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Harley-Davidson is latest all-American brand to face boycott over DEI Pride events for kids
The iconic motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson is the latest all-American brand to get slammed by conservatives over its 'inclusion' policies, including supporting Pride events for children.
The $6 billion-a-year firm known for its macho and rebellious image faces a backlash after campaigners exposed its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and urged riders to steer clear.
Robby Starbuck, an online influencer, posted about Harley-Davidson's support for hard-line policies about trans care for kids, critical race theory and sidelining white people in business.
The outrage echoes similar backlashes against John Deere, a tractor maker, and Bud Light, over a tie-up with a trans influencer that cost the beer-maker millions in lost sales.
Supporters of DEI efforts say they help get more women and minority talent into companies, but critics call them an irritating box-ticking exercise that often blows back on straight, white men.
Life at the Harley-Davidson headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has changed in the wake of DEI policies
'Harley-Davidson seems to have forgotten who their core customers are,' Starbuck, a filmmaker who was also a 2022 Republican House candidate for Tennessee, posted on Tuesday.
'I don't think the values at corporate reflect the values of nearly any Harley-Davidson bikers.'
Starbuck added: 'Do Harley riders want the money they spend at Harley to be used later by corporate to push an ideology that's diametrically opposed to their own values?'
The 121-year-old company, which is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, did not answer DailyMail.com's request for comment.
According to Starbuck, Harley-Davidson has a 'total commitment' to DEI policies in offices and the factories that make its trademark heavyweight bikes, which are designed for cruising on the highways.
This includes funding a recent Pride event in Pennsylvania, with face-painting and balloon twisting events for youngsters, as well as a 'rage room' where adults could 'let off steam,' he says.
The bike-maker has partnered with political groups that push hard-left ideas, including the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, United Way and the Human Rights Campaign, he says.
Harley-Davidson money has therefore promoted sex-change procedures on children and anti-racism efforts against 'whiteness' and 'Christian privilege,' he alleges.
DEI efforts have changed life inside the company of some 6,400 people, says Starbuck.
Some 1,800 employees were trained on how to become an 'LGBTQ+ ally,' while some sessions singled out white men for specific diversity-training, he says.
The company introduced employee resource groups (ERGs), which separate staff along racial, gender and sexual identity lines.
It is also gradually cutting its number of white employees, suppliers, and dealers, he adds.
Starbuck in part blames Harley-Davidson's $12-million-a-year CEO Jochen Zeitz, who has vowed to transform the manufacturer with a range of electric motorcycles and help tackle climate change.
Robby Starbuck, an online influencer, says Harley riders should pressure the company about its DEI policies
The all-American brand is famed for its large and expensive highway-cruising motorcycles
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is among those to question what is happening at the iconic motorcycle manufacturer
The motorcycle manufacturer has backed Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, with celebratory cakes for a graduate bootcamp
Harley-Davidson's $12-million-a-year CEO Jochen Zeitz has vowed to transform the manufacturer
Harley-Davidson's conservative customers should let the company know their concerns and consider ditching the brand, he says.
'When we use our voices and wallets to vote our values, we can change the world and restore great American companies to a culture of sanity,' he adds.
Scores of social media users have already added their voice to Starbuck's campaign, including bikers who said it could be time to 'sell our Harleys.'
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, an advocate of conservative causes, posted simply: 'Harley Davidson?'
The criticism could be troubling for a company that's become synonymous among its biker customers with freedom, rebellion, and the open road.
Still, the company's support for DEI and LGBTQ+ causes will be uncontroversial to many of its customers, and will doubtless be supported by progressives.
Harley-Davidson customers frequently decorate their motorcycles with rainbow flags, and they make frequent appearances at Pride events, ridden by such groups as Dykes on Bikes.
The iconic firm was established by childhood friends William Harley and Arthur Davidson, with the production of their first motorcycle in a small wooden shed in Milwaukee in 1903.
The backlash comes as Harley-Davidson continues to divert its range away from entry-level bikes to focus more on expensive, touring bikes among its ever-older customers.
The company did not answer our requests for comment, but on various websites it has says it is working to improve 'sustainability' and become a 'leader in global diversity and inclusion.'
The criticism marked the latest in a series of conservative-led boycotts against well-known brands that embrace progressive policies, which have hit Bud Light, Target, Cracker Barrel, Tractor Supply, The North Face, and many others.
Many companies that embraced DEI policies in the wake of the cop killing of unarmed black man George Floyd in May 2020 have stepped back from them for fear of irking conservative customers.
For some, DEI schemes are important and necessary, as they can help to overcome historical racism and sexism and make it easier for people of all backgrounds to get ahead in education and work.
Critics say it's a form of reverse discrimination that unfairly blows back on straight, white men.
Others say DEI schemes may be well-intentioned, but seldom achieve their desired goals and often make things worse by stirring up divisions in offices and classrooms.