A group of 72 Black current and former business executives is taking a stand against a controversial new voting rights law in Georgia. As Republicans in dozens of states are seeking new limits on how people vote, the New York Times is running a full-page advertisement Wednesday signed by the business leaders, headlined "Memo to Corporate America: The Fierce Urgency is Now." It calls for corporations to "publicly oppose any discriminatory legislation and all measures designed to limit Americans' ability to vote."

"What we're saying to companies is all of the words are nice, but we need you to take action," former American Express Chairman and CEO Ken Chenault said... appearing alongside former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns... "The reality is corporations have been silent on this issue. And that is why we've said action has to be taken," Chenault said. However, the executives' letter does not call for an outright boycott of Georgia. Burns hopes the urgency of present-day voting rights and racial equality movements will compel businesses to act.

... "We think now that corporate America, Black Americans for sure, but anyone who has values in their corporation that talk about diversity, equity and inclusion, any company that has a values statement about valuing their employees has to stand with our statement," Burns said. "Because their employees — Black, White, Hispanic, women — literally are going to be affected by this type of suppression."