Rashad Robinson, the president of the national civil rights nonprofit Color of Change (COC), announced his resignation on Sept. 30, just one week after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that the organization unlawfully laid off 54 employees in a series of layoffs last year. The NLRB mandated that COC reinstate the affected employees and provide back pay with interest within 14 days.

COC is recognized as one of the nation’s leading racial justice organizations, advocating for policy changes and accountability in both corporate and governmental sectors. The Color Of Change Union, representing the organization’s bargaining unit staff, aims to embody the values of racial justice not just in society but also within the workplace.

“While Color Of Change will continue to fight for more and more wins, I have made the very hard decision to pass on my leadership role at Color Of Change after the election and take on new ways of fighting for justice in our country,” Robinson wrote in a statement. “The organization is in a place where it’s ready for me to leave.”

In his resignation announcement, Robinson did not address the layoffs or the NLRB’s ruling, leading to criticism from within the organization.

“Though the union is appreciative that this chapter of Rashad Robinson’s toxic leadership is coming to a close, the failure to acknowledge or take accountability for the actual reason he is being made to step down is indicative of his unprincipled leadership,” the Color of Change Union said in a statement. “His messaging has allowed him to create a narrative that is disconnected from reality.”

Charrel Cryer, a project manager in the policy and government affairs team who has been with Color of Change for nearly two years and is a bargaining committee member for the remaining union employees, expressed concerns about the organization’s financial practices. 

“Color of Change has had a long history of a lack of financial transparency,” said Cryer. “They’ve had multiple auditors come in, check into the finances, basically in so many words say that the money is being mismanaged, and then they sweep it under the rug, particularly for this fiscal year.”

In a statement emailed to Prism, COC’s 501c3 Board Chair Jenn Stowe and 501c4 Board Chair Heather McGhee said the organization has experienced obstacles similar to many growing organizations, such as a drop in donations and other financial challenges.

“Rashad has worked over the last year to stabilize Color Of Change’s fundraising and brought on new support to take on challenges facing the racial justice movement—from the attacks on diversity to the impacts of artificial intelligence—giving the organization enough time for a real transition after he first raised his intention to leave,” the statement said. “We are proud to share that the organization now has strong financial systems, a more modest, sustainable budget, a world-class team of advocates and strategists who bring their dedication to advance Black power to work each day and is now ready for a leadership change.”

But Cryer noted that multiple audits indicated mismanagement of funds, with the organization’s budget reportedly doubling from $20 million to $40 million without proper financial grounding. Employees were allegedly laid off based on arbitrary decisions, circumventing the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

“But at every step of the way, [Robinson] has not used good business practice,” Cryer said. “The way that employees were laid off was 100% discretionary and based on numbers in his head. And so it wasn’t strategic. It specifically navigated around the WARN Act. It targeted members within the union, and for a time, destabilized our union, which is union busting.”

In an emailed statement, a COC representative said they will appeal the NLRB decision.

“The financial conditions of 2023 created an exigent circumstance that forced us to downsize to a more sustainable budget after record and rapid growth in 2020/21,” the COC representative said. “Due to the fact that the case is currently being litigated, we will not be providing further comment at this time.”

The union highlighted ongoing concerns about the internal culture at COC, emphasizing the need for a new leader who aligns with the organization’s mission and values. Currently, the organization is financially top-heavy—while the union makes up 50% of the reduced staffing, its members earn only 23.5% of the actual salaries that are being currently allocated. The organization is also under active investigation by the Attorney General of California because it has not filed certain taxes in several years.

“Now more than ever, unionized staff call for the organization to prioritize securing a collective bargaining agreement and resolution for all of the union staff impacted by COC’s illegal layoffs,” the union wrote in a statement.

Cryer pointed to the organization’s hypocritical support of the Service Employees International Union, publicly saying that Color of Change is pro-union while hiring anti-union law firm Seyfarth Shaw, LLP to represent the organization against its own union.

“What they are doing privately is contrary to what they are pushing publicly. And this is the issue that we have as we deeply believe in the mission,” said Cryer. “The issue that we have is, morally, what Rashad is doing is something that Color of Change externally would call out time and time again, and he’s not living up to what he’s supposed to be representing.”

According to the statement by Stowe and McGhee, longtime policy and racial justice leader Portia Allen-Kyle, who is currently COC’s managing director, will step into the interim executive director role, effective Jan. 1, while the board of directors searches for the next president. 

Robinson’s resignation, in conjunction with COC announcing plans to appeal the NLRB’s ruling, has drawn further scrutiny from staff.

“He put out a public statement and made it seem like he was [leaving] for greener pastures, and he’s sanitizing his legacy of being a detriment to the movement as a whole,” said Cryer. “He is destabilizing a place that is supposed to provide Black joy, not just internally, but for the world. We’re hoping that his exit will be a catalyst to change the current toxic work environment that employees are being subjected to.”

Cryer would like the organization to concede and accept the NLRB’s ruling, withdraw its appeal, and have Robinson issue a formal apology.