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Black Enterprise Magazine-Affirmative Action Statement
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Black Enterprise Magazine-Affirmative Action Statement
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30
1
6
3
R'su
Jun. 12 1995 5:02PM P01
PHONE No. :
From :
x
FAX COVER
BLACK
UNTERPRISE
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
BLACK ENTERPRISE MAGAZINE
DATE: June 12,1995
TIME: 4:50pm.
PLEASE DELIVER THE FOLLOWING PAGE (s) TO:
Done sabelite
Name alexis Herman
Company Public diarson healthite House
Polug did
Tel #
Fax
FROM
TEL: (212) 886-9560 886
FAX: (212) 886-9557
IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE 13 PAGE(S), INCLUDING COVER SHEET.
PLEASE CONTACT ME AT THE TELEPHONE NUMBER LISTED ABOVE.
NOTES As you requested followingisa copy &Carlp Draves'
position on affirmative action, and an unfinished Galley
Than formature action worked for them
of the august 95 article a the class of 70 and
distriction
Garl G. Gravell Publishing Co., Inc.
130 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011-4399
Tel: 212-242-B00
From :
PHONE No. :
Jun. 12 1995 5:03PM P02
BLACK
ENTERPRISE
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF BLACK ENTERPRISE AND BLACK BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT
Statement of Earl G. Graves, Publisher & CEO
BLACK ENTERPRISE MAGAZINE
RE: Adarand Decision
Given the current political climate, the Supreme
Court's decision in Adarand Constructors Inc. vs. the
State of Colorado was far from unexpected. While the
decision is discouraging, it is far from being the
decisive blow on the issue of the merits of affirmative
action. The seeds for this decision were sown by
polition, and roaped with the Supreme Court appointments
of the consorvative Reagan and Bush administrations. The
Court's makcup--and the appointment of Clarence Thomas
in particular speak to the importance of African
Americane making their influence felt in the political
process. It is particularly disturbing- though, again,
not totally surprising-+that Thomas voted with the
majority in this decision.
Minority set aside programs have been critical to
the ability of minority business to gain access to
government contracts--business which, before the advent
of affirmative action, was reserved exclusively for
white-owned companies. The Supreme Court's latest
From :
PHONE No. :
Jun. 12 1995 5:03PM P03
decision points to the need for black business to take
action; this is why the formation of a political action
committee that will advocate on behalf of black business
is so vitally important at this time.
As you know, I have joined with other CEOs of the
nation's largest black businesses to ensure that
decisions such as this one don't go unchallenged.
Safoguarding affirmative action is among the top
priorities of our PAC, Mobilization for Economic
Opportunity.
It's important to note that the Supreme Court
stopped short of striking down Colorado's affirmative
action program, instead sending it to a federal appeals
court for further study of whether the program actually
discriminates against white-owned companies. Again, the
issue is far from decided. And the battle is far from
over.
From :
PHONE No. :
Jun. 12 1995 5:04PM P04
CLASS85-SDRELD (updated) 6/8/95 11:34 PM Page 2
AM
EN
T
FRUTH
the
of
By Caroline V Clarke
firmative.action
Mone he.doors
rathes were the
OWN through h
THEY WERE BORN IN THE LATE 1940s, INTO A
world divided by color-black and white. Given their timing
and their race, the white world offered them little and expected
ainb
even less. But all that quickly changed.
Just as they entered grade school, a victory in Brown vs. the
determined and pre
Board of Education altered the nation's educational landscape.
By the time they were seniors in high school, colleges that had
pared wenty-five
been completely shuttered to their parents were not only con-
sidering them, they were recruiting them.
By then, the Civil Rights Act of 1965 had been passed, and
years ater,they ve
the government was putting pressure on white institutions tc
either admit black students or losc federal funding. The incon-
Ho hieved the Dream.
live opened doors, first at the undergraduate level, then at the
graduate level and, ultimately, at the professional level. Blessed
But can they secure
with ambition, determination and strong families who instilled
in them the value of education, the 11 women and 14 mer
interviewed for this article became first-line beneficiaries of a
t for their children?
new program dubbed affirmative action.
