REV. SHARPTON ISSUES STATEMENT AFTER MEETING WITH PEPSICO EXECUTIVES

Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), issued the following statement after meeting with PepsiCo leadership at the company’s global headquarters in Purchase, NY this morning.

“This morning, I and several members of NAN met with PepsiCo Chairman Ramon Laguarta and CEO of PepsiCo North America Steven Williams for more than an hour to discuss our grievances over reports they were rolling back nearly $500 million in DEI commitments. It was a constructive conversation, which PepsiCo agreed to hold within the 21 days we gave them to meet. We agreed to follow up meetings within the next few days. After that continued dialogue, NAN Chairman Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson and I, both former members of the company’s African American Advisory Board, will make a final determination and recommendation to the organization on what we will do around PepsiCo moving forward, as we continue to deal with a broader swath of corporations with whom we will either boycott or buy-cott.”

https://www.africanamericanreports.com/2025/04/rev-sharpton-issues-statement-after.html

Civil and Human Rights Organizations Sue Trump Administration Over Executive Orders Banning Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of nonprofit advocacy organizations challenging three anti-equity executive orders from President Trump related to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and transgender people.

LDF and Lambda Legal claim these orders will severely limit the organizations’ ability to provide critical social and health services such as HIV treatment, fair housing, equal employment opportunities, affordable credit, civil rights protections, and many others. This would harm countless people across the United States, including people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and people living with HIV.  

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the National Urban League, the National Fair Housing Alliance, and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, claims that the administration is violating the organizations’ rights to free speech and due process and is engaging in intentional discrimination by issuing and enforcing the anti-equity orders.

The three executive orders being challenged terminate equity-related grants and forbid federally-funded entities from engaging in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs, and from recognizing the existence of transgender people. Together, these orders reverse decades of civil rights progress and pose an existential threat to the organizations that advocate for the civil rights of transgender people, and provide them shelter, services, and support.  

“As a Black man living with HIV who has experienced homelessness, for years, I have relied on the lifesaving services of organizations like AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC), who understood my intersectional identities. Now, as I work in the HIV field, I am deeply concerned about the threat these orders represent to AFC’s ability to serve our communities if they can’t even name the issues our people are facing.” said Will, an AIDS Foundation Chicago program participant and caseworker for another organization.

“In the past decade, the National Urban League has served over 22 million Americans. In the face of economic downturns and a global pandemic, our workforce programs have placed over a quarter million people in jobs and provided job training in over 90 markets, and that number grows every year,” said Marc H. Morial, President & CEO of the National Urban League. “Many of our programs are supported by the Department of Labor. The assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion is discriminatory at best and an attempt at institutionalized economic oppression at its worst.”

“We cannot end the HIV epidemic without working to address health disparities for Black, Latine, LGBTQ+ people, and transgender women. We must be able to prioritize these populations in our work – whether that’s through outreach, engagement initiatives, staff training, or resources – because they are disproportionately impacted by HIV.  These executive orders would prohibit us from doing that critical and lifesaving work, putting our clients’ and the broader community’s health at risk.” said John Peller, President & CEO, AIDS Foundation Chicago.  

“Fair housing is a national policy of the U.S. Our nation’s fair housing principles are embedded in the Constitution and civil rights statutes secured by the blood, sweat, tears, and lives of millions of people who fought to make our Declaration of Independence and Constitution real for everyone in this country. The Constitution and our civil rights laws are centered on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. The President cannot undo the Constitution or take away our rights by affixing a signature to an executive order,” said Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “The administration’s Executive Orders and OMB funding freeze memorandum have caused chaos, fear, insecurity, dysfunction, and loss of rights. The Administration’s illegal actions put all people in harm’s way, driving up the cost of housing and leaving millions exposed to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation with no structure for protection. ‘Out of Many, One’ is our national motto – any effort to divide, stoke fear and treat people unfairly is not in line with our nation’s founding principles. America is best when united and relentlessly pursuing a country where everyone, regardless of their background, has a fair chance at reaching the American Dream.”

