Stacey Abrams warns that Edward Blum’s anti-affirmative action lawsuits are designed to chill diversity efforts—’and it’s working’

– Silence speaks volumes. The recent spate of lawsuits against organizations that support diversity and inclusion, from law firms to the Fearless Fund, has led some companies to hide their heads in the sand, hoping to avoid becoming a target.

That’s a mistake, says Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia House minority leader and Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Abrams, who is also an attorney, talked about the hot-button issue with Coins2Day CEO Alan Murray at the Coins2Day Impact Initiative conference in Atlanta yesterday. (She also discussed her role as senior counsel for Rewiring America, a nonprofit that helps communities go electric.)

“There’s no way to avoid being sued,” she said. “There’s so many who are going silent, hoping that if they just stand still and keep their mouth shut, no one will notice them,” she added. “They’ve already found you. They know who you are. It is more important that we band together.”

Rebecca Greenfield for Coins2Day

Anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum is backing the lawsuits. He successfully sued Harvard, convincing the Supreme Court to overturn affirmative action in college admissions. Then he went after the tech ecosystem, suing the small Atlanta-based Fearless Fund for the grants it awards to Black women. Another lawsuit targets law firms that offer fellowships to diverse candidates, accusing the firms of discriminating against straight white men. Blum says he has more suits planned.

“Lawsuits are designed not for victory, but for a chilling effect,” Abrams says. And the scary part is that “it’s working,” she adds.

Though it might be tempting, silence isn’t an effective strategy. “Silence is often seen as consent. We are agreeing to the attacks,” she says. Business executives should know that better than anyone. “When your competitor is putting their narrative into the air and you are silent, your competitor wins,” she says. “This is not about changing your value system—it’s about articulating your values.”

Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
@_emmahinchliffe

The Broadsheet is Coins2Day’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

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- Remote work for retention. In other Citigroup news, the company will now allow new moms in India to work remotely for up to a year after their maternity leave ends. The move, which also lets mothers work remotely during their third trimester, is an effort to recruit and retain female employees. Bloomberg

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- Wildest dreams. The largest newspaper chain in the country just opened up two new reporting positions devoted solely to music's two biggest superstars. The Beyoncé and Taylor Swift reporters, who will follow the busy lives of the music icons, will write for Gannett's USA Today and the Tennessean publications, respectively. New York Times

- Speaking up, writing down. It's been five years since Christine Blasey Ford testified that then Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had assaulted her when they were high school . (He denied the claims.) Now, the California professor is gearing up to release a memoir about the "overwhelming aftermath" of her testimony. Coins2Day

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Lead Edge Capital hired Michaela Balderston, formerly of Tusk Ventures, as vice president and head of communications & marketing. Social Finance named Kirstin Hill as president and chief operating officer. Cloudflare appointed Michele Yetman as chief people officer.

ON MY RADAR

The surprising places where abortion rights are on the ballot, and winning New York Times Magazine

How Emily Wilson made Homer modern The New Yorker

The Other Black Girl examines horror of being Black in a white workplace Washington Post

PARTING WORDS

"I hope my smile lines get deeper and deeper and I laugh more and more. Aging can be such a beautiful thing."

—Singer Ariana Grande on learning to love aging