From :
PHONE No. :
Jun. 12 1995 5:06PM P05
0/9/95 0.00 PM Page ,
Charles Allen
President
Graimark Inc.
Morebouse Deliever
Roberta Gunnait
V.P. and Director)
Motorola INC
Temple University
David Junes
Preside MUCHA
COANT mally Survice
Sect 2
Werryan
Smith
144
Mamon
President. CONTRE
chSese Commission Ca
Hurdue University
Carolyn Thempson
Manager
Proceed
Oble State United
From :
PHONE No. :
Jun. 12 1995 5:10PM P07
CLASS85 (updated) 6/8/95 11:31 PM PAGE 3
COVER STORY
Carl Robbins
Personal Stats: age
expert who hame
47, married with four
Francisco
children. ages 2 to 12,
GALL DAMACO
Ronald Wilson
and a stepchild. 25
in the Los firm
Current Positions Senior
featured in Additional The
Manager, Employ-ment at
nation leading Back law prose and
The Vanguard Group of
Investment Companies,
Malvern. Pa.
executive
Education: B.A. American
W omen of and
History, University of
(August 11991 Must OF
Pennsylvania 70: M.B.A.,
Black Executives try
Labor Relations Manage-
They are an impres your with
ment. The Wharton
son to:be proud, del
School, '80
it not fox affirmative they
Reflections "I am
be where they are, Onlike Foutiger
enraged about all the
of African Americ insurthey don't
dialogue that's going
acknowledging the Implet of affirmacity you
on about affirmative
on their careers takes anything
action. We are the proof of the
talent their intellectio their
pudding. Who succeeds is not merely a
are clear and una pologetio about what
question of ralent, it's a question of
action did for them. Says Emment
opportunity."
State *70) removed the
Robbins was born into it close and extended Philadelphia
[white]people didn have
family with West Indian roots and an impressive history rich in
should never have been closed to
intellectual and entrepreneurlal pursuits. A national merit
place.
scholar in high school, and a self-described "basketball monk" in
college, Robbins traced his family's history as a senior-year
project.
"Ac the rime, the Nixon administration was touting black
Acknowledging the
capitalism as the wave of the future." recalls Robbins. "Much
was being made of self-help and the whole bootstrapper
impact of affirmative
phenomenon." Inrrigued, he sought 10 learn why an old family
catering business had no: survived. His conclusion: Racism had
action takes nothing
destroyed the ability of the business to grow and succeed.
away from their
Robbins sought his own success in the human resources field,
first at the Mobile Corp., then UNISYS and FMC Corp. Today,
achievements
at Vanguard. he is enthusiastically leading his company's
diversity efforts, but admits to being plagued with doubts. "I
took 80 informal survey of the black members of Wharton's class
of 73, and almost none of them are working at corporations
Theyare equally clear about-whi (dit
anymore-they're self-employed. Why? Because it's not a glass
Contrary to popular beltef judid
coiling we hit. It's much more profound than that. I'm one of
to float above basic requirements)
the goys out here waving a big banner at other black folks,
the good will of guilt-ridded white protes
saying, Come join mel' But sometimes I'm very ambivalent
bosses. Quite the opposite All Welli
about it.
(Oberlin 70) recalle-havily to cur
"In I re increasing competition for d limited number of jobs.
short by several wooks 10 takospecud
there's a backlash coming from a small group yelling, 'What
with the other incoming black freshanch.
abc ut me? We've done enough. I don't want this guilt trip
to prepare us for what would bernis
anyniore. Why should 1. give a hoot about someone who's had 25
gram that was Oberlin:* Thefax
years of so-called advantage? I've got enough to worry about
had come within a hair of being" valedictorian are
with my own job and family.' They're totally wrong. And, what
McDonald I Ligh School (where, WE the only
troubles me must is that I hear norhing from the business
student in his class, he was a scar att and
community about why affirmative action needs to be kept in
time class president) was never considered
place. " should be graphically, empirically evident that this
Joyce Roche still feels anger recalling similar pre--
needs in he kept in place."
