At A.G. Gaston Conference in Birmingham, CNN’s Victor Blackwell Offers Way to Counter DEI Rollbacks

By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times With multiple companies peeling back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, Emmy-award winning journalist and CNN anchor Victor Blackwell on Tuesday had an important question during the 2025 A.G. Gaston Conference at the Red Mountain Theatre in Birmingham. “If those who are anti-DEI, anti-LGBTQ, or anti-woke … if they can organize, where is the organization for people who believe that DEI is a nonnegotiable? If you believe that it is important and nonnegotiable, where is the organization?” Blackwell asked. Blackwell was being interviewed by award-winning journalist Art Franklin during a Fireside Chat. Blackwell was one of more than a dozen featured guests that included attorney J. Mason Davis, a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham office; Rev. Thomas Wilder Jr., Pastor, Bethel Baptist Church, Collegeville; Charlotte Shaw, CEO, Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority; and Dontrelle Young Foster, CEO, Housing Authority of the Birmingham District. Some leaders and organizations are beginning to fight attempts by the Trump administration to roll back many DEI initiatives, Blackwell said. “We’re starting to see some of it. Rev. Al Sharpton has started a 90-day campaign of study of those companies that have divested from DEI,” said Blackwell. “But there...