THE MOST PROMINENT AFRICAN THE MOST PROMINENT AFRICAN AMERICAN CEOs AND BUSINESS LEADERS IN THE COUNTRY PUBLISHED A FULL-PAGE AD IN "THE NEW YORK TIMES" URGING CORPORATE AMERICA TO TAKE STAND AGAINST THE NEW VOTER SUPPRESSION LAWS LIKE THIS IN GEORGIA, THE HEAD OF THE NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE FUND RESPONDED ON TWITTER BY SAYING, QUOTE, TRUST ME, THIS IS HUGE. SURE ENOUGH, A FEW HOURS LATER, HUGE GEORGIA-BASED CORPORATIONS LIKE DELTA AND COCA-COLA WERE FEELING THEIR OATS ON THIS ISSUE FOR THE FIRST TIME COMING OUT SLAMMING THE GEORGIA VOTING LAW FOR THE FIRST TIME, LATE, FRANKLY, SINCE THE BILL ALREADY PASSED SOMETHING REALLY DID SHIFT TODAY ON THIS FRONT IN THE BATTLE AGAINST THESE VOTER SUPPRESSION LAWS JOINING US NOW IS THE CLAIRVOYANT PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR COUNCIL EVER THE NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE FUND MISS EIFFEL, GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE THANK YOU FOR MAKING TIME. >> OF COURSE >> WHY WAS THIS -- WHY DID YOU SEE THAT LETTER FROM BLACK CEOs AND BUSINESS LETTERS AS HUGE WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE IMPACT IT HAD JUST TODAY? >> WELL, A NUMBER OF ADVOCATES, LOCAL ADVOCATES IN GEORGIA, HAD BEEN PRESSING THESE CORPORATIONS OVER WEEKS, BLACK VOTERS MATTER, THE GEORGIA NAACP, THE NEW GEORGIA PROJECT REALLY PUSHING THESE LOCAL CORPORATIONS TO TAKE A STAND AGAINST WHAT WAS CLEARLY GOING TO BE A DISASTROUS BILL. AND THESE ARE CORPORATIONS THAT ARE SYNONYMOUS WITH THE STATE OF GEORGIA. COCA-COLA IS SYNONYMOUS WITH GEORGIA. SO A NUMBER OF GROUPS ON THE GROUND HAD BEEN PUSHING. I HAD BEEN IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THESE CORPORATIONS ASKING THEM TO STAND AGAINST THESE PROVISIONS WE FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO SPEAK UP, INCLUDING THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE GEORGIA CHAMBER AND THE METRO ATLANTA CHAMBER. AND IT IS TRUE THAT THEY WERE BEHIND THE SCENES HOPING THEY COULD MAKE THE BILL BETTER, I THINK, AND I THINK, ACTUALLY, AT THE END THEY THINK THAT WHAT THEY DID, AT LEAST THEY THOUGHT WHAT THEY DID, WAS SUFFICIENT, THAT THERE WAS SOME TERRIBLE PROVISIONS THAT WERE REMOVED FROM THE BILL. BUT THE BILL THAT PASSED IS STILL TERRIBLE AND THEIR FAILURE TO SPEAK AS THEMSELVES, AS GEORGIA CORPORATIONS, THEY WERE BEGINNING TO FEEL THE HEAT WHEN THESE CEOs CAME OUT THIS MORNING, THESE ARE HEAVY HITTERS, RACHEL. THESE ARE NOT PEOPLE WHO ARE SILLY, WHO ARE FLY-BY-NIGHT. THESE ARE MEN AND WOMEN WHEN THEY CALL, YOU TAKE THE CALL, AND BUSINESS LEADERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY KNOW THAT. THEY KNOW THESE NAMES. SO WHEN THIS CAME OUT THIS MORNING, A FULL-PAGE AD IN "THE NEW YORK TIMES" AND YOU SAW THE CEOs ON CNBC AND THE OTHER CHANNELS THAT PEOPLE IN FINANCE WATCH IN THE MORNING, IT WAS CLEAR TO ME THAT THIS WAS A GAME CHANGER AND I THINK THAT WITH THE PRESSURE FROM THE LOCAL GROUPS AND, OF COURSE, THERE HAVE BEEN THREATS OF BOYCOTTS, IT DID MAKE A DIFFERENCE >> DO YOU THINK THAT THIS MAY TRANSLATE -- THAT THIS WILL REMAIN FOCUSED ON GEORGIA, OR DO YOU THINK THIS MAY TRANSLATE TO THESE CEOs, THESE CORPORATIONS, OTHERS PERHAPS WHO MAY FIND THEMSELVES IN THE SAME FRAME OF MIND, THAT THEY MIGHT WORK TO PASS S-1, THE FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS PROTECTION AND THE JOHN LEWIS BILL AS WELL THAT WOULD AFFORD FEDERAL PROTECTIONS IT THAT WOULD NEUTRALIZE SOME OF THE WORST IMPACT OF THESE STATE BILLS LIKE THE ONES IN GEORGIA >> I KNOW THAT’S AN EXPLICIT ASK OF LOCAL GROUPS. AN ASK THAT THEY STAND UP IN OTHER STATES, WHERE COPYCAT BILLS ARE BEING PLANNED. I DID SAY TO THE CEO OF COCA-COLA PEOPLE DRINK COCA-COLA IN TEXAS, TOO, AND TEXAS IS SETTING ABOUT TRYING TO PASS SOME OF THESE BILLS AS WELL. BUT HR1 AND HR4 ARE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. LOCAL GROUPS ARE HAVE BEEN MAKE THAT REQUEST TO THESE COMPANIES TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF SEEKING A FEDERAL SOLUTION WE ARE PLAYING WHACK-A-MOLE ACROSS A VARIETY OF STATES WE ARE SEEING THESE LAWS PROPOSED IN FLORIDA AND TEXAS AND MICHIGAN AND STATES AROUND THE COUNTRY. AND SO WE REALLY NEED THAT FEDERAL LEGISLATION. IT’S GOING TO BE A TEST TO SEE WHETHER CORPORATIONS ARE WILLING TO STAND UP. THESE ARE CORPORATIONS WILLING TO STAND UP AGAINST ANTI-LBGTQ Q LEGISLATION, WHICH IS VITALLY IMPORTANT. THEY HAVE SPOKEN OUT ON CLIMATE CHANGE THEY HAVE SPOKEN OUT ON GUN AUSTRALIA. NOW WE NEED THEM TO SPEAK OUT ON THIS RACE ISSUE. IT’S A DEMOCRACY ISSUE AND I HAVE BEEN REALLY DISTRESSED OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS, CONCERNED THAT THE BUSINESS PLAN OF MANY AMERICAN CORPORATIONS APPEARS TO BE AGNOSTIC ABOUT DEMOCRACY WHEN YOU TRY TO DENY CITIZENS THE ABILITY TO VOTE AND PARTICIPATE IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS AND PUNISH THEM FOR TURNING OUT IN RECORD NUMBERS AS THE GEORGIA LEGISLATURE DID WITH THIS BILL, YOU ARE ENAGED IN ANTI-DEMOCRATIC ACTIONS. THAT’S A SPACE WHERE CORPORATIONS IN MY VIEW ARE COMPELLED TO SPEAK BECAUSE THEY BENEFIT FROM OUR DEMOCRACY AND I THINK AFTER JANUARY 6th, WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE NEED ALL OF THE SEGMENTS OF OUR SOCIETY TO STAND TOGETHER TO PROTECT DEMOCRACY. >> IT’S REALLY GOOD TO SEE YOU THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE IT’S AN EXCITING DAY TODAY TO WATCH THIS UNFOAMED.