sumptions of inferiative A
From :
PHONE No. :
Jun. 12 1995 12PM P08
CLASS85 (updated) 6/8/95 11:31 PM Page 4
COVER STORY
Wilhelmina Leigh
Personal State: 47, single, no children
experience was
Current Position: Senior Research Associate/Economist. Joint
M.B A, at Columbia University New York:In
Center for Political and Economic Studies, Washington, D.C.
involved her grade in quantitative authi
Education: A.B. Economics. Cornell '70; M.A. and Ph.D.
by a professor who Roche SAX
Economics, Johns Hopkins 76 and '78
being pretty good TO black and miljority
Reflections: Her 16-page resume is dominated by a list
Roche, who had been a math major Dutard book
of papers she has authored on the economics of housing,
a B going into the final exam she
health and urban renewal. A member of Phi Beta Kappa
to receive; course FL hought...
who finished college a semester early, Leigh has also held
teaching positions at Johns Hopkins. Georgetown, the
University of Virginia, Howard and Harvard.
DONNA CANTOR MCLEAN
But what her résumé doesn't detail are
You don't hear this
the professional slights she's
chorus of 'Oh, they re
suffered due to her race or
gender, and the scars
not really qualified,
left by her college
being applied to
years.
Cornell because my
father wanted nic to, and
because I thought he was
the best thing since sliced
hell could this happent Telled the professor.and
bread." But the D.C. native
was told he had changed the scale to
was unprepared for what she
Bs' dropped to In reality, he did viss
would find there. "In my
the black fudents, garnering this
imaginings, Cornell was going
But he would not give anyone black above-
TO be the land of milk and
WC all got 'Cs
honcy, filled with all of these
Even all these years-alquarr
brilliant people. What I found was
worth-tater, albrimative action has not
R mixed blessing. I learned a lot
in altering that institutional mindsct, which all
about myself and the world, but a 101
views African Americans as Inferior at worst and;
of the lessons were very painful.
in the case of real superstant anomalice thes
"In the environment I grew up in, everybody was pretty much the
There are attitudés thai white people Ment un ble
same. In Irbaca. you had to define yourself, and that definition was
to gct out of their psyche, Roies Smith
likely 10 grow out of what you weren't not what you were. There
Holmes (MichiganState (70) as
were about 40 blacks in [the school off arts and sciences. For
Smithsonian Magazine whin
Cornell, in was a real bumper crop, but it felt like very few. My first
don't hear this chorus of Oh: they to not really
week there. ] just cried."
qualified being applied to women The antage
Cornell was then a hotbed of militant black activism-one of the
nism over qualifications has been aimed stmost
most striking in the nation. Leigh contributed from the sidelines.
exclusively at blacks you arriburs
Brandishing a wespon, as did some of her peers, "was not my style."
that LO but recism?"
Leigh never believed that the sometimes extreme action students
Perhaps most important, they say, attimpacive
took 31 Cornell, although widely publicized, would have much
action has not yet done what it was most intended
impact beyond the university. Her doubts were confirmed when she
to-level the playing field. Now, it leems,
returned to D.C. after graduation. Thus. she says flatly, "I had no
never get the chance
ivory tower views of what the world would hold for me. I did not
Roberta Bobby Gutman (Temple 70) R
expect to have the same career options as a white male, and I haven't.
straight-calking vice president and directorsol
But I dic expect to have more options than my mother, and 1 have."
human resources diversity ar Motorola Inc in
Affirmative action dramatically diminished overt racial exclusion,
Chicago, As the only black female officer of
bill has donc little to alter the racist mind-set, observes Leigh. In her
Motorola worldwide. Gutman savs she is whote
field--in which Leigh is one of few women and even fewer African
she is today for two reasons: affirmative
Americans Leigh says she has been somewhat "ghettoized" in her
("which helped open the doors" and pain
research assignments. limited to black- or women-related projects
achieved ("oure inside, It $ all about perfor-
"because it is tougher io be accepted as an expert on other issues.
