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Georgia GOP gubernatorial hopeful vows to ‘ban DEI’ in state but his own nonprofit urged CEOs to invest in it

Georgia GOP gubernatorial hopeful vows to ‘ban DEI’ in state but his own nonprofit urged CEOs to invest in it

Rick Jackson, a Republican billionaire running for Georgia governor on a pledge to ban DEI in state government and public education, founded a nonprofit that promoted a 2021 workplace initiative urging Georgia CEOs to invest in DEI, measure progress, examine racial pay gaps, use race-conscious hiring practices and lead workplaces “with race in mind.” Jackson, the billionaire healthcare founder of Jackson Healthcare and its network of smaller companies, including Jackson Physician Search and Jackson Therapy Partners, has said he would be President Donald Trump’s “favorite governor,” modeled his campaign launch after the president’s and said he has never met a Trump policy he doesn’t like. Trump, meanwhile, has made ending DEI in the United States a key part of his second term, issuing an executive order shortly after he was inaugurated to remove it from public services, universities and beyond. His administration has also taken an aggressive stance against DEI in the courts. In addition to his for-profit companies, Jackson is the founder and CEO of goBeyondProfit, a Georgia nonprofit. The philanthropic venture describes itself as a “no-cost resource for Georgia business leaders interested in evolving their corporate generosity efforts into a business strategy,” and adds that Jackson has “long shared the belief that businesses can and should be a force for good in the world.” In 2021, goBeyondProfit launched a DEI initiative focused on keeping “race in mind” in the workplace, which included a video series for CEOs to learn the “do’s and don’ts” of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The “Telly Award-Winning video series” aimed at helping companies implement DEI initiatives remains active on the nonprofit’s website. One of the videos promoted critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi’s book “How To Be An Anti-Racist,” which has been characterized by critics as a leading text of modern race-conscious ideology that rejects colorblindness and defends discrimination when used to achieve equity. The initiative also featured experts who argued “doing nothing” on DEI was “cringe worthy” and framed workplace race issues through slavery and Jim Crow. GOP GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL’S PRO-TRUMP PITCH TO VOTERS CLASHES WITH PAPER TRAIL INSIDE HIS OWN COMPANY Among those experts was then-Jackson Healthcare DEI executive Matthew Harrison, who, in the DEI initiative’s videos, touted how the share of “people of color” hired into new roles at Jackson Healthcare rose from 9% to 25% after the company implemented the diversity measures discussed in the initiative’s instructional videos. Jackson’s business orbit has a history of DEI-friendly messaging and efforts that could complicate one of his central campaign pitches: that he is the candidate best positioned to root out DEI and restore merit-based policies in Georgia. Jackson’s campaign platform says he would prohibit DEI programs in state government, public universities and classrooms, while his campaign messaging has vowed to “ban DEI insanity” and “criminalize reverse discrimination.” “We need to ban every bit of idiotic DEI insanity and criminalize reverse discrimination,” he recently posted on social media. Fox News Digital reached out to Jackson’s campaign, Jackson Healthcare and goBeyondProfit for comment, including questions about whether Jackson was aware of the “Race in Mind” initiative, whether he approved of the DEI materials at the time and how he squared the nonprofit’s past race-focused workplace efforts with his current anti-DEI campaign platform. “Rick hires like the Georgia Bulldogs: only the best players hit the field, and he will prohibit reverse discrimination as governor,” a Jackson campaign spokesperson said in response to Fox News Digital’s questions.  The campaign added that “many of Georgia’s most successful and conservative business leaders” have been “program ambassadors or members” at goBeyondProfit, citing Chick-fil-A’s involvement and the involvement of Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus until his death. In 2021, at the height of the social justice movement following the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others, Jackson’s goBeyondProfit launched “Leading a Thriving Workplace with Race in Mind,” a DEI initiative that included a “Telly Award-Winning video series” aimed at helping CEOs navigate the “do’s and don’ts” of DEI and make “impactful changes” in their workplaces. NEARLY ALL FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES STILL MAINTAIN CORPORATE DEI COMMITMENTS: REPORT The goBeyondProfit video series featured DEI experts, including Harrison, a former Jackson Healthcare executive, urging CEOs and their companies to invest in DEI, measure progress, examine racial pay gaps and use race-conscious hiring practices to increase workplace diversity. In one video, Harrison described implementing a “Rooney Rule” hiring policy at Jackson Healthcare after he took over talent acquisition in 2019, saying the company increased the share of “people of color” hired into new roles from 9% to 25% within a year. “Personally here at Jackson Healthcare, I took over leading talent acquisition here in June of 2019 and put that in place, and within a year, we saw our increase in the number of people of color that we hired into new roles. It went from 9% to 25% and that’s the only thing we changed,” Harrison says. HOW TRUMP IS UPROOTING RADICAL ’60S FOUNDATIONS OF POISONOUS DEI AND CRT PROGRAMS A separate speaker from the DEI video series discusses the importance of tying DEI metrics to employee evaluations, encourages “taking those proactive steps and being anti-racist” as discussed in Kendi’s book that CEOs were encouraged to read, implored “employers do periodic pay equity reviews for their employees,” and urged executives to financially invest in DEI work, saying companies needed to “put your money where your mouth is” on DEI efforts.  That same speaker framed workplace race issues through slavery and Jim Crow, saying slavery was “America’s first race-based economic system” and arguing that the “vestiges of slavery” still live on “even in the American workplace.” “Oddly, the American workplace is the one place where we should be having more of these conversations, but ironically, it’s the one place where we’re least likely to do,” Harrison adds in one of the videos. Meanwhile, at another point in one of the videos, Harrison described how Jackson Healthcare started a “race series” using an outside vendor in order to prevent it

