We’ll Miss DEI When It’s Gone

The result is a near total reversal of all of the nominal progress that had been made in the wake of Floyd’s murder. But corporations don’t deserve all of the blame. Democrats, both for structural and political reasons, have also failed to advance much meaningful legislation on racial justice issues over the last half decade. There were, to be fair, attempts to advance real and reasonable policy but they all stalled or failed. The George Floyd Act, which would have ended qualified immunity for police officers, created a national police misconduct database, and banned chokeholds, has been in congressional limbo more or less from its inception—talks between Republicans and Democrats collapsed in September of 2021 and have never restarted. During the 2020 election, racial justice and police reform were galvanizing issues for Democrats even before Floyd’s murder: Both rarely came up during the 2024 election. Even if Democrats were to make legislative progress on these issues—an unlikely prospect given that Republicans currently boast a trifecta—they would likely be blocked by conservative judges. 

And so, corporate progress has been the most likely and visible avenue for change—and, at the moment, corporations are signaling that they want to steer away from anything that could prove controversial, particularly if it aligns with liberal priorities. Walmart’s retreat from DEI is a lesson in what corporate social responsibility actually is: Political statements designed not to offer meaningful change but to placate consumers and employees and, perhaps above all, avoid bad press. Five years ago, the statements and shifts offered by Walmart were designed to keep the company from being made a target by liberal activists. Now that conservative activists have targeted DEI measures, they’re retreating. 

In a political climate defined by conflict and inertia, corporations making minor, symbolic changes were also celebrated. But Democrats and activists alike too often confused symbolic progress with actual progress, allowing a successful movement to curdle. As my colleague Alex Shephard wrote back in 2018: “If that branding’s working, it’s not because corporations are filling a void left by politicians, but because our standards for meaningful action are so low.” At the same time, when those efforts were successful, they made companies a target for conservative activists, who have made significant progress in demonizing DEI since 2020.