mance") Diversity mniatives-uman special
The enemy is still there. she says. bee affirmative action has made it
ry-are not a replacement for the public policy of
harder to pin down.
affirmative
actions
From :
PHONE No. :
Jun. 12 1995 5:13PM P09
CLASS85 (updated)
6/8/95
11:31
PM
Page
5
COVER STORY
Charles E. Allen
Personal Stats: 47,
tive action is almost;
married, three children
LEATER
ago, she has
ages 12 to 20
to? The answer."for anyone.who
Current Position:
chew sum the
President and Co-founder
Because the
of Graimark Inc., Detroit
to African American party
Education: B.S. Finance/
still there? Says Gutman:
Accounting, Morchouse 70;
-
time,
M.B.A. Finance. University of
And was.wift
Chicago 72
ety and morethan little
Reflections: "When I was
that the Class of 70 approso
graduating high school, it
college currions Date
was the heyday of prom-
reflected in couthy
inent white colleges
they come supervelles the in
coming and pulling the
some of that old 70s anger began m
best and brightest
Anger there program.With soch #
black students to
tory is alread Wheng called me
integrate their schools. I talked
anger at theiracist rhetorica and no lies
to Penn and some others, but I decided
being perperrated 10 fuel the debited the much
I didn't want to be H statistic.
they say, lies in their ongoing advidual
"The last year of Benjamin Mays' presidency was my
and those of choilsands OF African Americans
first year at Morchouse. He was awe inspiring. He would
them. If only We could all themall
always indicate that Morchouse was a builder of minds, not an
Unfortunately; space allows us in share
athletic machine. We were constantly told WC could do anything,
(see
sidebars)
be anything. It was a place of ideas and challenges."
Allen says that that rich, nurturing experience prepared him well
NEW GENERATION SAME OLD JUNE
for business school, where "they went to great pains to explain in
While their anger is sphipable so Ritheit kas for
detail theories that held that black intellectual capacity was less
while this class has come a long way since the
than white. 1 will never forget a white professor noting that one
vibrant but traumatic 60s and 703 the rest of the
had 10 have the same cultural background as he did to understand
world seems to be dirding back And that does not
rhe course curriculum. 1 had a fit. One of my friends had to calm
bude well for their children.
me down. He pulled me aside and said. Don't let them provoke
Some seem almost dazed at the
you into doing something stupid. Don't let them send you
which the bartles of their childhood have
home.
faced as if they were never tought Ret
"I was heavily recruited by banks, including First [National
first place
Bank of] Chicago I arrived there with a blue double knit suit on
Yvonne ant Reece (Spelman 70) came 0
with a slap over the pocker, a big tic with big birds------partridges----
painful realization after a recentionver 11 with
on in and a big afro. 1 looked like a country hick, but 1 thought I
her daughter who went to work at's San
was sharp!"
advertising agency atter graduating from the
Despite his initial fashion faux pas, Allen moved rapidly
in 1993. She called me and There people de
through several groundbreaking positions. He served as a vice
racist and they knowit licy will
president and division manager at The Bank of California before
you and promote you based on the color of your
becoming president and CEO of First Independence National
skin
and I thought) Finally!:She
Bank of Detroit, the ninth-largest black-owned bank in the
what I've been saying all along. But the rebel
nation. Now head of his own firm, which manages assets totaling
Recce felt initially was quickly overshadowed by
$1.5 billion, Allen believes the future for African Americans lies
in the amassing of black capital and the rebuilding of those
institutions-churches, schools, businesses "that we dismantled
in our quest for imegration." But, he insists, this should not
People are racist and
happen to the exclusion of further progress in mainstream
they don't even know
sectors.
