On March 11, Delta Air Lines dedicated a building at its Atlanta headquarters to Andrew Young, the civil rights leader and former mayor. At the ceremony, Young spoke of the restrictive voting rights bill that Republicans were rushing through the Georgia state Legislature. Then, after the speeches, Young’s daughter, Andrea, a prominent activist herself, cornered Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian.
“I told him how important it was to oppose this law,” she said.
For Bastian, it was an early warning that the issue of voting rights might soon ensnare Delta in another national dispute. Over the past five years, corporations have taken political stands like never before, often in response to the extreme policies of former President Donald Trump.