#QuitTheCouncil A Success
Color Of Change and activist pressure force Trump to abandon business councils
NEW YORK—In a major victory for Color Of Change, Donald Trump announced today that he was disbanding his business councils, following a slew of CEOs resigning due to activist pressure. Since January, Color Of Change has led the call for executives to #QuitTheCouncil, demanding that business leaders including Elon Musk of Tesla, Bob Iger of Disney, and Indra Nooyi of Pepsi stop enabling this administration’s support of hatred and bigotry.
“One by one, America’s business leaders have abandoned Donald Trump. But that’s not out of any altruism: it’s because they know the American people—especially communities of color—will hold them accountable for enabling a supporter of violent hate and white supremacy,” said Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of Color Of Change. “Trump killed these councils as a move of desperation. The self-proclaimed ‘dealmaker’ has been dealt a humiliating blow today, and that is thanks to all those who have stood up and denounced this hate-mongering administration.”
Color of Change, along with Muslim Advocates, first convened a coalition of activist groups in January to demand that executives step down from Trump’s business council in protest of the Muslim ban. Following a major pressure campaign, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick stepped down from a Trump council in February, followed Iger and Musk in the wake of Trump’s rejection of the Paris climate agreement.
Following Trump’s white supremacist-praised response to Charlottesville, Color Of Change renewed pressure on executives including Nooyi and Inge Thulin of 3M to resign their council memberships. In the past few days the CEOs of Intel, Under Armour, Merck, and others have left Trump councils due to mounting pressure from Color Of Change and allied groups.
All along the way, Color Of Change has been leading the call for CEOs to #QuitTheCouncil.
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Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by over one million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org.
