More than 60 foundation leaders and other big names in philanthropy have joined with business executives, scholars, and celebrities to protest efforts in several states to restrict voting rights.
A high-profile part of the protest is a two-page ad with the headline “We Stand for Democracy,” published today in the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal.
The advertisement states, “We all should feel a responsibility to defend the right to vote and oppose any discriminatory legislation or measures that restrict or prevent any eligible voter from having an equal and fair opportunity to cast a ballot.”
The advertisement doesn’t mention any specific states. However, it comes on the heels of a new law in Georgia that many activists say is designed to make it harder for people of color to vote. Arizona, Michigan, and Texas are among other states that are considering changes to voting laws that some critics say would be discriminatory.
Georgia has been already been hit by several painful financial blows due to its new voting law. Emancipation, a film financed by Apple and starring actor Will Smith, pulled out of the state and will be produced elsewhere, and Major League Baseball moved the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver.
‘Troubling Legacy’
Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, said the statement was important to make because “throughout our history, marginalized communities, particularly Black Americans, have been repeatedly denied their fundamental right to participate in our democracy. And, sadly, this troubling legacy of voter suppression endures today.”
The list of prominent signatories from philanthropy includes Fay Twersky, president of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation; Tonya Allen, president of the McKnight Foundation; La June Montgomery Tabron, CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Grant Oliphant, president of the Heinz Endowments; Tricia and Jeff Raikes, founders of the Raikes Foundation, and Jim Canales, president of the Barr Foundation.
Don Chen, president of the Surdna Foundation, says he was invited to add his name to the statement by Walker who, Chen says, talked with several foundation leaders about joining the effort.
Chen said the participation of such a broad range of corporate and philanthropy leaders, law firms, and prominent Americans was significant given the efforts underway to restrict voting.
“The public statements from business leaders are an indication of just how critically important these principles of democracy are to the United States,” he said. “They recognize just how crucial free and equal access to voting rights is to a functioning democracy.”
Montgomery Tabron said the large number of signers and the participation of both business and philanthropy leaders represent “a moment not only of solidarity but of amplification of voice” on the importance of voting rights.
The message of the advertisement, she said, reflected the values the foundation has tried to promote for generations. Kellogg, she added, has long stressed the need for citizen engagement and civic participation.
Though voting rights is a live issue in state legislatures around the country, Montgomery Tabron emphasized the nonpartisan message of the advertisement.
“We’re apolitical,” she said. “And in this process, we’re not doing this to take any side other than the side of the people and the fact that they have a right to participate in the democratic process.”
