COLUMBUS, Ind. — Cummins is launching a new effort to undo systemic discrimination against the Black community in the United States by launching Cummins Advocating for Racial Equality.
“Institutional racism is a disease; deeply rooted and longstanding, and makes our society weaker,” said Tom Linebarger, chairman and CEO. “It will take decisive and sustained action to dismantle racism, and Cummins will be part of that action. We are in the midst of a national reckoning on race, and we need awareness, education and accountability to drive results. It’s the right thing to do and we will all benefit when we are cured of this disease.”
The creation of CARE is the first step in Cummins’ effort to undo systemic discrimination; and since its creation in July, the company has developed strategies and initiated work in four identified areas:
- Achieve police reform
- Realize criminal justice reform
- Create economic empowerment by building Black wealth and income
- Drive social justice reform in healthcare, housing, workforce development and civil rights, including voting rights and education
““We are using impact assessment tools to select work that will generate meaningful change with measurable results specific to each community,” Linebarger said. He added the company has already begun work and making progress in all four of the focus areas including:
- In Indianapolis, Cummins recently joined forces with Eli Lilly and Company, Roche Diagnostics, the Indianapolis Urban League, the local American Civil Liberties Union and other Indianapolis business and community organizations, and successfully advocated for the establishment of a first-of-its-kind majority civilian General Orders Board that has the power to create policies and procedures that determine the manner in which policing is conducted in Indianapolis.
- Cummins will launch four new Technical Education for Communities (TEC) workforce development programs. Two programs will be created in Nashville, Tennessee; one in Charleston, South Carolina; and one in Memphis, Tennessee. Each of the TEC sites will be focused on creating educational pathways for Black residents to good, living wage jobs in transportation, logistics and other industries.
- Investing in current and future Black-owned suppliers by using Cummins’ industry influence to support their growth and sustainability.
- Cummins has committed $250,000 towards an Indianapolis Urban League initiative to invest in Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurship, in partnership with Eli Lilly and Co.
For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.