Cannes Film Festival 2026: a different carpet roll-out

Cannes Film Festival 2026: a different carpet roll-out

NewsFeed How big events shape the uprising and how the uprising shapes the big events. Cannes Film Festival 2026 mirrors today’s geopolitical, cultural and technological developments. Published On 15 May 202615 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)

FA Cup final: Man City’s season a success ‘regardless of trophies’

FA Cup final: Man City’s season a success ‘regardless of trophies’

Manchester City face Chelsea in the FA Cup final looking to add to their League Cup success and with eye on EPL title. Published On 15 May 202615 May 2026 Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City have had a successful season, whether or not they win the Premier League title or the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday. Guardiola’s side will put their attempt to catch Premier League leaders Arsenal on hold as they head to Wembley for a fourth successive FA Cup final appearance. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list City start every season with the Premier League and Champions League as their main targets, but they are on the verge of falling short in both. Knocked out of the Champions League last 16 by Real Madrid in March, City will be five points behind Arsenal if the Gunners beat relegated Burnley at home on Monday. Guardiola’s men can close the gap back to two points with victory at Bournemouth in their penultimate match of the season on Tuesday. But Arsenal would then still be able to guarantee their first English title since 2004 by winning at Crystal Palace on May 24. Having already won the League Cup by beating Arsenal, City have a chance for a domestic double this weekend. However, Guardiola is adamant the campaign has been positive, no matter what happens at Wembley or in the title race. “It depends on the trophies you lift. Sometimes you lift trophies and the season has been successful,” said Guardiola, who would only offer “we’ll see” when asked if Rodri would be fit to start in midfield. “Sometimes, you lift and the truth is the season has been really, really bad. “I said a few weeks ago this season has been good. Really, really good.” After starting with Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku on the bench for Wednesday’s win against Crystal Palace, Guardiola is likely to field a full-strength team against Chelsea instead of prioritising the title fight. Advertisement “It is the final of the FA Cup. The message is there are two prestigious clubs at Wembley in the FA Cup final. Our fans make an incredible effort to come down to London. It is not cheap,” he said. “We try to perform as much as possible to win. It is always the game plan.” City have lost the last two FA Cup finals against Crystal Palace and Manchester United, who they had beaten in the 2023 showpiece. “There’s excitement, of course. I hope we can do better than the last two times,” Guardiola said. “Wembley is still a special place. Everything is so nice. The pitch is extraordinary. We are desperate to perform well.” Ahead of his 24th trip to Wembley with City, Guardiola joked that he is “so disappointed” he has not had a stand named after him at the home of English football. “So many times I have been there, at least a lounge or a box or something like that. Maybe I have to go 24 more times,” he said. Guardiola has one year left on his City contract and is yet to sign a new deal amid speculation that he could end his decade at the Etihad Stadium once the current campaign is over. Asked about reports that City’s fitness coach Lorenzo Buenaventura and goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor are set to leave the club, Guardiola said with a smirk: “I extended the contract with them three more years,” before adding: “Nope”. Adblock test (Why?)

Trump says he discussed Taiwan arms sale with China’s Xi Jinping

Trump says he discussed Taiwan arms sale with China’s Xi Jinping

NewsFeed US President Donald Trump said he discussed US arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during talks in Beijing. Trump also said he is considering lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that buy Iranian oil. Published On 15 May 202615 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)