Rev. Al Sharpton called out PepsiCo in a letter to PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta over the company’s decision to back away from its previous commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion and indicated that he was giving the company three weeks to take a meeting with him or the soft drink company would be targeted by a boycott in response to their changed position regarding diversity, equity and inclusion.
According to The Associated Press, Sharpton’s letter sets forth his belief that the company has betrayed guiding principles because of political pressure.“You have walked away from equity,” Sharpton wrote before emphasizing his stance that the company’s choice to remove DEI hiring and retention goals and to dismantle community partnerships with minority organizations “are clear signals that political pressure has outweighed principle.”
Sharpton also alluded to PepsiCo’s history, in the 1940s and 1950s, the company was among the first to hire Black sales and marketing executives in Corporate America, which resulted in support of the company from Black Americans.“You did this not because it was easy — but because it was right,” Sharpton wrote. “That legacy is now in jeopardy.”
According to the New Pittsburgh Courier, due to their different approaches, Pepsi and Coca-Cola were largely seen in the imaginations of Americans as “Black” and “White” drinks, respectively, in the days before inclusive marketing strategies.
These days, however, the roles have flipped, Coca-Cola, once described as a product marketed exclusively to white people, reaffirmed its support for diversity, equity and inclusion in February, while PepsiCo appeared to backtrack on their support of those initiatives.
Coca-Cola indicated in its annual report that it believed getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion would ultimately be harmful for its bottom line.
“Failure to maintain a corporate culture that fosters innovation, collaboration and inclusion … could disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business and our future success,” Coca-Cola said.
PepsiCo appears to be taking the approach favored by Walmart and Target, who have also faced backlash and boycotts over abandoning their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives while continuing to use Black models in their advertising campaigns.
According to a press release, Sharpton and his National Action Network are set to announce on April 5 which is the first company to be boycotted in accordance with his vow to review and identify a company to be boycotted which has abandoned commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion.
“As Donald Trump returned to office on King Day, vowing to attack the very things Dr. King fought for, NAN made a promise across Washington to use our buying power to fight back,” Sharpton, the Founder and President of NAN said. “On Saturday, we will send a message to those who abandoned us that we will abandon them. As we make this stand against those who abandoned DEI, NAN will continue to support the companies that stand by the policy.”
Trump’s war on diversity, equity and inclusion has had the effect of making companies, government agencies, and universities reevaluate or end various policies or programs aimed at increasing diversity and decreasing discrimination against women, LGBTQ+ individuals, Black people, and other protected groups.
In addition to Trump’s pressure, some companies, like PepsiCo, have appeared to buckle after attacks from conservative activists like Robby Starbuck, who Forbes reports alleged on Twitter (X) that he had contacted the soft drink company about “doing a story about their woke policies.”
Although it is unknown if Starbuck’s inquiry is related to the changed policy from Pepsi, most likely it is due to the soft drink company’s status as a government contractor, this has not stopped him from taking credit.
Starbuck also taunted Sharpton on Twitter (X) and called for the activist to debate him on diversity, equity and inclusion.
“If you think you’re sharp enough to debate this, then let’s debate DEI publicly without edits. Surely you’ll make incredible arguments and defeat my ideas for all to see. Or maybe you’ll cower and avoid the debate because you know that I’ll mop the floor with you and the horrific, partisan and racist policies known as DEI,” Starbuck wrote.
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