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NEW YORK, NY (May 8, 2024) – Rev. Al Sharpton, President and Founder of the National Action Network (NAN), will lead NAN’s 19th weekly DEI rally outside of Bill Ackman’s Manhattan office to protest the contentious billionaire’s role in the attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion. This week’s “DEI Thursday” picket comes on the heels of MIT dropping its requirement for faculty diversity statements, sending a dangerous signal to other higher education institutions as the right-wing wages a fight against DEI.
“What’s so wrong with acknowledging and appreciating our country’s diversity?” said Rev. Sharpton. “Diversity is the backbone of what actually makes America great. Institutions like MIT should be doubling down on their commitments to diversity at the student, faculty and administrator levels, not relenting under pressure. There is little distinction between framing a commitment to diversity as partisan ideology and outright admitting that Blacks and other people of color just aren’t welcome. People like Bill Ackman are trying to fool us into believing otherwise.”
Rev. Sharpton and NAN have protested Ackman’s office every Thursday this year, beginning with Ackman’s pressure campaign to remove then-Harvard University President Claudine Gay. The hedge fund billionaire’s actions and words fueled even more scrutiny and measures to undo DEI commitments, especially in corporate America and higher education, many of which were made after the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
WHO:
Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of NAN
WHERE:
Outside the office of Bill Ackman
787 11th Avenue at West 54th Street
New York, NY 10019
WHEN:
Thursday, May 9, 2024
12 PM
National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality or gender.
For more information go to www.nationalactionnetwork.net.
