I feel like this is sarcasm but the real answer is you should act appropriately for your surroundings. Someone else’s event is not your platform, especially so in this case.
Correct. A slave on a plantation should simply do their job. It is never appropriate to espouse political opinions in a place of business. The promotion of business interests trumps any humanistic interests, which have their set places and times to be addressed in a quiet and easily ignored manner.
Comparing the expectation of relatively apolitical professionalism to slavery is absurd.
There are valid reasons why keeping the workplace apolitical is valuable. When it isn't, one political group usually established dominance and suppresses the opposition. The workplace becomes an environment where a subset of political views monopolize conversation, and a large portion of workers are alienated as a result. If your goal is to hire the best employees regardless of political leanings, then maintaining an apolitical workplace is a good choice.
>f your goal is to hire the best employees regardless of political leanings, then maintaining an apolitical workplace is a good choice.
My point is that your goals do not trump everyone else's goals just because they're reasonable business goals. There are things in life that are more important than hiring the best employees.