You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio one year ago, and it's hard for me to even get my head around it. It's one year ago that we, you know, came to know that George Floyd lost his life, um and at the killing of a white Minneapolis policeman. You have had lots of conversations here at Bloomberg with companies executives. Tell us a little bit about kind of some of
the conversations we're having today one year later. Oh, thanks for having me, Carol. Well, it's all about action now. Last year, you know, there was a lot of talk, a lot of pledges, a lot of commitments, and that's a good thing. But I think as we've seen work from home advanced by leaps and bounds, people want to see equity and equality advanced by leaps and bounds. And I think people are done with the incremental, you know progress, lacial pace of progress. And you know, I'll give it
to our gen z, the Zoomers, they're over it. They want it yesterday, right tomorrow exactly. And it's safe to say after, you know, when after George Floyd. Like we just talked about, We've had so many conversations. Let's see the action. Um, Let's bring in our guests, because we have a great guest for us. Uh. He is National Urban League President and CEO, Mark Morrel. He joins us on the phone in New York City, joining myself and our deputy bureauchief, Chartier Brantley here in studio with me.
You know, Mark, nine minutes, seven seconds, that's how long it took for George Floyd to lose his life one year ago. That revelation of that loss of life was seen by the world. So many of us stuck at home at the time because of the pandemic pandemic. It ignited rage. It's at a protest and a lot of soul searching not seen in a long, long time. The problem is not new. Where are we today? What have we learned? And how much more do we have to go?
In your view? Well, thank you for having me, and I think we should keep in mind that the courage of Darnella Frasier, a teenage girl who had the presence of mind to pull out her iPhone and tape what was happening to George Floyd is the reason we are here today. UH. If but for what she did, this would have been subject to what so many of these police UH incidents UH involved, and that is UH fictitious stories, misrepresentations,
and lying about what has happened. We see it in the Ronald Green case in Louisiana, where the officers said that Ronald Green died from a quote automobile accident, Yet when the tape comes out, it's clear that they beat him to death for no reason. So I want everyone to remember that it was the WAYO of the presence of mind, and that we need people and citizens to have the presence of mind to capture incidents of injustice, whether it's police brutality or other types of injustice, by
being citizens citizen watch dog watchdogs. Having said that, I think that the George Floyd moment is a moment that accelerated this new movement for social justice, for black lives, mattering, for civil rights and economic opportunity in this country in a very special way. We're at the beginning of the beginning of of of a movement. And it is my my hope and it's my prayer that this moment of injustice has spurred a movement that will last until the
work of the movement is done. Because of the way in which this movement affected people, I've done radio interviews today with radio reporters all over the world and newspaper reporters all over the world. The George Floyd incident captured the imagination because of the outrage of people not only here in the United States from all walks of life and backgrounds, but also from people all over the world.
Having said that the test is going to be whether commitments and whether this movement, this protest movement, is going to turn into meaningful action. One thing that is so critical is the passage of the George Ford Justice and Policing Act, which right now is a subject subject of sensitive negotiations. But those negotiations are simply because there's were councilors in the United States Senate by some to pass a meaningful, substantial police reimagination and reform bill, which is
what the George Floyd Bill is. So we are at the beginning of a movement. I believe that young people have energized, but that all people are participating in UH and and we have to sustain this movement. Mark, are you confident the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act will be passed by Congress. I'm I'm going to remain optimistic, but I'm realistic. I understand the nature of the opposition.
And then what is the nature of the opposition. You have certain elements on the Republican side, certain elements who do not want to look at the bill on its merit, who simply want to see it as just another battle in the partisan wars that were involved in would suggest, well, we can't give Joe Biden and the Democrats of victory.
Notwithstanding the fact that the George Floyd Bill and it's enumerated provisions, whether it's banning show calls, whether it's giving people access to the courts in a meaningful way by dialing back qualified immunity, whether it's creating a stronger if you will excess, if you supporce criminal statute, and and I could continue to talk about provisions. Those provisions are supported by the American people. Poll after poll demonstrates that.
And notwithstanding that this bill now passed by the Congress of the United States, the House of Representatives twice, this bill, now with the full support of the President and the Vice President, is still subject to difficult negotiations because of this antiquated old school rule called the Senate filibuster. Speaking of the corporate community, mark, are you disappointed in them for not taking a firmer stance? There's a lot of I feel like doctrines put out a lot of words said.
But do you feel like the corporate community has really stood up uh and really come out like they should have? UM after George Floyd. So the corporate community is not a monolith. It's not a unified group. UH. There are many who UH spoke out forcefully, who have made meaningful and substantial commitments. There are some which put out perfunctory statements,
and there's some that have done nothing. I believe that those that have, and I would point to, uh the actions of the Business Roundtable as being you know, fairly significant to the extent that these commitments are lived up to and follow through on. It's gonna take three to five years to make those kinds of determinations. But let's look at the corporate community and not look at it as a MONOLITHT because I don't think it is a monolist.
