Bill Ackman Claims That Martin Luther King Would Be 'Opposed' to DEI
Bill Ackman is back to attacking all things DEI and this time he threw Martin Luther King Jr., in h the mix.
According to the billionaire hedge fund manager was part of a conversation X (formerly Twitter) alongside Elon Musk and Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips whom Ackman said he plans to donate $1 million to a Super Pac (Political Action Committee) to endorse the Minnesota Democrat.
As the discussion went on, Ackman said that because King said in his ‘I Have a Dream Speech’ that he wanted his children “to be judged not by the color of their skin but the content of their character” the Civil Rights leader would be in favor of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs.
“I think Dr. King would be very opposed to this sort of ideology, even though you know, diversity is a good thing, even though of course, a culture where everyone feels comfortable and included is critically important,” Ackman said.
Bernice King, MLK’s youngest daughter pointed out the misinterpretation of her father’s words by those who don’t share his ideals in a tweet in August 2023.
“People using “not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” to deter discussion of, teaching about, and protest against racism are not students of the comprehensive,” she tweeted.
“My father’s dream and work included eradicating racism, not ignoring it,” she added.
This is the latest attempt of Ackman to use his influence to dismantle DEI. When Dr. Claudine Gay resigned as the first Black person to become president of Harvard University for only six months, Ackman led an online campaign that sought to discredit Gay and her accomplishments.
“We are well past the point where Claudine Gay is the only one to blame for the mess that is Harvard. Ultimately, when management fails, the board needs to step in. It has failed to do so," Ackman wrote in a 4,000-word post on X. "As a result, the reputations of the eleven individuals who comprise the board are in the process of being destroyed. It is sad to watch this happen as there are some very high-quality people on this board."
In early January, Rev. Al Sharpton and members of his organization, the National Action Network, led a demonstration in front of Ackman’s New York City Office in response to his relentless attacks on DEI.
“This issue is not just about what they did to the president of Harvard University. It’s about the use [of her] as a scapegoat to fight DEI,” Sharpton said. “We would not have to have DEI if we wouldn't have D-E-N-Y. We were denied. DEI was to make up for the denial historically of Blacks, of women, of gays, Latinos, and Asians.”
