Color Us United

Color Us United (CUU) is a conservative 501(c)(3) organization advocating for what it calls a "race-blind America". It opposes the building effort across American companies to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. According to its website, the people at CUU "are the voice of those who oppose dividing America by race, religion, sexual orientation or any other characteristic" and they "resist those who divide Americans in the name of 'racial equity'-- in government, schools, corporations, journalism, or social media".

The organization subscribes to the belief that "race is a choice", writing, "Black Americans, like all Americans, have great adjustability in the way they present themselves and associate with society that has more to do with things they can control rather than cannot".

They are registered as "The Center for Race and Opportunity" through the IRS.

News and Controversies

Color Us United Attacks University of North Carolina Over DEI

In May 2023, Color Us United announced a "historic victory" over DEI initiatives at the University of North Carolina's School of Medicine. Taking credit for the recent change to UNC's hiring and tenure guidelines that no longer will ask for DEI statements, CUU president Kenny Xu attributed the success to their four-pronged plan. The plan "launched in January to put pressure on the university, focusing on alumni, the board of trustees, the state legislature, and the public. According to Xu, several lawmakers sent letters to UNC demanding clarity on DEI policies, and a petition circulated on social media garnered over 5,000 signatures (short of a goal of 10,000)."

While CUU is claiming this as a significant victory, the group did not eliminate DEI statements from the university's practices, with UNC's School of Medicine DEI task force still in action even after the Department of Health Sciences DEI task force was disbanded.

Vivek Ramaswamy to Donate Proceeds from Book to Color Us United

In 2024 presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy's new book "Capitalist Punishment: How Wall Street Is Using Your Money to Create a Country You Didn't Vote For," which outlines how top financial institutions like Vanguard, State Stree, and BlackRock are supporting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values. Ramaswamy claims that these financial institutions are costing Americans money by creating a safe workspace for their employees and the companies they sit on the boards of. Ramaswamy will be dominating all of the proceeds of the book to Color Us United, "I'm donating all of my personal proceeds to a nonprofit called Color Us United. I've actually gotten to know the founder of that group pretty well, and they're helping out a victim of discrimination, politicized, really racial equity-based discrimination...Color Us United stands for this idea of reviving merit and the idea that you ought not be judged by the color of your skin, but on the content of your character and contributions. That's part of what we've lost with these ESG [Environmental, social, and governance] values that have been foisted onto corporate America."

CUU Hosts Webfest for Employees Against Woke Workplaces

In June 2022, CUU alongside 2024 president hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, hosted a "digital event (that) seeks to educate and organize corporate employees concerned by the growing politicization of the workplace." During the event, the President of CUU, Kenny Xu, stated, "Many employees are aware that their company is discriminating against non-preferred races and cancelling and even firing employees who speak out. Yet, perhaps they think this is just a company-wide issue that can be resolved internally. They are unaware that there is a national woke agenda behind this and it is bent on internalizing wokeness across companies in America nationwide. We made this 1st National Zoomfest to inform employees about the extent of the woke damage in companies nationwide - and possibly, how to approach your company about it. This is also your opportunity to interact directly with some of the key players in fighting wokeness across businesses in the nation by asking questions."

Color Us United Launches Petition against The Salvation Army

Following The Salvation Army's (TSA) release of a discussion guide on racism, Color Us United launched a petition campaign against the organization. The petition states, "Will you stand against the insertion of politically charged racial ideologies into The Salvation Army's good work? By signing this petition, you call for Color Us United to represent the members of The Salvation Army in calling for a revocation of The Salvation Army's 'Let's Talk About Race' curriculum. Color Us United says its goal is 25,000 signatures, and the petition has accrued 18,885 as of September 2022.

