DEI Advocate Explains How Republicans’ Anti-DEI Legislation Crippled Her Business

Supporters of Florida’s Stop Woke Act” say it prevents the teaching of divisive concepts like DEI, and one woman whose organization raked in cash from DEI says the law put a big dent in her group’s finances.

South Florida People of Color founder Roni Bennett said her business is in decline due to Republican anti-DEI legislation. Since establishing her organization in 2015 to promote DEI education in businesses and academic institutions, Bennett said she experienced a downturn in both activities and revenue. More specifically, Bennett said many of her clients “stopped requesting” her organization’s services. She said the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” halved her organization’s annual income of about $300,000.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis supported the legislation.

Supporters of the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act” say that the legislation is beneficial for several reasons. They say that it helps clarify what is permissible in educational and workplace training environments, aiming to eliminate confusion around topics of race and discrimination. They also said that the law prevents educational and training programs from promoting divisive concepts, such as one race or gender being inherently superior or oppressive​.

In 2022, Honeyfund.com, a Clearwater-based company, challenged the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” leading to a federal appeals court decision that struck down parts of the law as a violation of free speech. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker stopped the enforcement of Florida’s “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” calling it “positively dystopian” and blocking its restrictions on discussing race at colleges, after constitutional challenges from Florida A&M and University of South Florida educators and students.