Georgia candidate Rick Jackson backed DEI at company, now-former executive says

FIRST ON FOX: Rick Jackson, who is seeking the Republican nomination in Georgia’s gubernatorial race, appears to support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies at Jackson Healthcare, according to unearthed audio from a former DEI executive at his company, but Jackson is now vowing to end the DEI push if he becomes governor.

“We will ban DEI madness and criminalize reverse discrimination,” Jackson said in a campaign ad last month.

Jackson’s calls to end DEI appear to run counter to the praise he received from Matthew Harrison, who previously served in several leadership roles leading DEI initiatives at Jackson Healthcare between early 2018 and August 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile and biography at the University of Georgia for an adjunct assistant professor role.

“I think it’s really reinforced for our associates that, from a leadership perspective, our leaders understand and see the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion within our workforce at Jackson Healthcare, I mean, and that’s really part of our values,” Harrison, who has a doctorate in workplace diversity and wrote his dissertation on “colorism,” said in a 2020 podcast interview.

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Rick Jackson is running for governor of Georgia, promising to eliminate DEI policies. (Rick Jackson for Governor/YouTube screenshot)

Harrison described that the company’s leadership had taken steps to disseminate DEI principles through a series of “Conversations” that the company allegedly hosted under Jackson’s leadership.

“We created what we call our ‘Conversations,’ a learning experience about race. It’s something we launched in October 2019, and it’s something that really started because of the story of our CEO and founder, Rick Jackson,” Harrison said.

“I think Rick thought it was important enough, and we had a culture in place where we could establish that safe space and create those ground rules from the beginning so that he felt comfortable with us,” Harrison added.

Harrison further described the “Conversations” series in a 2022 interview.

“I think a lot of times we kind of avoid each other at work, and we don’t have those discussions, and actually the workplace is exactly where we should… So we created a series of ‘race conversations’ where people were brought together with their colleagues to talk about race, about bias, about microaggressions,” Harrison said.

Jackson’s campaign pushed back on the idea that the “Conversations” series meant that Jackson’s company had implemented or supported DEI principles.

“The most pathetic attack of Burt Jones’ failed campaign,” said Dave Abrams, a spokesman for Jackson’s campaign, referring to the current lieutenant governor of Georgia and one of Jackson’s political opponents. “Jackson Healthcare asked a black pastor to speak to a group of employee volunteers. That doesn’t change the fact that Jackson Healthcare has always hired only the best.”

Jackson, 71, announced his dark horse candidacy on Feb. 3, joining an already crowded field of Republican candidates. Not counting Jackson, eight other Republicans have also announced their candidacy. He is the billionaire founder of Jackson Healthcare, a healthcare staffing and staffing company that serves facilities nationwide and has more than 1,500 employees, according to its website.

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Jackson Healthcare CEO is running for Georgia governor, promising to end DEI. (Rick Jackson for Governor/YouTube screenshot)

Since entering the race, Jackson has made ending DEI a staple of his campaign, alongside other policy positions such as freezing property taxes, cutting the income tax, and continuing the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

“I’m going to ban DEI and focus on merit,” Jackson said in an interview he highlighted on X, where he laid out his plans.

Despite Jackson’s campaign denial, a Fox News Digital review found several Facebook posts in which Jackson Healthcare touted Harrison’s work at the company and his goal of implementing DEI principles in the workplace.

“Senior Vice President of Talent and Development Matthew Harrison recently participated in a Tech Alpharetta panel on creating diversity, equality and inclusion in business operations. Click the link below to download and watch. Skip to 9:41 p.m. to hear Matthew highlight some of Jackson Healthcare’s key DE&I approaches,” a 2021 Jackson Healthcare Facebook post said.

“Business RadioX spoke with Matthew Harrison, our Vice President of Human Resources, and some of the leaders of our Associate Network Groups to learn more about diversity in the workplace and how we create an environment that welcomes everyone,” a 2019 Jackson Healthcare Facebook post said.

“Our President, Shane Jackson, joined academic and business leaders at this week’s 2022 Business School Diversity Conference, sharing ideas on how to create cultures where people thrive,” said a 2022 Jackson Healthcare Facebook post, referring to Jackson’s son. “The conference, hosted by the University of Georgia Terry College of Commerce and sponsored by the Business School DEI Collaborative, covered a variety of topics aimed at helping professionals advance DEI programs within their organizations.

During his time at Jackson Healthcare, Harrison recalls that leadership, under Jackson’s direction, made great strides in affirming the need for DEI – particularly in the wake of several racially motivated incidents like the death of George Floyd that brought chaos to major cities across the country.

He recalled an instance where Jackson personally attended and led discussions about DEI.

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Protesters hold a banner during a silent march for justice “I Can’t Breathe” in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, Sunday, March 7, 2021. (Émilie Richardson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“And I think more than anything, what this illustrated in particular was that our president attended all six sessions and our CEO actually kicked off the session and came back in the last session to explain again why he thought this was so important for our organization,” Harrison said.

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“And I think by having these sessions, it really helped our associates better understand what our president and CEO really means by ‘others first,’ and that also includes diversity and inclusion which is something that’s really important to our organization,” he recalls.

Jackson’s campaign once again denied that DEI was ever implemented as policy at his company.

“Jackson Healthcare has never had DEI requirements,” Abrams said.

Fox News Digital has contacted Harrison and Jackson Healthcare for comment.