How 1 letter brought the heads of Detroit's biggest companies together to address racism

A bank chairman's letter to employees condemning the death of George Floyd while in police custody led to a hastily arranged news conference Wednesday with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and nine leaders of the region's biggest companies.

After the Rev. Wendell Anthony, the president of the Detroit Branch NAACP, read the letter TCF Financial Corp.'s Executive Chairman Gary Torgow sent to employees — demanding the prosecution of every officer involved in the killing of Floyd — Anthony immediately called Duggan. 

According to Duggan, Anthony said he never expected a socially conscious attack on racism to be written by a bank president, leading the mayor to spend Tuesday afternoon calling the executives to try to bring them together to go on the record about what to do next.

"I don’t remember seeing leaders coming together like this,"  Anthony said Wednesday at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Building auditorium. "Everyone feels compelled. It’s important for white America to hear from white America. It's important for the business community to engage with their community, too, and engage with people that are like them."

Nine executives spoke at the event, ranging from the top leaders of the Detroit Three automakers, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and Fiat Chrysler's North America chief operating officer Mark Stewart, to the CEO of Illitch Holdings, Chris Illitch; Gerry Anderson, executive chairman of DTE Energy; Henry Ford Health System's CEO Wright Lassiter; Jay Farner, CEO of Quicken Loans; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's CEO Dan Loepp, and Torgow for TCF Financial. Their presence at the event, and their speeches, show how the expectations for business leaders have changed drastically over the last few years.

Now, instead of shying away from issues that could potentially be seen as controversial, business leaders are expected to take a public stand in line with their own and their companies' values, even if it potentially alienates customers and political leaders.

In the case of Barra, her presence Tuesday at the event and statements she has made to employees could further drive a wedge between her and President Donald Trump, following years of being in his crosshairs.

"This is a different generation of business leadership," said Duggan. He said he can't remember a time in Detroit's history when a group of business leaders came together and condemned racism.

Torgow, whose letter to employees inspired the news conference, said, "We unite together in rejecting all forms of bias, racism and violence in our workplaces and in our communities," adding that he and other business leaders will "double down on purposeful engagement with our cities and neighborhoods, especially where peaceful protests were interrupted by agitators seeking unrest and destruction." 

Still, the executives largely shied away from offering specific changes to address discrimination within their companies, or plans to increase the diversity of their workforce and executive ranks.

Acknowledging racism

In their remarks, they condemned the death of Floyd in Minneapolis, acknowledged racism continues to be prevalent in Detroit and around the country and vowed to listen and change moving forward.

"We know that our organization, like all the ones standing here, isn't perfect," Wright Lassiter, chief executive of the Henry Ford Health System, said. "We understand, however, that no matter what we've been doing throughout our history, we can and we will do more."

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Some executives, like Quicken Loans' chief executive Jay Farner, detailed specific actions including working to create a more open dialogue with the Detroit Police Department to express concerns and "hold each other accountable," along with plans to hold a town hall with the police department so its employees can meet with them and share their views.

Committing to change

Gerry Anderson, executive chairman of DTE Energy, announced four commitments made on behalf of the company leaders, including rejecting and working to eliminate all forms of biases within their companies, calling on government officials to be held accountable for deaths that have occurred, supporting calls for an independent prosecution of those accused to demonstrate fairness and investing in programs and policies to address disparities in communities.

"We remain partners in progress both locally and nationally," Anderson said.

Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com.