Rick Jackson’s Nonprofit Pushed DEI in 2021 as He Pledges to Ban It in Georgia

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 15

A 2021 goBeyondProfit initiative founded by Georgia GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson urged CEOs to use DEI metrics, review racial pay gaps and adopt race-conscious hiring—clashing with his current promise to ban DEI in government and schools.
The nonprofit’s still-active video series promoted leading workplaces "with race in mind," recommended Ibram X. Kendi’s anti-racism framework and featured then-Jackson Healthcare DEI executive Matthew Harrison.
Harrison said Jackson Healthcare’s share of "people of color" hires rose from 9% to 25% after a Rooney Rule-style hiring change, and described internal race programming designed to avoid looking like an HR mandate.
Jackson’s campaign did not directly address whether he backed the initiative, saying only that he hires "only the best players" and would prohibit reverse discrimination as governor.
The disclosure lands days before Tuesday’s Georgia GOP primary, where Jackson is running as a Trump-style anti-DEI outsider against Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.

A candidate who once championed DEI now vows to ban it. What does this signal for corporate diversity programs?

Can a leader criminalize DEI practices their own company once used to successfully boost minority hiring?