David Clunie, Executive Director of Black Economic Alliance, joins Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous and Kristin Myers to discuss Black executives calling on corporations to fight restrictive voting laws.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: More than 70 Black executives, including the CEO of Merck and the former CEO of American Express, are calling on corporate America to fight a wave of voting rights bills similar to the one that passed in Georgia, a bill they say will make it harder for Blacks to vote. Our next guest also added his name and his organization's name to that letter. David Clunie is executive director of the Black Economic Alliance.

David, thanks for being with us. You know, earlier today, it seemed like this letter is starting to do its job because we saw Delta CEO Ed Bastian, who has one of the lar-- is one of the largest employers in the state of Georgia, say that now he believes that that Georgia law on voting is unacceptable. And I know that he was facing a boycott of Delta because of his stance on that law. What's your reaction to what Delta did this morning?

DAVID CLUNIE: So thank you, Alexis and Kristin, for having me on. This is exactly the type of response that we're hoping for. With the full page ad that 70 plus, as you said, Black executives took out in "The New York Times" today and that Ken Chennault and Ken Frazier and others have been talking about throughout the day, we really want corporations like Delta, who are large employers in the state of Georgia and beyond, because this is not just about Georgia, but companies to use their platforms to-- they say they value communities of color, value their Black employees, their customers, and the communities they serve.

This is the way that you show you value them, by opposing laws that would restrict the right of particular people to vote, particularly on the heels of an election where, nationally, we had more people participate in an election than we ever have in American history. And what we want to do is be bringing more people into the election process, and not restricting access to the ballot.

KRISTIN MYERS: All right, so, David, as you were hinting about just a moment ago, Georgia is by no means alone when considering this kind of voting bill. And a lot of folks are saying that these voting packages are really just a snap reaction to the big lie about fraud in the 2020 election. So what are the action steps that some of these corporations that say that they oppose these policies or that they support the Black community, what are the action steps that they need to take, perhaps even beyond signing a letter?

Is it saying, you know, hey, we're not going to do business with a state that promotes or passes policies like this? We're not going to hold events, for example, in a state that has policies like this. It reminds me a lot of North Carolina and those transgender bathroom bills. We saw a lot of corporations coming out and actually pulling money out of the state in response. Does that need to happen here? Is that the role that corporations need to take in this?

DAVID CLUNIE: That's exactly the right comparison, Kristin. So to set the stage, there is pending legislation. There are numerous pieces of legislation at the federal level, the For the People Act, HR 1, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, HR 4, and in over 42 states beyond Georgia are considering legislation right now to, similar to Georgia, restrict access to the ballot. So I think a good place to start in terms of actionable steps for companies is to call out the big lie and say there are not verifiable recorded instances of voter fraud.

One example is in Pennsylvania, for example. The attorney general there was on the record the other day saying there were three instances of voter fraud out of all the thousands of people who voted there. And it bears noting that the three instances where people who were trying to fraudulently vote for Donald Trump.

But this is really not a partisan issue. This is about companies saying that they will not do business in states and support people who essentially are prohibiting Americans from engaging in the democratic process. And we know for Black Americans and for all Americans voting is a fundamental right. It's something that Black people have had to fight for over generations.

And it's really part and parcel and the first step to actively contributing to and participating in a democracy. So calling out the big lie and saying where there are not instances, recorded, verifiable instances of voter fraud, so-called voter fraud, there should not be prohibitions put against the right to vote.

But also, like you talked about with the NCAA in North Carolina a few years ago, and a similar playbook was run in the state of Texas against bathroom bills protecting the LGBT plus community. This is a place that corporations can band together, both individually and together, say they will not do business in states that prohibit the rights of particular people, particularly Black people, to vote.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: You know, one of the challenges, David, is, you know, this letter is a baby step for sure. And having companies like Delta come out and say that that Georgia voting law is unacceptable is definitely a start. But as time goes on, how do you hold these companies accountable? How do you make sure they're not just offering up some lip service when it comes to issues like this?

DAVID CLUNIE: So I think this is putting us in the greater context of the action we've seen from the business community in the past year, particularly in response to the racial reckoning we've been going through in the country since the George Floyd murder over Memorial Day weekend and, really, the awakening to the Black experience in America and companies saying they want to do more, they have to do more, and they will do more. I think this is a perfect example. If you want to do more to protect the ability of your Black employees, customers, and communities you serve, to fully participate in the American experience, the right and the ability to cast their ballot is step one to that process. And I think there are a number of ways we can hold folks accountable.

Another playbook that I think can be used here and that we're thinking about is right after the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, a number of companies came out and said they would not support with their PAC dollars or other political action or any kind of support, they would not get behind elected officials or even committees, political committees, who supported people who were voting against certifying a free and fair election. I think a similar approach can be taken here to the state legislative measures that are pending in 42 plus states where there are a number of companies who have political action committees that contribute to both the legislators, the leadership, and even political committees that are supporting the people who are propagating the laws that are purporting to restrict the right to vote.

KRISTIN MYERS: You know, David, a lot of the folks that signed on to this letter are actually members of the Black Economic Alliance. Curious to know as a point of accountability-- and I thought it was interesting that we saw AmEx, or Ken Chenault, signing on to this letter as the former head of AmEx. They have a huge partnership with Delta. I think a lot of folks have one of those AmEx Delta cards.

I'm curious to know if you think or if you're hearing from some of your members that they are considering that amongst holding each other even accountable, you know, if a company like AmEx had come out and said, hey, Delta, you know what? We didn't really like your response. We don't like what your lobbying is doing. We might consider cutting ties with you. Are you hearing your members saying that perhaps they're going to take perhaps those kinds of drastic measures against each other or are moving to holding each other accountable as business leaders?

DAVID CLUNIE: Absolutely right. And that's why we thought it was important for this group of Black business leaders to speak to their peers and essentially say we know the position you're in. We know the hard decisions you have to make. But this is one that is not hard. This is about the fundamental right to vote. And it's something that when we're talking about voter fraud or the big lie, we know what is behind these laws. There is a long history even before the election of 2020 of using voter fraud as a proxy to essentially restrict the right, particularly for Black voters and a number of states around the country.

As an attorney, I worked with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Brennan Center for Justice on cases in Georgia, Indiana, and elsewhere that were fighting against voter fraud measures that would require restrictive voter ID requirements, for example. And this was over almost 15 years ago at this point.

So there are a number of things that business leaders can be doing. And essentially them banding together, one, this is one of the fundamental principles of the Black Economic Alliance and why we were founded because there was finally a critical mass of Black business leadership who can speak to their peers in a way that we never could before.

And Vernon Jordan, who just passed away a few weeks ago, when this organization was being started, said we finally have a critical mass. It's time for Black business leaders to take their seat at the table and to use their platforms to make sure companies and corporations, and really, the entire business community are making more responsible decisions that are more sensitive to the Black experience in America. And that's exactly what this is.

So whether it's around partnerships, whether it's around the places we do business, whether it's around certain events or even sponsorships, we have an opportunity to have a unique voice at the table that we never had before. And that's exactly what this particular group of business leaders are trying to do. And they're pushing their peers who are other business leaders from outside of the Black community to do exactly the same thing.