TSA responded with a statement saying, "The fact that any politically motivated group is working so hard to force a faith-based organization to conform to that group's chosen ideology should give pause to all reasonable individuals. It's wrong, and it's reckless." TSA also said, "As Color Us United's President, Mr. Xu, has also called for The Salvation Army to eliminate positions focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. That's not going to happen. The work of ensuring equal opportunity and treatment within The Salvation Army is far too important not to be intentional about it." TSA admonished Color Us United for their attacks on their organization, saying it had the potential to "significantly impact those who are hungry, families who are at risk of losing their homes, survivors of natural disasters, and more." "For us, it's always about people. But for Color Us United, it's clearly about politics", their statement concluded.

Other companies Color Us United has publicly admonished for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts include American Express, Harvard University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Targeting American Express for Race-Based Hiring

After Brian Netzel was terminated in 2020 by Amex, he "alleges the company began incentivizing executives, via their end of the year bonuses, to decrease the percentage of white employees in their departments under the direction of CEO Stephen Squeri." Kenny Xu, president of Color Us United, argued in favor of Netzel by claiming American Express's practices were "harmful" and "divisive," even going so far as to circulate an online petition to challenge the practices.

Labor Day Listen-Down

Color Us United hosts a submission board for employees "who feel humiliated by companies imposing woke ideology" to air their grievances. Color Us United claims on Labor Day it will "urge CEOs to listen 'down' the corporate ladder" rather than to "HR staff and consultants who claim that DEI programs are garnering positive benefits".

CUU works with Consumers' Research and State Financial Officers Foundation on 'Targeting Corporate Wokeness'

In an obtained email from the Louisiana Tresasurer's office, it was discovered that the President of Color Us United, Kenny Xu, is "proud to work with Consumers Research and State Financial Officers Foundation on targeting corporate wokeness, a major 2022 and 2024 campaign issue." Later on in the letter, he directly addresses Louisiana by stating, "I am a conservative-minded person, and I have always believed that principled conservatives should support strong public pressure to condemn policies that are damaging to suppliers and investors in the State of Louisiana. Hiring and promoting on the basis of race rather than merit will damage the bottom line, not only of American Express, but of their investors and contracts."

Kenny Xu was also reported to attend SFOFs annual national meeting in New Orleans, highlighting Color Us United's attempt to break into the greater conservative network.

Funding

CUU is not required to disclose its funders but major supporters can be found through their IRS filings. Here are some known contributors:

• Barbee Family Foundation: $5,000 (2021)
• DonorsTrust: $351,100 (2021)
• Dunn Foundation: $45,000 (2021-2022)
• Jlh Foundation: $25,000 (2022)
• National Philanthropic Trust: $10,000 (2021)
• Randolph Foundation: $25,500 (2021)
• Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation: $6,000 (2020)
• Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program: $250,000 (2020-2021)

Core Financials

2022

• Total Revenue: $1,142,001
• Total Expenses: $1,189,727
• Net Assets: -$32,569

2021

• Total Revenue: $538,153
• Total Expenses: $573,162
• Net Assets: $15,156

2020

• Total Revenue: $51,660
• Total Expenses: $1,495
• Net Assets: $50,165

Personnel

Team Members

As of June 2023:

• Kenny Xu, President and primary spokesman
• Christian Watson
• Raymond Wong
• Deroy Murdock
• F. Levin
• Clara Del Villar
• Yukong Zhao
• James Lindsay
• Christopher Rufo
• Ward Connerly
• Dr. Eric Kaufmann
• Michael Gonzalez
• Leonydus Johnson
• Dr. Wenyuan Wu
• Christopher Harris
• Sanjay Narayan

Board of Directors

As of December 2022:

• Kenny Xu, president
• Frayda Levy, chairwoman
• Raymond Wong, general counsel
• Clara Del Villar
• Lin Yang
• Deroy Murdock

Contact Information

Employer Identification Number (EIN): 85-0513810

Color Us United
PO Box 1055
Morrisville, NC 27560
Website: https://colorusunited.org/
Twitter: @CUU_org
Facebook: @ColorUsUnited.org
YouTube: Color Us United

Articles and Resources

IRS Form 990 Filings

2021

2021