"There used 10 be an expression in the pre-aftirmative action
it, They judge you
post. office, you could ship work, because great, bright, promising
based on the color of
taleur had been locked our of other professional possibilities. That
your skin."
was all changing What will happen now!"
PHONE No.
:
Jun. 12 1995 :15PM
P10
From :
CLASS85 (updated)
6/8/95
11:31
PM
Page 6
COVER STORY
Brenda Armstrong
Personal State: 45, never married. 2 adopted sons
sense of sadness:** thing
Current Position: Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of
change, luedys the Arlanca -based
Pediatric Cardiology; Director of Fellowship Training, Duke
for AT&T suptional services netwod division
University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
didn expect it to 006 prim
Education B.S. Zoology, Duke '70; M.D., St. Louis U. 74
Ronald Wilson echnes Recce't dismay
Reflections: When Brenda Armstrong was admitted to Duke, her
founder of one of the smot successful
physician father was thrilled. He believed a Duke
black-owned law-firms Wilson un in all
degree would open doors for his first-born. He had no
black Compton, Califi, and returned
idea what she would go through to get it.
graduating Harvard aw School: the first hom,
Armstrong's class of 20 (our of 1.500) doubled the
Ramon, spent last spring choosing
total number of black students at the school, but by
from Stanford undergrades his altu
SENY
year-end only half that number remained. The
and Yalco The elder could non hav been
severe artricion had multiple causes.
prouder but he was also wary, My son has mo
Chief among rhem was
confidence than'd and
discrimination. "Advisors
better prepared no-deal svich the world'thin-I Type
would flat out
I feel good about his chances
cell you that you
about the world
didn't have the
Wilson ricks off the daily reminders of unkens
requisite skills to
promise: There's no black unline: look down
handle science at
town at the skyline not one black owns any of
Duke," Armstrong
those buildings 1 gold the Lakers game all the
recalls. "We also had a
best seats on the Abor are occupied by whit
number of situations
New York imes and the Daily News are owned by
where blacks were
whites And still have roltell my <00 as my dad
brought before the honor
told me to look out for the LAPD. S6, adophar
board and accused of
changed and not much h has changed
plagiarism because the
Wilson fears most forthose who the funcado
teacher felt such work could
much like he WRS back. in high chool: The
not have been produced by a
black student."
In the fall of 1967, Armstrong
helped found the Afro-American Society, which began discussions
"My.son has
with Doke's administration seeking specific things: a dorm of their
own, a cultural center, more black faculty and administrators, a more
confidence. I feel good
inclusive curriculum. On February 13. 1969, frustrated by a lack of
responsiveness, 13 black studenis-aided by others-took over the
about his chances.
administration building. Armstrong, then chair of the Society, was at
good about
the center of the standoff. When the school placed the group on trial
internally, all 60 of Duke's black students joined them. They were
the world.'
successfully represented, pro bano, by Julius Chambers, chief council
of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. The experience,
says Armstrong, "still drives my career and political involvement."
Graduation proved sobering. "Mv initial idealism that all of &
kids coming out Compton now as d'no
sudden things would get a whole lot hetter for us was totally
being recruited by Harvard and Stanford and
dashed." she recalls. "The only thing I was certain of was that the
Yale,' he says "Vertical" hipbility is pow
world would be a whole lot different, and we would have 10 work
thing. 10's becoming less and less possible in
hard for whatever We got. I felt a window of opportunity, and a
this country.
sense the WC had to grab all WE could before is slammed shut. I've
Most of Wilson's peets share his concerns, pret-
always had a healthy sense of what my father calls paranoia."
acing hopes char their children enjoy 4 promising,
The 60 students tried alongside Aimstrong in the spring of '69
productive future with a prayer for something Far
must have shared that serve. "Between us, we have about 160
more fundaments! that their children are abte.co
defrees." she brags. "People always (i'y to cheaper you with race and
successfully navigate the myriad dangers that could
gender, but excellence makes it tough for them to stop there."
