Guess Which Industry Is Jesse Jackson’s Latest Shakedown Target
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Shakedown artist Jesse Jackson is at it again.
After years of complaining about the lack of diversity on Wall Street, Jackson now has his sights set on Silicon Valley.
Recently, Jackson attended the annual shareholder meetings of Facebook and Google to press these companies on gender and racial diversity.
While Facebook resisted Jackson’s request to disclose the company’s diversity breakdown, Google surrendered and released a diversity workforce report.
At the Facebook meeting Jackson whined about the diversity deficiency at the company.
CNBC wrote about Jackson’s shareholder activism.
Jackson appeared at Facebook’s annual shareholder meeting in Redwood City, Calif., and he was the first to receive the microphone during a question-and-answer session.
Jackson used the time to press Facebook on a black eye for the tech industry: the lack of minorities and women in Silicon Valley, particularly at the executive level.
“Technology is supposed to be about inclusion, but sadly, patterns of exclusion remain the order of the day,” Jackson said.
I’m extremely familiar with Jackson’s shareholder antics.
During the 2008 JPMorgan Chase shareholder meeting, I witnessed Jackson questioning the company’s CEO about the bank’s racial diversity practices. Following his rant, I challenged Jackson’s comments by urging the company’s board of directors to reject his shakedown effort.
Listen to my statement to the company’s board of directors here