Leaders at PepsiCo have agreed to meet this week with civil rights advocates from the National Action Network to discuss the company's recent decision to roll back some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the Reverend Al Sharpton said on Monday.
In an April 4 letter to PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta, Sharpton threatened to lead a boycott against the company. PepsiCo — one of the largest food and beverage companies in North America whose brands include Gatorade, Lay’s potato chips, Doritos, Mountain Dew as well as Pepsi — told employees in February that the company will no longer set goals for minority representation in its managerial roles or supplier base.
Sharpton said he will be meeting with Laguarta and he intends to press him on the specifics of the company's decision and what commitments it still has to ensuring equal opportunity in employment and contracts.
A spokesperson for PepsiCo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
PepsiCo is one of several companies, including Walmart and Target, that have eliminated policies and programs aimed at increasing diversity among its employees and reducing discrimination against members of minority groups, women and LGBTQ+ people since President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year.
Trump ended DEI programswithin the federal government and has warned schools to do the same or risk losing federal money.
In January, Sharpton led a “buy-cott” at Costco, encouraging Americans to vote with their dollars and shop at the retail giant for its commitment to DEI policies, even as many of its competitors phased them out.
“That is the only viable tool that I see at this time, which is why we’ve rewarded those that stood with us," Sharpton told The Associated Press.
FILE - Al Sharpton speaks during a ceremony in celebration of Roberta Flack's life at The Abyssinian Baptist Church on Monday, March 10, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Plastic bottles of Pepsi are displayed at a grocery store in New York on Nov. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.
A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.
Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.
For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.
The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”
Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.
Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
