Kickstarter campaign, she's reopening it on Juneteenth at a cafe.

In the 2 years after George George Floyd's murder nearly 1400 fortune 1000 companies pledged a total of 340 billion dollars towards fighting racial injustice.

That's from an analysis by the McKinsey Institute for Black and Economic Mobility in 2023, 40% of companies made statements in support of racial justice.

30% made external commitments to promote racial equity in economic opportunities.

But today, dozens and dozens of companies are dropping.

Those 3 words.

Those 3 letters from the initiatives they launched so loudly 5 years ago.

Here with more on this, our Reverend.

Well, Trina Middleton, executive director of Community Renewal, Society and on Zoom, Xavier, Remy chief executive officer of Justice informed and Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League.

Welcome back to all of you.

Thanks for joining us.

Thank Xavier.

Amy, let's start with you.

What was at the core of those dei, those diversity, equity and inclusion pledges 5 years ago.

>> Well, it was the desire to be on the right side of history in a way that would support the people that companies are trying to hire all along as well as ensure that propped up the brand.

I think a lot of what the intentions were around the financial dollars that are being spent and committed by companies was to show that they were invested in the way that we expect them to be, which is we understand the companies have cash and they were committing that cash towards challenge was that the commitments were not backed my real strategy and they certainly were backed by real accountability.

That was both community informing community accountable.

They were accountable to themselves.

shareholders.

And as soon as the market turned, so to their commitments.

>> Reverend Middleton, one of the corporation saying then what's the message when they abandoned the dei efforts as they have read?

It was quietly before Trump issued his executive order or since then.

Well, I fellow panelists said it well, I think it's speaks to just how superficial some of these commitments are.

If you are genuinely committed to your your customers, the new will be committed and faithful to them.

No matter how the tides turned.

And I think that especially during the pandemic, many people were faithful to a target what have you.

And so to have these organizations to turn their back on communities now more than ever with his dire social economic needs is quite disappointing.

Marc Morial, the National Urban League, you all released a report just last week examining the way government institutions, advocates and businesses respond to racial injustice.

>> The subtitle of Your Report asks, was it a moment or a movements?

>> What would you say?

It was.

I think you're on mute, sir.

>> I thank you for having me.

For too many.

It many of us is still fighting.

To ensure that the legacy of George Floyd remains movement.

But this is not happening in a vacuum is under cifras attack.

those attacks began before.

The election of the 47th president began several years ago was really a concerted campaign to undermine the commitments that have been made.

The financial commitment commit a survation.

Just as what we found is I find that there are 3 camps here.

There's those that walked away completely.

There will those that have maintained.

Their commitment.

Many of them are operating quietly and under the radar and then it goes to put lipstick.

On a pig.

Are they put lipstick on a beautiful, beautiful Pete in the sense that they've making cosmetic changes, purging their websites, changing their language, dropping the use of the term, the first diversity equity inclusion around what everyone to understand here when you Po good for city equity and inclusion.

When you ask questions of the American people about their commitment on the lower.

And if you just use the term DNI, it's 50, 50.

The high.

And if you talk about commitment to diversity, commitment to racial justice, commitment.

To fairness, the numbers are up at 70, almost 80.

The voices in opposition of this allow.

They're financially strong and they have political clout.

They do not represent the majority voices in this country.

So this moment is distressing.

It's disappointing.

And my greatest concern at the moment of George Floyd, all of these commitments emerge was that that come a time.

When people would back away.

Goal solved, lose their Tuesday as an for these commitments.

Now the community has reacted in some cases with selected by selected purchasing.

It's an example the reaction and the really hard feelings that many of us have somewhat of a generation that had an opportunity because of civil rights because of struggle because of lawsuits because of protests because of advocacy to walk through those doors and do this work.

I'm greatly distressed.

What a scene.

It's alright.

Thank you, Marc Morial.

I because I wanted to jump in with another thing that we hear the Trump administration using a lot to the attack on Dei has also >> its villain eyes.

The term woke that before maybe 5 years ago.

Not everybody even understood what it Reverend Middleton remind us what the word woke means, what it's intended to mean is I mean, the word woke.

It a term that appeared in the 1930's, too helped to raise consciousness to make sure that community members, we're cognizant of issues that impact them directly, either socioeconomic impact them, especially as it pertains to res.

And and I think that to criminalize or to make it seem as if folks who are where who are conscious about how things are unfolding in their community is a negative thing really shows a level of ignorance and a lack of awareness itself being woke is a positive turn because it shows that you care enough about your community and your neighbors to want to be vested in 2.

Make sure that you have all of the resources and information possible so that you could be a part of positive change in your community before we run out of time.

Really quickly, should this term be reclaimed or abandoned now that it's been hijacked this way?

Absolutely.

And I don't think it was ever abandoned by the who gave birth to the terminology.

I think people unapologetic in being woke.

And I think that the fact that you have a community that tries to demonize the term says that there are fear they are afraid of community being conscious.

There's a fear of knowledge.

Xavier, we've got one minute left.

What do you think our white individual's responsibility in the wake of George Floyd?

>> To make sure that you did not vain.

George Floyd died because of white supremacy died because of the American tradition of policing.

He died because of rampant ignorance and an assumption that Dr King somehow finished all of the work through his sacrifice.

There's real and present work that African-Americans, brown, folks, Asian folks and white folks all need to do.

But particularly white Americans, there is a different work that I hope that they invite themselves to consider.

And that work includes understanding how their privileges create a necessity.

And the reality of George Floyd's being killed.

How and why it is that currently they're taking up the levels of wealth and in space and jobs in some of the biggest companies that America has to offer and people of color still fighting just to even be considered with their resumes.

There's a reason behind this.

And I think specifically white Americans in this moment, 5 years after the murder of George Floyd need to think about one.

What does it mean to be white in America?

Not just how do we do racial equity?

What does it mean to be white and how do I use that privilege to actually change what it means to be black?

>> Some of the same conversations we had about 5 years ago with some of the same folks who are on this