And I think there's a great deal of conviction and sincerity among many but the question is always whether it's a moment of response, whether it's a complete shift. I can tell you that many of the discussions I've had even in this week have been about how to increase pipelines and talent coming in from the black community, how to create a corporate atmosphere which is fairer and more
equitable and free of racism. Those discussions, and I sense in many of those discussions a degree of sincerity, a degree of commitment. But the pressure, the movement in the community, uh, the conversation that has taken place, the attention of people like you and the media has to continue. Don't let this die, don't let this go away. Well, Mark, you mentioned, you know, taking three to five years for a lot of these long term strategies to be implemented, but now
is the time. So how do we balance this sense of urgency for change today with long term strategies and implementation of plans and secession planning and pipeline planning. How do we balance that? And Mark just got about thirty forty seconds and then we'll come back and talk somewhere. So I think importantly passed the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act I'd like to see some business leaders step up and publicly say this is what we need at
this point in time to truly meet this moment. Number two, step up and push back against this this scourge of voter suppression and anti democracy bills that are being introduced in past in some states. There are specific things that are not partisan, but go to the issues of democracy, go to the issues of social justice, where I think business leaders, by putting their thumb on the scale, can
make a significant difference. One thing we wanted to ask you, Mark, do we in some odd way, I need to say thank you to President Donald Trump for moving or advancing the conversation around racism. Uh Donald Trump owes is oh, no, thank you. Donald Trump was a counter force, a negative force, whether it comes to the issue of racial relations and racial conversations and understanding, because in every instance when he had an opportunity to bring people together, he divided people.
And that type of leadership in the presidency is not what we've historically had, whether it was a Kennedy or a Johnson or even a George W. Bush who helped UH to get us to help to pass an extension of the Voting Rights Act, but I'm being a little provocative here. I'm going to jump in for a second
because I'm being a little provocative here. But but you know, Chartie and I have been talking, and I know I've had conversations with others that there are more people talking about the inequities in our society than I've ever seen before. And I think to some extent was whether it was some saw the president as a polarizing, you know figure, and so I just it just feels like it was a different tone, different conversation than I've certainly seen in
my lifetime. Yes, I mean to hear, but you don't. But you don't let me say that you don't thank someone for dividing the nation, all right, fair enough knowledge acknowledge that his leadership, it that is leadership exposed UH
and animated racial division in this country. But whether it was Charlottesville, which which indeed took place, UH, or the condemnation of African American athletes who chose to exercise their First Amendment rights, or the condemnation of John Lewis and the mocking of him, revered civil rights leader, Donald Trump was outside, far outside of the mainstream in the conduct of President of the United States. What is clear though, and this is what's clear about the George Barton moment.
This movement began with Trayvon Martin way back in two thousand and twelve. UH, and the the accumulated, the accult accumulative impact of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown into maor rights in Sandra Bland UH and Eric Garner. This this this long long list of black people killed by the police, and in none of the cases with I believe one exception that it may have been the Walter Scott case,
was their conviction or officers held accountable. See, it's important for people to understand it's the act, but it's a lack of accountability that creates the outrage that the system which is designed to hold people accountable when they take a life, and they take a life in an unjustified fashion, has not worked when it comes to police officers. That creates the outrage that creates they the sense that in this great nation, UH, this criminal justice system doesn't work fairly.
It works sometimes, it works for some UH, and many argue that it does exactly what it's designed to do. So Look, there's no question that the four years of Donald Trump has elevated the conversation around race in a nation. But it was Donald Trump's reaction two things that occurred,
incidents that happened, actions that people took that divided the nation. Uh, and I believe that it is the responsibility of the president presidency to uh to have a pathway to try to bring people together around racial justice and racial reconciliation, which is not as many people want to see it.
It's just a partisan issue. That's the point. These issues are issues that go to American values, They go to what this country's about, They go to the Constitution, and whether some people see them through a part of the lens, that is a fundamental problem. So, Mark, how do we bring people together? You released the Gumbo Coalition on May So the nation still feels so divided one year post
George Floyd's killing. How do we bring everyone together? And Mark, forgive me, just got about yeah, just really look, if it starts with dialogue, and it starts with an understanding, and it starts with the truth, you've got to be able to have a foundation of this is the truth. Now. We can have different interpretations, you have different opinions about how to move forward, but uh, you know, Bringing people together requires two things, a commitment to the truth and
also a fundamental consensus about the goal. Then the debate is about how to get there and where, and that's consensus. If you don't have an agreement on the fundamental truths, and you don't have a consensus of direction, it's very difficult to bring people together. Mark, I know we will continue this conversation. Mark Morial, PRESIDENCYEO at the National Urban League, Thank you so much. And Shortiller Brantley, our New York Deputy bureau chief of Bloomberg News, also with US