The National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, is employing shareholder activism to challenge what it sees as the promotion of “wokeness” by major corporations like Target and Walt Disney Corp. The center’s Free Enterprise Project (FEP) aims to defend “true capitalism” and oppose the “woke takeover” of American corporate life.
Scott Shepard, the general counsel for the National Center for Public Policy Research and director of FEP, spoke with Breitbart News Daily about the group’s plans to press Target on its promotion of LGBTQ and other progressive content. FEP files shareholder resolutions, engages corporate leaders, submits public comments, crafts legislation, files lawsuits, and conducts media campaigns to push corporations to focus on their fiduciary obligations rather than social and political issues.
When asked if Target CEO Brian Cornell would change course after conservative backlash against the company’s history of promoting progressive causes, Shepard noted the challenge of influencing corporate leaders, saying, “Having dealt with a lot of CEOs, boards of directors, and chief executives etc., they are such an arrogant and divorced from anything that’s going on in this country.”
FEP has submitted a shareholder proposal for Target’s upcoming annual meeting on June 12, requesting a report on the company’s partnerships, charitable contributions, and other support for certain organizations. The proposal specifically cites Target’s paid partnerships with the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, and Out&Equal as potentially disastrous for the company due to their advocacy of “radical gender theory.”
