A group of prominent clergymen in Georgia are calling for a nationwide boycott of Home Depot over what they believe is the company’s unwillingness to meet with them to worry about the state’s new restrictions.
The religious leaders stand outside a Home Depot in Decatur and blow up Home Depot, both because they did not speak out against the legislation before it was passed into law and because they did not want to meet with activists during the weeks that followed. They contrasted Home Depot’s actions with companies such as Delta and Coca-Cola, which they said were more willing to hear their concerns and attend roundtables to discuss issues such as voting rights.
“We represent more than 1,000 churches in Georgia alone – 1,000 churches, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of congregation members or members,” said Reverend Lee May of the Transforming Faith Church in Decatur. “We stand here together to launch this boycott.”
“We are honored to come together in the shadow of Home Depot, which is building houses, and apparently undermining democracy,” said Rev. Timothy McDonald, the founder of the African American Ministers Leadership Council, added before leading the crowd of clergy in a hymn of ‘teach us dollars a sentence’.
Bishop Reginald Jackson, who oversees more than 500 bishops’ churches in Georgia and was an outspoken critic of the new voting laws, also helped lead the effort but was unable to attend the news conference.
Home Depot spokeswoman Sarah Gorman told NBC News that the company’s decision is the most appropriate approach for us to continue to emphasize our position that all elections should be accessible, fair and safe and broad voter turnout support, and to continue to work. to ensure that our collaborators in Georgia and across the country have the information and resources to vote. ‘
As examples, Gorman said the company donated 9,200 plexiglass distributors to help polling stations in Georgia meet Covid-19-related requirements and “promote voter participation” with internal programs.
The speakers at Tuesday’s news conference voiced criticism of the new voting measures signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp last month, which introduced sweeping changes to the rules of the election, including new requirement to vote by mail and a ban on giving food and water to the electorate. in line.
The law also robs the power of the secretary of state, allowing the legislature to appoint the chairman of the state electoral council rather than appointing the official of the state top elections. This change came after the current secretary, Republican Brad Raffensperger, denied former President Donald Trump’s unfounded allegations of widespread electoral fraud in the state.
Democrats, activists and some Republicans have rejected the law because it creates unnecessary restrictions on voting in the state, which they say is the result of Trump’s unfounded fraud claims. The religious leaders who called for a boycott on Tuesday agree with the criticism, linking the push in Georgia to similar bills being pushed through Republican government legislation across the country.
“We are here simply because injustice is here, and we realize that Georgia is now the mouthpiece for the entire nation,” said Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church near Atlanta.
“This legislation was not implemented because of voter fraud, but because of the turnout of voters,” he said.
Opponents of the restrictive measures have pushed companies, especially in Georgia, to speak out against the bills. Amid the push, Major League Baseball picked up its All-Star Game, scheduled for this summer, from Atlanta.
The pastors criticized Kemp for signing the legislation and asked him and Home Depot to meet with them to discuss changes.
At his own press conference shortly after the clergy spoke, Kemp criticized the planned boycott, accusing them of ‘not telling the truth’ about the legislation.
“They did not ask to be in this political battle,” Kemp said of Home Depot. “It’s unfair to them, their families, their livelihoods to be targeted. It’s a wonderful company.” He noted that the company employs 30,000 people in the state.
“This is not about Georgia’s election law,” Kemp said. “This is about a movement at the national level to nationalize elections and have an unconstitutional takeover of state elections,” a reference to Democratic efforts to pass federal suffrage legislation.