“Beyond spreading inaccurate, dehumanizing, and divisive rhetoric, President Trump’s executive orders seek to tie the hands of organizations, like our clients, providing critical services to people who need them most,” said Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of LDF. “The three orders we are challenging today perpetuate false and longstanding stereotypes that Black people and other underrepresented groups lack skills, talent, and merit—willfully ignoring the discriminatory barriers that prevent a true meritocracy from flourishing. We proudly stand with our clients and Lambda Legal against these unconstitutional orders and hope the court will act quickly so the arduous work of advancing and sustaining our multiracial democracy can continue without unlawful interference from the Trump administration.”

“These policies drip with contempt for transgender people, and pose a significant threat to critical health and HIV services that support marginalized communities, putting lives at risk,” said Jose Abrigo, Lambda Legal’s HIV Project Director. “These orders pose an existential threat to transgender people and the organizations that provide them with shelter and support. The orders defund organizations providing critical health and HIV services, and punish organizations for striving to improve the lives of Black people, people of color, and members of other marginalized communities. They are patently unconstitutional. Lambda Legal and LDF teamed up because the fights to end racism, the HIV epidemic, and anti-transgender bias are inseparable. For organizations like our plaintiffs providing these services, addressing these compounding barriers is essential to HIV prevention and care, and this policy would impede the work to eradicate and address the HIV epidemic.”

The lawsuit, National Urban League v. Trump, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claims that the executive orders violate the plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to free speech by censoring and chilling their views on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. The plaintiffs also claim that the executive orders are so vague that the organizations do not know what is and is not prohibited, in violation of their Fifth Amendment due process rights. Moreover, the executive orders discriminate against people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ people, with particular animus towards Black people and transgender individuals, in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.

You can read the full complaint here.

Sign the NAACP Black Consumer Pledge

Message from the NAACP:

Black dollars have power — nearly $2 trillion strong. Yet, too many corporations profit from our spending while rolling back their DEI commitments. This isn’t just a betrayal; it’s a threat to the progress we’ve fought for.

We see it. We won’t forget it. And we’ll continue to demand better.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion, is not just a trend - it's a way of life.

To support this effort will you sign the NAACP Black Consumer Pledge?

By signing the pledge, you commit to joining NAACP in the fight for an economy that benefits everyone. You can do this by:

Spending Intentionally: Support businesses and organizations that maintain and expand their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion and prioritize investment in Black communities.

Demanding Accountability: Call out corporations that have abandoned diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and demand transparency in their practices.

Supporting Black-Owned Businesses: Prioritize Black-owned businesses and service providers in spending decisions.

Advocating for Change: Push for policies strengthening supplier diversity, workplace equity, and economic inclusion for Black professionals and entrepreneurs.

Staying Informed: Educate yourself and others about corporate rollbacks and their impact on Black communities.

Join us by signing our pledge today. https://naacp.org/campaigns/black-consumer-advisory.

NAACP President Condemns Trump Administration’s Roll Back of DEI Programs

In a flurry of Executive Orders enacted on President Trump's first day in office, the controversial Administration has chosen to roll back all federal programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. The move represents a significant regression from the previous Administration's approach to centering racial equity and remedying the systemic racism deeply entrenched in our nation's governing practices. 

NAACP President Derrick Johnson released the following statement condemning President Trump's Executive Order Rolling Back DEI in the Federal Government:

"It is outrageous that the President is rolling back critical Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. DEI programs help ensure that everyone can prosper. It's clear that President Trump does not value equal opportunity. 

His appalling executive order will only worsen America's racial hierarchy and benefit the oligarch class. This executive order threatens public services that benefit all Americans; it's an attempt to consolidate power and money to a few wealthy individuals. And poor and working-class people will pay the price. 