cut their furures short
Srill. she admits. (Ven success doesn't dull the sting of racism. "We
Rear Admiral Anthony Watson (U.S. Naval
have never srapped looking back." says Armstrong, who ironically,
Academy 701 grew up in Chicago's now infa-
has
built
career
11
Duke
and
is
of
From :
PHONE No. :
Jun. 12 1995 5:17PM F11
CLASS85 (updated) 6/8/95 11:31 PM Page 7
COVER STORY
David R. Jones
Personal State: 47, married,
DOUG WEATHERS
ly (his mother till there/ino choours
two children
young residents A few care
Current Position: President
escorting a repor heough the
and CEO, Community Service
(he abhote the place b
Society of New York
it
Education: B.A. Government
about asked vital
Studies. Wesleyan 70; J.D., Vale
he wanted be he
Law School 74
Watson recalls: He
Reflections: Jones knew in high
"Alive to A seven-
school that he would become a
year hould.nou
lawyer and enter a life of public
with staying
service. Ir was a family tradition.
Such and den
His father was the first black
about where the world is
assemblyman elected in
tarly relates black yourh. have fuelt
Brooklyn's Bedford Stuyvesanr
the Class of drive to do whatever
neighborhood--the same camp
can neprosesthe lot for African
from which Shirley Chisholm sprung
111 we JOINS numse, INC KILCHED caBic was it
circles Americans not hose Hat paly have
center of heady policical and intellectual debate, from
there to show young people], in
which he and his sister were never barred. They had also met
have to be there to help them formulate
several of the black cultural and political icons of the day, including
dreams. so when they respond to questions
Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson, both clients of their father.
their future they don't dolition the negath you
Jones first found his own stage at Wesleyan, and he tose to the
the defensive; butwide areal evotoward what they
occasion with finesse. He Was 2 leader of the largest black student
want to do
population in the school's history. helping to found the black
student union and its ensuing institutional offshoots. During the
WHITE FOLKS BENEFITED
summer before his sophomore year, Jones interned with Sen.
In interview afteriaterview the Class of 70
Robert Kennedy; months later the senator was assassinated. But
expressed their usionmeet and then disbelief
Kennedy's shocking death--and the other assassinations of that
that a mere 25 years lifter kicking in progr the
exa-did nothing to damper Jones' enthusiasm for being "a leader
were clearly aimed at positively impacting he lives
for change on both the campus and in American society." In
retrospect, he says. "We were naive."
Reality hit hard a few years out of Yale Law School, where Jones
had done well and been recruited by New York-based Cravath,
They could have given
Swaine & Moore, one of the most prestigious old-line law firms in
the nation. He larer published an article detailing what became of
my spot to a white
his black colleagues at Cravath.
person. But they took
"One committed suicide, one ended up disbarred and homeless,
another had a severe mental breakdown," Jones recounts, ticking off
me. And that was the
the horror stories. Why? "The rules for US were different. You
right choice.
couldn't learn the trade which means basically making one mistake
after another without it being held against you, used as a reason for
not promoting you and not biring more [African Americans).
"A loi of promises were made perhaps with real intentions-but
of African mericans-such Transitive
then broken. A lot of us got sucked up in this cuphoria of opening
action was being torn down, Their list of reasons
doors, and then things changed. We had bought into the notion-
why it needs to be maintained and: if anything
hook, Lne and sinker that this was a meritocracy. Then we got
strengthened, is counted off in personal (ales of the
marginalized. 11 took me years to recover my sense of worth and
chilling effect recism and exclusivism continue
potential. And 1 was one of the lucky ones."
to have on their lives
At 38. jones became the youngest and the first African American
Several mentioned the glass ceiling. alrhough
10 lead Community Service Society of New York. Under his
Brenda Arms rong (Duke 70) a physician
leadership, the agency is now the largest of its kind in the nation. A
likened it to "Plexiglas." noting char "the only
rather vocal opponent of New York's Republican mayor and
thing that gets broken's your back as you keep
governor, Jones held a fundraiser last spring to offset CSS
banging against it. Procter & Gamble recruting
disappe wing public monies. It raised more than $380,000 net; a
manager Carolyn Thompson (Ohio Stare 70)
substan ii) portion came from black New Yorkers.
