“There is no middle ground”: Protecting Voting Rights with Ken Frazier & Ken Chenault

Squawk Pod

CNBC

Business News, Investing, Business, News

4 • 494 Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2021

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A group of Black business executives are urging the rest of corporate America to oppose legislation aimed at restricting voting access, following a new law in Georgia that critics say disproportionately hurts voters of color. Merck CEO Ken Frazier and former Chairman and CEO of American Express Ken Chenault led a group of executives in publishing an open letter in The New York Times pushing Wall Street to wield its power. Frazier and Chenault discuss the effort to rally opposition to legislation in Georgia and 43 other states, and they discuss corporate America’s role in speaking out against voter suppression. Frazier and Chenault consider vocal opposition in the C-suite an obligation to morality and to democracy, and they underline the significance of this moment in U.S. history.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Squawk Pod. I'm C. NBC producer Katie Kramer. Today on our
0:05.9	podcast Corporate America's black leaders speaking up for voting rights. Merck
0:11.3	CEO Ken Frazier urging Wall Street to sit up and pay attention to new
0:15.5	voting legislation in Georgia. I want to explain how this law could be the prototype
0:19.8	for a lot of bad laws. What's at stake for non-white voters, essential workers, and maybe our democracy?
0:26.3	We're actually making it much harder for people to actually cast their votes.
0:31.6	And then on top of the fact that people are standing in line
0:34.2	for ungodly hours, we now make it illegal
0:37.8	to give those people water when they're standing in line
0:41.0	because of course we know from experience that only
0:43.7	fraudulent voters get thirsty when they're standing in line.
0:47.2	Frazier's case for opposition in and out of the boardroom.
0:50.3	There is no substantiated compelling evidence of voter fraud to
0:55.9	justify these restrictions and former chairman and CEO of American Express
1:00.6	Ken Chenault. After the George Floyd murder, obviously countless CEOs called us for advice of what can we do.
1:09.2	We can't be silent and corporate America can't be silent.
1:13.0	And if they can't speak out on this issue, what can they speak out on?
1:18.0	Recognizing the role of the C-suite way beyond the bottom line.
1:23.0	If corporations had done this throughout our history,
1:27.3	we would be far further along in race relations in this country.
1:33.0	It's Wednesday, March 31st, 2021.
1:36.0	Squawkpot begins right after this.
	...

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