Bay State Banner, November 2023
After the murder of George Floyd and the unprecedented protests against police brutality and systemic racism, many corporations recognized that they could no longer stand silent and would take an active role in confronting the overarching problem through diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives. The main way corporations can assist is by hiring more people of color. But as the massive protests of 2020 have subsided, a swift political backlash has emerged against targeted initiatives to uplift people of color. Politicians on the right have enacted laws in some states to try to erase African Americans from history and their struggle for civil rights, the historical foundation of DEI efforts.
That is why the Banner partnered with Ted Landsmark, director of Northeastern University’s Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, to check up on how large companies in Massachusetts, which generally already had DEI commitments even before the protests, were doing.
