Day 4: Hope Requires Action

To cultivate hope in my life, I have to be engaged.

For the last three days, I’ve written about heavy subjects: Slavery, mass incarceration, the Civil Rights Movement. You get the picture. I was due for a change and figured you were too. So on this the fourth day of Thirty Days of Hope, I had intended to write about nature. Nature is filled with hope, like robins returning to northern lawns to forecast the return of spring. Of course, here in Virginia when the robins arrive en mass as they did today, it means they’re heading south—not at all a sign of hope in my book (and wow! can a flock of robins make a mess!). But, unfortunately, nature will have to wait.

In yesterday’s post “Infinite Hope,” I wrote that hope requires action.

What I’ve learned about hope throughout my life is that it is nothing without action. We can’t hope and then wait for something better to come along. We have to make it happen.

Today, I was called to act when I caught a bit of news that disturbed me greatly. I know, you’re saying, “doesn’t all news these days?” and yeah, most of it does. That’s why I’ve drastically reduced my news intake—probably by 98% from what it was pre-election. But every once in a while, a headline sneaks through that I can’t ignore.

Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner says DEI policy changes will "ensure every customer" feels welcome

This one especially caught my eye. It was personal to me—you’ll see why when you read the letter I wrote—an open letter to Mr. John Furner, President and CEO Walmart U.S. After reading several articles about it, I decided that if I was being true to what I wrote about hope requiring action, I had to act. Here’s what I wrote.

Walmart’s first store - Rogers, Arkansas 1962

Dear Mr. Furner,

I am writing to express my profound disappointment and outrage at Walmart's recent decision to scale back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including ending the company’s commitment to funding a racial equity center. This decision is a grave misstep and threatens to undo the progress Walmart has made in fostering an inclusive and equitable society.

I grew up in Rogers, Arkansas, just a stone’s throw from Walmart corporate headquarters. In fact, I remember the opening of the first Walmart store in Rogers in 1962. I was seven years old. My White family had moved to Rogers a year earlier so my dad could work at Daisy Manufacturing. As a high school and college student, I waited tables on Sam Walton when he would come in to share breakfast and local news with the restaurant regulars. Although I never worked at Walmart, Walmart was in my blood.

Something you might not know is that well into the 1980s, Rogers was an all-White town—not by chance but by intention. Identified as a sundown town by the late pre-eminent sociologist, historian and author, James W. Loewen, Rogers worked hard in those years to maintain its racial “purity.” I have a distinct memory of an African American family driving through Rogers in the mid-1960s when I was eleven or twelve years old. I watched as all the people at the downtown intersection stopped what they were doing to ensure that this family didn’t linger in our town. Although I didn’t know it then, it was a defining moment for me in what has become my life-long commitment to work for racial equity and justice.

You can learn more about this history in this resource developed by Dr. Loewen and now maintained by Tougaloo University: History and Social Justice: Rogers, Arkansas.

Even as of the 2020 census, less than 1.5% of the population of Rogers was reported to be African American. However, I would venture to say that of those 1,016 African Americans, 534 Native Americans, 1,920 Asians, 1,015 Pacific Islanders, 3,265 mixed-race people and the 23,275 Hispanic or Latino people reported in the 2020 census, a significant number of them are there because of Wal-Mart’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. They came to Northwest Arkansas as Walmart corporate employees and suppliers and as a result, changed the climate of my home town. Although there is much work to do, Wal-Mart’s policies have made a difference.

Walmart, as one of the largest and most influential corporations in the world, has the power to set an example for the nation. Through your DEI initiatives, you have not only created a more inclusive corporate culture but also contributed to addressing systemic inequalities that plague our communities. These initiatives have helped amplify marginalized voices, improve representation, and provide crucial resources to underserved populations.

By ending your commitment to these programs, Walmart sends a troubling message—that the company prioritizes short-term appeasement over its long-term responsibility to its employees, customers, and the broader society. This move risks alienating diverse talent, eroding consumer trust, and perpetuating the inequalities your DEI programs were designed to address.

The racial equity center, in particular, held great promise for tackling long-standing disparities that have hindered economic and social progress in this country. Investing in such initiatives is not just a moral imperative but a business one, as diversity drives innovation and fosters stronger, more resilient organizations.

You say you made this decision because you want to ensure every customer, every associate feels welcome and like they belong. I can assure you that the thousands of Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) employed by Walmart and the countless BIPOC customers of your stores do not. You have just made Walmart a safe place for White racists—its own version of a sundown town.

I urge you to reconsider this decision. Demonstrating leadership in diversity and equity is not only the right thing to do but also critical for maintaining Walmart’s reputation as a socially responsible and forward-thinking corporation. Reversing course on this issue will show that Walmart truly values all its stakeholders and is committed to building a future where opportunity and prosperity are accessible to everyone.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to seeing Walmart recommit to these vital initiatives that strengthen our communities and reflect the values of equity and inclusion.

Sincerely,

Annette Marquis

I intend to send this letter to Mr. Furner, to as many news outlets as I can who have posted a story about this decision, and to organizations who are working to fight these changes. I’m happy to send you a copy of it if you want to share it too.

We cannot have a hopeful future when companies we support with our hard-earned dollars capitulate to anticipated pressure from the incoming administration. Even if you never shop at Walmart, remember that in many communities around the globe, it’s the only place for BIPOC people to shop and to get decent paying jobs. It’s up to us to demand that Walmart and all companies commit to ensuring that equity is always at the top of their list of corporate values.

Thanks for being hopeful with me. It’s not always easy!

Today’s Reflection

What are you called to do today? Is there a letter you could write that would make you feel like you acted on your hopeful future—the future you dream about? The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, who I wrote about in Day 2’s post: The Heart of Hope started a friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt by writing letters to then President Roosevelt and copying his wife. Even in this day, letters matter!

Send me a copy or post it in the comments. Thank you!

With hope in my heart,

Annette

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