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African-American Business Legacy
For Nearly 100 Years, the NAACP Has Inspired Leadership and Achievement.
Since early 1909, the multi-racial National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has been a trailblazer for equality of rights for all Americans, though its far-reaching efforts on issues of economic equality are not widely known. “Our work focuses on eliminating the causes of poverty, because poverty’s symptoms must not be confused with poverty’s causes,” says NAACP National Board Chair Julian Bond. “If we don’t deal with the causes, the symptoms will continue with each new generation.” Here we celebrate some of the diversity and inclusion successes in the workplace that have their genesis in the efforts of the NAACP.
The NAACP’s Legacy of Achieving Economic Equality
The NAACP has a glorious legacy of creative thinking and brave action on all civil
rights issues. From the earliest days, NAACP leaders refused to accept “the way
we do business,” which resulted in blacks
being excluded from gainful employment
and therefore economic well-being.
“I vividly remember from my childhood
many conversations with my uncle about
how fairness in wealth distribution and
employment was central to ending discrimination,”
recalls Roger Wilkins, board chair
of the NAACP magazine, The Crisis;
recently retired professor of history; a
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; and the
nephew of Roy Wilkins, legendary NAACP
Executive Director from 1955 to 1977.
“The analysis remains compelling.”
As early as 1913, the NAACP began
protesting against segregation in federal
government jobs, the military and labor
unions. When President Franklin Roosevelt
established the Fair Employment Practices
Commission (FEPC) in 1941, it was a
result of two decades’ worth of effort.
By the 1950s and 1960s, the NAACP
was deeply into the challenge of creating
economic and employment opportunities
for black workers. “When we began the
Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955,” says
Bond, a 20-year veteran of the Georgia
General Assembly and a distinguished
professor of history at American University
and The University of Virginia, “we didn’t just want rider seats in the front of the bus
— we wanted the driver’s seat, too.”
The work continued in the 20th century
with the Fair Share Program, which
increased jobs and promotions for black
workers; Black Dollar Days, which demonstrated
black purchasing power (today at
$700 billion); and the Economic Reciprocity
Initiative, which annually surveys the expenditures
of more than 50 major corporations
on workforce diversity, corporate philanthropy
and supplier diversity. “As we
educate consumers on the value of their
dollar, they will make more prudent
spending decisions, rewarding businesses
for their best practices and holding them
accountable for those that need improvement,”
explains Bond.
In 2007, the NAACP launched its
Consumer Choice Guide, which highlights
innovative corporate diversity and inclusion
strategies. “The NAACP is both an advocate
and a valuable corporate resource,”
says National Board Vice Chair Roslyn
Brock, who began her work with the
NAACP as an elected youth representative
to the Board and serves as Director of
Advocacy and Public Policy for Bon
Secours Health Systems, Inc. “Through
mutual respect, we will achieve a common
good, benefiting industry and the community
at the same time.”
Just this year, the launch of Gateway to
Leadership, a summer internship program in
partnership with the Money Management
Institute, gave another boost to student
economic literacy by placing African-
American students at Wall Street firms and
concluding the summer experience with a
case study competition.
Marsha Johnson
Senior Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer
Southern Company
The Power of Inclusion
Recruitment and Pipeline Development
“As we educate consumers on the value of their dollar,
they will make more prudent spending decisions.”
- Julian Bond, National Board Chair, NAACP
“Without sincere outreach efforts and adoption of best practices
that cut across racial lines in the new global environment,
corporations will never be as profitable as they may hope.”
- Dennis C. Hayes, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, NAACP
Gwendolyn Smith Iloani, founder and
chair of Smith Whiley & Co., a private equity
investment firm, and a board member of
the NAACP Special Contributions Fund
and The Crisis magazine, began attending NAACP meetings as a child with her
parents, and she is clear about the reason
for her success: “I would not be where I am
today without the work of the NAACP,
and my company would not have been
successful without its economic and
employment agenda and its advocacy on
access to risk-based capital.”
Corporate Philanthropy
NAACP leaders have always known that
quality education is the foundation for a
stable and rewarding life. Explains Brock,
“We have to make sure those who come
through the corporate doors are properly
trained and ready to take on assignments
that lead to advancement.”
This means reaching students long before
they are of working age so they are aware of
and prepared for the opportunities. ACTSO
and “Back to School, Stay in School”
are two competitive scholarship programs
for black youth that have made the dream
of education a reality for 29 years and 20
years, respectively. Scholarships for graduate
and undergraduate students keep the dream
alive for hundreds more every year.
Many corporate foundations and giving
programs have followed the lead of the
NAACP by financing self-help programs in
minority communities around the country.
These programs have encouraged minority
youths to begin learning financial and business
skills starting in elementary school and
continuing through scholarships and
internships for graduate students.
“We have to make sure those who come through the corporate doors are properly
trained and ready to take on assignments that lead to advancement.”
- Roslyn Brock, National Board Vice Chair, NAACP