observes that while corporate America
From :
PHONE No. :
Jun. 12 1995 5:19PM P12
updated) 6/8/95 11:31 PM Page 6
OVER STORY
Reveta Bowers
Personal State: 47, married. 2 children
more willing't
Current Position: Head of School, Center for Early Education.
crop, We still the
Los Angeles
the same rewards
Education: B.A. Theater Arts, University of Southern California;
society does. Alfred Hardling Norch excelle
M.A. Developmental Psychology. College for Developmental
A&T 70) maintains the for griduates.ol the the
Studies
cally black they about
Reflections: When Reveta Bowers entered USC, the most
ability can be (ding chid
common professional options for women were
of the Program Ahalysis and Support (on
nursing, social work and teaching. Always one to
Office of East African Affairs at the
chart her own path. Bowers majored in theater arts.
for International Development (OSAID)
"USC was a particularly conservative campus,"
that 100 often during hrs
Bowers says, explaining her choice. "The theater
was given assignments that summent
was a place of more diversity
toward seeing what'l Edida do, orwhetter with
and action than others on
campus."
Although there were
"very few" black
We really felt that
students at USC
then, and the
if-we couldn effect
influence of
movements such as
change, we weren't
the Black Panthers
"were a part of
willing to survive"
4
shaping who and what
we all became." Bowers
was more troubled by
the gap between the haves
do James from
and have-nots than about
black Morgan Statement being it
the rift between the races.
American un his medical school they C the
Not surprisingly, though. the
University of California At Irvinc, was Bacoucinid
haves were mostly white.
by a pleasantly. surprised professor, We didn'
"It was very clear to me that
expect you to do 80 well." Such encounted--nic
political forces were Being shaped by economic forces," she recalls.
awakenings by whichineople who had little or
"I was surrounded by students with a great deal of money, whose
prior contact with black allenon prove the
professional futures were clear. They were not at all plagued by the
affirmative action-has been both necessary and
uncertainties I was For them, there was a road map and they knew
beneficial says Wood and not inst for Africa
exactly where they were going to be on it. Either places were being
Americana
held for them al their parents' companies, or made for them ar their
They could have clearly taken-my sporto med
friends' companies. It was the first time 1 saw cultural networking. I
school and given it to a white person be
didn't have a clue."
"But they took And the righticholos,
But Bowers caught on quickly. She logged a shore time as a buyer
And proved just as valuable to the while com
and fashion coordinato: for Bullocks (3 plum job that resulted from
munity as they were to me how otten
"the convergence of the store needing to integrate its ranks and my
I've talked to white people who have spokeli
having a college degree fresh in my hand"), but quit after R year.
with an African American who have never seen a
She then recalled her mother's sage advice: "You can always fall back
black doctor no less been treated by one. [Meeting
on teaching." The rest, as they say, is history.
me] has clearly been a plus for them.
Bowers ended up at the Center for Education at the behest of d
black parent who was concerned that her daughter's private school
had no black teachers. At the helm since 1976, Bowers has
SAME WAR. NEW BATTLE
out use student pody as well. one has
Perhaps most distressing to the Class of '70
made it her mission to be visible (she is a director on many boards,
the mark cuntrast between where we are now and
including that of the Walt Disney Co.) and to reach our to parents
where most of them believed the world would be
who are "grear believers in public education. but couldn't in good
when they projected 25 years on graduation
conscience send their children" to the L.A. public schools that
day. While the image 6f their class that lingers in
served Bowers so will as & child. The pivoral issue for these parents
the minds of most Americans is that of a militant
is quality education. 0.00 race. Bowers insists. noting that "those
generation
with
a
mob
mentaline
From :
PHONE No.
