Racial Equity To Be Championed By Metro Atlanta Chamber

ATLANTA — More than 150 Metro Atlanta companies have signed on to fight systemic racism in the region.

The Metro Atlanta Chamber on Tuesday announced ATL Action for Racial Equity, a multi-year initiative that aims to address intrinsic inequities that affect Black communities.

The plan engages diverse local partners -- including Delta Air Lines, UPS, Newell Brands, Cox Enterprises, Coca-Cola, the Atlanta Hawks, and Prime Revenue -- to enact measurable corporate policies, inclusive corporate, education and workforce development to drive change in areas most challenged by social inequity and stagnance.

Chamber leaders said they are taking advantage of the region’s history of civic engagement from the Civil Rights Movement to recent fights to pass hate crime legislation, the historic U.S. Senate runoff elections of the state’s first African-American and Jewish senators, and a preponderance of work collecting data to reveal just where and how much effort needs to be focused to reverse systemic racism.

“True impact starts with a detailed action plan, commitment, metrics and accountability,” Metro Atlanta Chamber president and CEO Katie Kirkpatrick said in a statement. “We spent the back half of 2020 working through these critical pieces and are eager to launch this important effort that addresses systemic racism, inequity and immobility head on. Addressing these issues has been the life work of so many leaders in our community. We honor them and are stepping up to join them. Leveraging the size, scale and know-how of Atlanta-based companies to make impactful change is an approach that will fuel our economy and set an example for the nation.”

Chamber board chair Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, said the Metro Atlanta business community must lead by example.

“In metro Atlanta, our differences are our strength,” Bastian said. “We work together to make our community and the world better. As we tackle economic recovery, public health and the disproportionate impacts on our Black community, our business community must do its part. This is a moral and economic imperative as we work to grow our region’s competitiveness today and into the future.”

The project may look to expand beyond the region, incorporating additional demographics, organizers said. The launch of ATL Action for Racial Equity is just the first stage in a greater journey. The first step calls on businesses to enact concrete talent pipeline and human resources policies. A playbook outlining such strategies currently is available, and a playbook on equitable economic development will be released later this year.

Learn more at www.ATLRacialEquity.com.