Georgia's latest voting restrictions have sparked corporate activism from the MLB and Hollywood, and religious leaders are calling on Home Depot to be next.
Religious leaders opposed to the state's new voting bill have met with several Georgia-based corporations to discuss how to fight it. Executives from Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, and other companies have criticized the bill, but activists point out that Atlanta-based Home Depot has been absent from that list. In response, religious leaders are calling for a Home Depot boycott unless the company agrees to four demands.
Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, who oversees over 500 African Methodist Episcopal churches in Georgia, leads the call to boycott Home Depot, telling The New York Times the company has "demonstrated an indifference."
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He and other leaders say Home Depot should publicly renounce the Georgia voting law, oppose any similar bills that arise in other states, financially back litigation against the law, and give support to the John Lewis Voting Rights Act in Congress.
Home Depot responded to the boycott threat by arguing "the most appropriate approach for us to take is to continue to underscore our belief that all elections should be accessible, fair, and secure." Other voting rights groups are more hesitant to boycott businesses over the issue. Executive Director of Common Cause in Georgia, Aunna Dennis, has stated that "the boycott hurts the common person." Faith leaders like Jackson deem the situation worthy of more drastic action. "We've got to use whatever leverage and power, spiritual fortitude that we have, including our dollars, to help people to understand that this is a national campaign," said Rev. Timothy McDonald III. Read more at The New York Times.