:
Jun. 12 1995 5:21PM P13
CLASS85
(updated)
6/8/95
11:31
PM
Page
9
COVER STORY
Mamon Powers Jr.
Personal Stats: 47, married,
and cymersm; spotting wild and wilder
one daughter. 18, and a son, 15
POWER
claines their am Hooking backets
Current Positions President,
internally focused: They ware any suite
Powers & Sons Construction
hopeful and those del
Co., Gary, Ind.
Education:
B.S.
Civil
reportations Roiger 70
Engineering, Purdue 70
"recalls in detail/with micrutorol
Reflections: Mamon Powers Jr.
deep pride me
began working in his farher's
awel'his moment
construction company when he was
his school
11 years old. The lifestyle-being his
black
own boss, running his own ship------
could the path of history
was appealing. But his access to it
Scott of choop
was perhaps too easy for a kid
occurring
who relished a challenge.
African Americans werein the forchront,
So it was that al. 15, Powers
with greater influence and power 10 affect
spotted his goal after learning that
change than orhers- and the
there were no registered black professional
have today, really feberhar couldn't
engineers in the entire state of Indiana. "I wanted to be
the first." Powers says. By the time he graduated from Purdue,
then regarded as the nation's engineering mecca, someone else had
grabbed that distinction. But Powers felt no less fulfilled. Purdue was
"I believed that each
no cakewalk for anyone, but for black students--who totaled 130
out of 26,000-the sense of isolation made it tougher.
year would be
After a brief stint with Ainoco Oil Co. (which offered all engineers
better than the last.
deferments from the Vietnam War), Powers rejoined his father in
the family business, gradually raking it over and building it to the
in sense, they
point where, in 1988, Powers Construction premiered among the
have been.
B.E. INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE 100.
Even though they were well known and respected in the
community. financial and entrepreneurial success did not translace
into full social acceptance for the Powers family. The most striking
affect change we weren't willing 46 survive
evidence of this came in the mid-'80s. when Mamon. applied for
really felt that if this country could not toletare
membership at a country club where several of the local contractor
me, 1 was not willing to pursue a life wirhin soci
organizations to which he and his father belonged-held regular
ety rules Scott is now asjustice on the
meetings.
Supreme Court of Calbrado
"I called around to my so-called friends to seek sponsorship," he
Back then, the future seemed wide open, vaw
recounts. "One guy said, 'Well, I'm' about to quin,' another said. The
Henry Gaines (Colunda 70). You foltangthing
food's horrible,' another never called back. Then 1 called our banker.
was possible We were crincal, but also very
Mc said, 'No problem, and, by the way, do you know there are no
mustic. We believed change meant improvement
other black members there? If you were white, they would've been
and felt that We were a part of difecting that
after you years ago.' He called back a week later, shaken. He said he
change.
didn't lunow me that well and, therefore, couldn't sponsor me."
Gaines who went on to Harvard Medical
Powers countered by calling the newspapers and threatening DO
School and is now anionternise at Columbia
sue. He also filed 3 complaint with the Indiana Civil Rights
Preshyterian Hospital in New York as well
Commission. Finally. after a lengthy public baule with not one, but
faculty member at Columbia School of
two clubs, he was offered and accepted a membership at the
Medicine took u-leadership role in his alma
Woodmar Country Club. Since 1990. he and his family have been
mater's notorious 1968 uprising: risking FG long
swimming and golfing at the club without incident.
hoped for medical career in the process. Twenty
"As I've gotten older, I've realized the world is just not as fair as I'd
five years later, he says he harbors no regrees,
hoped," Powers sighs. "But the country club incident in particular
believed that what 1 did would not just be
really left a scar. It for me know that racism is still very much alive and
part of the action but partiof the rightaction,
well. On the other hand. in order for 115 TO be effective and productive
that each year would be better than the last
as 1 company, We can't for racism become a part of our thought process.
"In a souse:" he adds, "they have been." the
If we do. it will hamper us. I tell everyone here, WC have to be better
current hallenge for the Class of 70-and for 09
than
all