This is all part of a calculated strategy to redefine the role of government, privatize essential public services, and further discrimination. Elections have consequences and it's clear that this election has put a target on Black America's back." 

The data makes it clear: organizations with diverse workforces have a strategic advantage over those who don't. According to McKinsey, Companies in the top quartile for being ethnically and culturally diverse are 36% more profitable than those in the bottom quartile. 

To learn more about NAACP's work to advance a more inclusive economy, visit our website. 

Alabama Bans Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs

Watch Roland S. Martin discuss how Alabama lawmakers passed SB-129, which prohibits public entities like schools and universities from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Alabama Governor, Kay Ivey has signed the bill into law

The law says schools cannot fund initiatives that teach concepts that "any individual should accept, acknowledge, affirm, or assent to a sense of guilt, complicity, or a need to apologize on the basis of his or her race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin."

The law will take effect on Oct. 1.

NAACP Urges Black Student Athletes to Reconsider PWI Universities in Florida

The NAACP has sent a letter to current and prospective members of the NCAA, calling for Black student athletes to reconsider their decisions to attend public colleges and universities in Florida. The letter comes following recent news that the University of Florida had dismantled its DEI department at the direction of the DeSantis administration's Stop WOKE Act. The bill, which was passed last year, prohibits the use of state funds for any diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. While the University of Florida has been the first to follow the directive, Florida is home to some of the nation's largest public universities, many of whom rely on Black talent recruited to their athletics programs.

Read that letter below:

NAACP Urges Student Athlete... by George L. Cook III

NAACP Launches ‘Diversity No Matter What’ Pledge for Colleges and Universities

The NAACP calls on more than 1,600 U.S. public and private colleges and universities with selective admissions processes to commit to the "Diversity No Matter What" pledge following the Supreme Court's extreme decisions reversing decades of precedent on affirmative action. The Pledge is an effort to ensure that higher education institutions foster environments mirroring the nation's diversity and increase the representation of historically underrepresented students.

"Let's be clear - Black America is in a fight for our lives. The NAACP has been at the forefront of this battle for more than a century and we're not backing down," said NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson."It is our hope that our nation's institutions will stand with us in embracing diversity, no matter what. Regardless, the NAACP will continue to advocate, litigate, and mobilize to ensure that every Black American has access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive."

The NAACP has long advocated for policies and regulations at every level of government to guarantee a first-rate education for all Black students. The "Diversity No Matter What" pledge outlines various steps that schools can take to create and sustain a culture of inclusion, belonging, and respect for the benefit of all students — and therefore our society — such as: 

• Eliminating racially biased entrance examinations and adopting a holistic approach that considers every aspect of an applicant's background, achievements, and potential.
• Supporting the matriculation and retention of low-income and first-generation students through outreach programs, scholarships, mentoring, and academic support services.
• Recruiting diverse faculty and staff who can serve as role models and mentors for our students while contributing to our curriculum and research.
• Creating a welcoming, and supportive campus climate that values diversity, stands for equity, and advances inclusion in all aspects of academic and social life.
• Striving towards greater inclusivity by ending the utilization of legacy admissions which give an advantage to children and family members of institutional alumni or donors.
• Partnering with and supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, and other Minority Serving Institutions that have deeply rooted race-conscious missions.

"When a college or university commits to our 'Diversity No Matter What' pledge, that signifies a huge stride toward future insurance that every student, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or socioeconomic status, has an equal opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive at a higher education institution," said Dr. Ivory Toldson, NAACP Director of Education Innovation and Research. "Protecting diversity within higher education and beyond cannot be about a political party or affiliation. This is about our ability to correct the nation's original sin and level the playing field to maintain and expand our diverse learning environments to propel our society forward towards a brighter future."

The NAACP also launched a "Diversity No Matter What" petition for their members and leaders across the country to sign. You can read and sign the petition here. 

College and university administrators can sign the "Diversity No Matter What" pledge here.