Derrick Johnson, the president and chief executive of the N.A.A.C.P., was on the phone with other civil rights leaders on Tuesday afternoon, discussing strategy for how to respond to different possible outcomes in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged with murdering George Floyd.

But before they could finish, news came that the jury in Minnesota had reached a verdict. Mr. Johnson and the others dropped off the call and waited. An hour later, the judge pronounced Mr. Chauvin guilty on the three charges he faced, including second-degree murder.

“When it got to the third guilty, I had a sigh of relief,” Mr. Johnson said. “Because if the verdict would have happened differently, the energy could have been harsh.”

Mr. Johnson finds himself at the helm of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the country’s foremost civil rights organization, when the nation is gripped by the most intense and sustained reckoning over racial justice in generations. It is a role that requires a versatile skill set. He sued President Donald J. Trump in 2017 over the fate of the Dreamers, and again this year over the Capitol riot. He has walked the streets with protesters in Minneapolis and, before President Biden was inaugurated, pressed him to create a civil rights envoy in the West Wing.

At the same time, Mr. Johnson has struck a balancing act with the business world — welcoming its expressions of solidarity and pledges to create more diverse workplaces, while calling it out on unfulfilled promises and empty rhetoric.

“We intend to hold all corporations who have made commitments to the fight for social justice accountable,” he posted on Twitter last month. “Our communities, lives, and democracy are at stake.”

Born in Detroit, Mr. Johnson went to college in Jackson, Miss., where he still lives. After law school, he forged a career as a professional activist, working his way up from Mississippi state president of the N.A.A.C.P. to the organization’s top job in 2017.

As the business world gets more involved in social and political issues — including voting rights, immigration and climate change — Mr. Johnson is looking to companies to help advance positive social change.

“There is a responsibility of corporations to ensure that we maintain a stable democracy,” he said.

This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.

President Biden talked about the potential for the guilty verdict to be a moment of significant change for this nation. What do you think needs to happen for that to become a reality?

It was an important moment for this nation. If we do this right, this can be our Selma, Ala., moment. We need to create a new standard of community and police relationships to allow for good cops to be valued and appreciated, and to weed out and hold accountable bad cops and bad actors, and not allow for these incidents to keep repeating. That is really important, and it only happens if you get strong federal policy.

How do you think about the role of corporations in these efforts?

Corporations have a critical role to play. They have to step up their engagement to do away with the caste system that we live in, because far too many of them have participated in the status quo of racial inequities. Many of them have maintained their profit margin based on it. But we are at this point in this nation where it is not good business practice for corporations not to step up, not to engage.

Corporations have to use their muscle and choices to expand and protect our access to voting. Many of these corporations exercise vast muscle to pass policies that benefit their bottom line. We should also be looking at the bottom line of protecting our democracy, expanding and protecting access to voting, and to maintain a standard of policing. The world is watching.

What specific changes do you think would make a difference?

Three things. The one there has to be is honest view of the data. If a corporation’s market share growth is much more diverse than their marketing spend, there needs to be an adjustment.

Second, the decision makers need to reflect the growth of the customer base, so that there is diversity on the boards, and the C-suite becomes more diverse. Because a lot of mistakes are being made as a result of people who are not at the table not being able to assist in decisions that are culturally sensitive.

And third, there has to be more diversity in procurement and other opportunities for entrepreneurs, and better pay. Henry Ford, with all of the things he had wrong, one thing he had right was making sure his workers were paid so that they can purchase Model-T cars, so that he could sell more cars.

It is a business imperative to be engaged in creating a just and equitable society. It is not charity.

Do you think that the promises corporations made last year to diversify their work forces and the money they pledged to support organizations working for racial justice made an impact?

It is a step in the right direction. But you can’t address the structural racism that has existed in this country for 400 years with a few checks. It has to be a sustained investment, so that we can create a society that’s more equitable and we can actually advance business opportunity. Because the two things are not in conflict with one another.

This nation has always been diverse, but it’s becoming even more diverse. We are in a global economy, and we need all of our brain power, and there are markets right here in this nation that need to be tapped. If we continue to have these types of unfortunate incidents [like police killings], and the resulting outcome, that is not creating a stable business climate.

Do you welcome these statements of solidarity from C.E.O.s, or are there instances where you feel like it would be better for executives to not necessarily feel the need to weigh in at a moment like this?

The statements are fine, but it’s the commitment and the longevity of the commitment that’s most important. So when the controversy happens, the question for us is always: Are you willing to be a part of the solution? You cannot have a lender making a lofty statement and practicing predatory behaviors, targeting the same communities.