A number of diversity, equity and inclusion consulting firms have struggled in Florida in the years since “Stop the WOKE Act.”
Roni Bennett, executive director of People of Color South Florida, said Miami Herald on Thursday that she saw her nearly $300,000 annual income cut in half thanks to Florida’s new policies.
“We’re in trouble,” Bennett said.
The “Stop WOKE Act” or “Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act” is a law passed in 2022 by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He aimed for critical race theory in work and educational programs. Bennett revealed that many businesses have stopped seeking services from her organization despite a slight increase during the pandemic.
Businesses are reportedly moving away from diversity, equity and inclusion programs. (Getty Images)
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Bennett added that even before the act itself, she saw changes in the attitudes of some clients, suggesting that their original interest was “performative”.
“One client had a change of president, and the new president was not for DEI training,” she said.
Consultants like Bennett are now trying to remind current and potential clients that, regardless of the national concern over the “Stop WOKE Act,” the bill doesn’t really target private companies.
“It’s important because the Stop Woke Act became very prominent for businesses after it was passed,” said Alexander Rundlet, Brickell’s attorney and public policy adviser. “Every company was afraid that it could not [participate] in DEI training in fear of rank. It has been clear since March that this does not apply to companies.”
In March, a federal appeals court ruled that a section of the law relating to the workplace violates the First Amendment.
In April 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 7, known as the “Stop WOKE Act”. (Daniel A. Varela/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“We cannot agree and reject this latest attempt to control speech by recharacterizing it as behavior. Florida may be absolutely right about the nature of the ideas it targets. Or it may not. Either way, the merits of these positions will be decided in the rattling marketplace of ideas, not in a code book or a courtroom.” Judge Britt C. Grant wrote at the time. “The First Amendment prevents the government from putting its thumb on the scales.”
A federal judge later approved permanent ban against that part of the law in July. However, the part of the law relating to education was allowed to remain intact.
Despite the favorable ruling, DEI’s consulting firms continue to struggle based on a growing anti-whistleblowing culture, Rundlet said.
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“A lot of deep and widespread damage has been done over the past few years,” Rundlet said. “People like Roni Bennett have to work hard to undo that damage.”
Bennett expressed concern that some clients’ actions were merely “performative.” (iStock)
The Miami Herald reported that Bennett, however, “remains committed to her business,” even as she seeks an angel investor to help her business.
“We owe it to the next generation to make progress for them,” she said. “I want to be able to dismantle systemic racism in America.”
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