s, McDonald’s, Meta, Target, Tractor Supply, and Walmart for being among those that have done an about-face on DEI as their policies have been exposed, in many cases through the efforts of Robby Starbuck.
Despite the advisory detailing which companies have backed out of DEI, NAACP economic strategist Keisha Bross contended it wasn’t a “boycott.”
“The NAACP is a leader in the continued work to make an inclusive economy a reality. We’re done with empty, and broken promises,” she said. “This is not a call to boycott, it’s a call for corporations and individuals to buy into the values and principles that reflect our interests.”
The advisory itself argued, “These rollbacks reinforce historical barriers to progress under the guise of protecting ‘meritocracy,’ a concept often used to justify exclusion.”
“Many corporations continue to profit from Black dollars while simultaneously undermining commitments of diversity, equity, and inclusion. These rollbacks not only harm Black communities, professionals, and entrepreneurs but also erode the progress made toward creating equitable economic and social systems,” it went on.
Meanwhile, a boycott was exactly what National Action Network founder Rev. Al Sharpton called for when he announced a similar initiative in January, vowing, “If you abandon us, we’ll abandon you.”
Sharpton followed the announcement by leading a “buy-in” at the Costco location in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood while 19 state attorneys general issued a letter to the company citing the Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard in giving the corporation 30 days to repeal its DEI policies or explain why they hadn’t, plainly indicating that such “discriminatory practices” were “unlawful.”
