NASCAR becomes an unexpected diversity success story

Happy Friday.

Reader feedback was light on the gun issue, but what we did discuss, was heartfelt. One reader, reaching out privately on social media summed it up: “It hangs in the air, people are very upset, but we’re not talking about it officially.”

That might be changing.

Around 200 CEOs associated with the organization CEOs for Gun Safety, published an open letter to the U.S. Senate this week, referencing the recent spate of gun massacres and asking for action. “All of this points to a clear need for action: the Senate must take urgent action to pass bold gun safety legislation as soon as possible in order to avoid more death and injury,” they wrote. Among the signatories are Bain Capital, Bloomberg LP, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Intuit, Levi Strauss & Co, Lyft, Nextdoor, The Permanente Group, and Unilever.

I also wanted to flag an extraordinary piece written by my colleague, senior reporter Sheryl Estrada who covers finance and business. She also produces the incredibly insightful CFO Daily newsletter (hint, it’s not just for CFOs).

In her exceptional case study on NASCAR, she started with the one bold change they made immediately after the murder of George Floyd and began to dig from there. “NASCAR was founded in 1948, and the Confederate battle flag wasn’t officially banned from flying at races until 2020,” Estrada tells me. “This single decision has supercharged the business since.”

Culture change is a dynamic process she says, and the story proves that it’s never too late to embed DEI tactics and values into how a company operates and represents itself. I asked her what surprised her the most in her reporting. Turns out, technology can put underrepresented talent into the driver’s seat. In fact, until other interventions take hold, it may be the only way in.

“NASCAR’s iRacing is a virtual motorsport racing simulation. It’s how Rajah Caruth, a 19-year-old D.C.-based driver, began his career as a race car driver progressing through NASCAR-owned series including ARCA Menards and Xfinity,” she says.

Estrada also interviewed Caruth’s father, who grew up in Brooklyn and wasn’t interested in NASCAR other than the fashionable gear associated with the sport. But his son was interested in cars and motor dynamics at a young age.  “Dad and I talked for years about how I could get our foot in the door in race car driving,” Rajah told Estrada. “And because we didn’t know anybody, iRacing was really our only shot. It was the only feasible roadmap we had to get into the sport. I didn’t grow up going to the racetrack.”

You love to see it. If you’d like to read more from of my colleague Sheryl Estrada, you can follow her work here, and subscribe to CFO Daily.

Have a happy and inclusive weekend.

Ellen McGirt
@ellmcgirt
Ellen.McGirt@fortune.com

This edition of raceAhead was edited by Ashley Sylla.

On point: Pride Month

Cashing in on Juneteenth Many companies have come under fire for commercializing the holiday, which commemorates the complicated end of chattel slavery in the U.S., two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. “Not Dollar Tree selling headwraps for Juneteenth,” was one of many wry tweets on the subject. The backlash forced Walmart to remove its Juneteenth ice cream—a mix of cheesecake and red velvet flavors—from store freezers. "Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence," Walmart said in a statement to Insider. "However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize. We are reviewing our assortment and will remove items as appropriate."
Insider

Racism on the guest list at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee? This is a tongue-in-cheek piece from humorist Nina Sharma (Miss Sharma, for Bridgerton fans) but its publication makes a clear point—that there is no clear consensus on how the celebration handled the many serious issues of race and history largely unaddressed by the British Monarchy. “Most of the UK’s media coverage around the Queen’s platinum jubilee has failed to examine the past 70 years through the lens of race, despite key events leading up to the occasion,” writes Nadine White in the Independent. Another piece reassured commentators that while the many flags, bunting, and union jacks on display looked like supremacist symbols (or worse, recalled Nazi Germany), they were not. Another piece praises the organizers for the diversity and inclusion on display, while others lamented the treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as a reason to avoid the spectacle. One point of agreement is emerging: Now everyone is mad at Miss Sharma.
New Yorker

California: Reparations now. But how?  The long-awaited report from the first-in-the-nation task force for reparations for Black Americans is 500 pages. It draws a clear line from the current wealth gap to the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, and the intentional barriers designed to prevent Black people from full access to opportunity. “Segregation, racial terror, harmful racist neglect, and other atrocities in nearly every sector of civil society have inflicted harms, which cascade over a lifetime and compound over generations,” the report said. What is less clear is how to redress the harm. “We’re of the position that if it isn’t direct compensation, it ain’t reparations,” says Chris Lodgson, an organizer with the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California. “So crafting actual proposals that rely very heavily on direct financial compensation is the big challenge for us over the next year, but I’m confident that we will do it.”
Washington Post

On Background: Joy and resilence

You should learn to draw a horse This unique essay from New Yorker contributing cartoonist Emma Hunsinger is one of the loveliest stories I’ve read in ages. Trust me, just click through and enjoy. Really. Click it.
New Yorker

Or, you could let these Icelandic Horses write your out-of-office email
Sold.

How simple rituals can keep us strong Longtime raceAhead reader Rebecca Padnos Altamirano, author, activist, and co-founder of experience design firm Tangelo Technologies, offers us a balm for difficult times. While walking her children to the school bus every morning, they sing Woke Up This Morning, a freedom song from the Civil Rights Movement. The mad dash to the door is gone and the walk becomes about centering and readiness. “It’s a song of resilience, new beginnings, and steadfast faith,” she says. “You can’t help but feel good while singing it.” Lately, she’s found herself called to sing it at various times during the day. “I always feel better afterward. I feel connected to the struggle and it inspires me to overcome any obstacle in my way.” She has a lovely version to recommend. Let a horse write your email auto-response, and take four minutes and seventeen seconds to remind yourself that ain’t nothing wrong with keeping your mind stayed on freedom.
Thrive Global

Parting words

"Would you like some Juneteenth ice cream on a Juneteenth plate as you sip your beer in a Juneteenth Koozie?"

—Roy Wood Jr.