Five years after George Floyd protests, top companies change their tune on DEI

After George Floyd’s death in 2020, many of America’s top companies committed unprecedented sums of cash and promised policy changes, all geared towards racial justice. Now, five years later, after a cultural backlash, many of these same companies have since reversed course on DEI.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died on May 25, 2020, after White policeman Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes during an arrest. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder a year later. In the aftermath of Floyd’s death, waves of protests and riots erupted in cities across the country, calling for racial justice.  

Corporate America reacted to the race-based tumult by making sweeping promises to fund racial justice programs and embrace policies to increase racial representation in their workplaces. America’s top 50 companies pledged nearly $50 billion towards racial equality in the immediate aftermath of Floyd’s death, the Washington Post reported.

McDonald’s released a commercial featuring a list of slain Black individuals including Floyd shortly after his death, declaring him "one of us." In 2021, The Golden Arches implemented diversity goals, pledging to have 35% representation of underrepresented groups in leadership roles and 45% women representation in leadership roles by 2025.

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However, the fast food chain announced in January it would be rolling back some of its DEI initiatives, including ceasing its aspirational representational goals. Additionally, McDonald's said it was no longer participating in external business surveys, ending its supply chain’s "Mutual Commitment to DEI pledge" and changing the name of its diversity team to the Global Inclusion Team.

When reached for comment, McDonald's directed Fox News Digital to the "Inclusion at McDonald's" page found on its website.

Bank of America made a $1 billion dollar commitment to advance "racial equality and economic opportunity" in June 2020, one month after Floyd’s death. The bank pledged $25 million to jobs initiatives benefiting Black and Hispanic individuals, and in 2021 Bank of America increased its commitment to $1.25 billion to include "racial justice and advocacy for people of Asian descent." In Bank of America’s 2025 yearly report, the bank announced it had completed that commitment. 

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However, years later the bank seemed to take a different approach towards racial justice. After Trump took office for his second term, Bank of America dropped references to aspirational hiring goals and a rule requiring hiring managers to consider a diverse slate of candidates for certain positions in its annual filing in February 2025.

When Fox News Digital reached out for comment, a representative for Bank of America responded with a statement from February. 

"We evaluate and adjust our programs in light of new laws, court decisions and, more recently, executive orders from the new administration. Our goal has been and continues to be to make opportunities available for all of our clients, shareholders, teammates and the communities we serve," Bank of America said in a February statement.

Google pledged $225 million in donations after Floyd’s death, according to the Washington Post. Those commitments included $12 million towards "organizations working to address racial inequities" and $1 million to the Center for Policing Equity and the Equal Justice Initiative. 

However, in February, the tech behemoth announced it too was rolling back some of its DEI policies, including no longer pursuing increasing minority representation in the workplace. 

Google did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

Shortly after taking office for his second term, President Donald Trump shut down all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices across the federal government and signed a number of executive orders cracking down on DEI. 

The president’s efforts to end DEI across the federal government also prompted the scaling back or cancellation of DEI programs across the private sector. 

Fox News' Brooke Signman contributed to this report.