Throughout 2020’s “summer of love,” many corporations believed that a public declaration of solidarity with Black Lives Matter would insulate them from the chaos that Antifa and coordinated violence were unleashing in American cities. It did not.
Succumbing to manufactured pressure only fueled the flames of division and unrest. Support brought boycotts from one side; subsequent retreat brought boycotts from the other. Meanwhile, Americans just wanted their favorite stores to stop playing politics and get back to business.
This past weekend, however, we witnessed something entirely different and extraordinary from the Minnesota business community. Faced with tragedy and agitation unfolding in Minnesota’s streets, leaders of the state’s largest companies chose to call for restraint, calm, and cooperation.
The statement from more than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies – including household names like Target, Best Buy, 3M, General Mills, and Land O’ Lakes – is a model for how corporate America can demonstrate clear-eyed community leadership worthy of their companies’ legacies and our country.
In recent weeks, tensions in Minnesota have risen to extremely concerning levels, increasing the chances of more tragic loss of life. On Saturday, a man was killed in a confrontation with U.S. border patrol agents in the second high-profile shooting of a Minnesota resident this month.
Meanwhile, death threats against ICE agents and immigration enforcement, already up more than 8,000%, are escalating as increasingly aggressive protesters grow bolder and more willing to endanger officers’ lives. Each time these groups meet on the street, the country holds its breath.
For the business community, demands from activists protesting immigration enforcement have gone beyond pressures for statements of support with their position or a symbolic show of solidarity on social media. Activists have been urging businesses to actively resist lawful immigration enforcement and assume the legal and civic consequences that come with it – both of which are assured to only inflame an already delicate tinderbox in Minnesota.
Indeed, even New York Attorney General Letitia James’s own circulated guidance, “Dealing with ICE in the Workplace,” acknowledges that immigration officers have lawful authority to enter publicly accessible areas of a business. And federal law clearly stipulates that immigration officers can enter public areas of a business without a warrant or suspicion to question individuals.
Amid tragic loss of life, ambushes of churches by leftwing activists like the one at Cities Church, public tracking of immigration officers, hunting of law enforcement, and even interference in the lawful arrest of a child sex offender, now is the time to allow cooler heads to prevail.
That’s why the letter this weekend calling for de-escalation from Minnesota-based companies is so important. These leaders emphasized cooperation among state, local, and federal officials, affirmed their commitment to public safety, and made clear that their priority is the well-being of the people and communities they serve in Minnesota.
In moments like this, the temptation for corporate leaders to issue dramatic statements or adopt activists’ demands can be strong. But this is precisely where the lessons of 2020 matter most.
The Left has mastered the art of pooling money, messaging, and manpower to pull unwilling institutions into battles that have nothing to do with their mission or obligations to customers and employees. These campaigns are organized to create the impression that a small circle of activists speaks for an entire community. They do not.
Most Americans want tensions to calm. They want safe streets, the rule of law, functioning communities, and employers focused on doing their jobs. In short, just as the Minnesota business community statement articulated, they want everyone to work together to find real solutions.
The companies most invested in the future of Minnesota – its prosperity, its security, and its people – have set an example. They have called for lowering the temperature and getting results for our communities. May their leadership light the way forward for our nation.
Ken Blackwell is the former Secretary of State of Ohio and a Board Member at American Constitutional Rights Union Action.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Brainulator9, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
