Melvin B. Miller
Editor & Publisher

The challenge of excellence

The Nov. 7 election established a high-water mark for black status in America. Over the years, African Americans have steadily moved up the corporate ladder, but have lacked corresponding political clout, particularly since the Republican Party gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994. But that changed three weeks ago.

When the 435 members of the House convene in January, 42 of them will be African Americans. All are Democrats. Four will chair committees, and 17 will head subcommittees. And James Clyburn of South Carolina will become the second black ever to hold the leadership position of majority whip. The first was Rep. William Gray of Pennsylvania, who served in that role from 1989-91.

The 110th Congress will have a majority of 234 Democrats in the House and 49 Democrats with two supporting independents to provide a razor-thin majority in the Senate. That is a shift from the 109th Congress, which had 230 Republicans in the House and 55 Republicans in the Senate. Barack Obama of Illinois will be the only African American in the Senate.

The involvement of African Americans in the political life of the nation has been increasing over the years. In 1970 there were 1,469 black elected officials in the U.S. By 2001, that number had climbed to 9,101. Many more blacks hold high level appointed office in government.

In earlier times, African Americans depended upon the services of black teachers, doctors and lawyers. Many respected academics held positions in historically black colleges and universities.

The dream, however, was always to be free of racial restraints and become part of the big picture. Ralph Bunche provided the first example of what that would be like with his work as one of the organizers of the United Nations in 1945.

It was not until 25 years later that Roxbury’s Clifton Wharton Jr. burst onto the national scene with one stereotype-shattering achievement after another. First he became president of Michigan State University in 1970. Then he became chancellor of the State University of New York from 1978-87. In 1997, he accomplished what most blacks only dreamed about: he became the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, TIAA-CREF, with assets of $250 billion.

Wharton’s trailblazing career has paved the way for African Americans to head other major corporations. According to the Executive Leadership Council, there are now about 400 African American top executives in Fortune 500 companies and more than 100,000 blacks at lower management and administrative levels.

Some of the top African American CEOs are Richard Parsons of Time Warner; Kenneth I. Chenault of American Express; Stan O’Neal of Merrill Lynch; James Bell of Boeing; Ronald Williams of Aetna; and Alwyn Lewis of Kmart.

African Americans are also CEOs of a number of restaurant chains. Clarence Otis is CEO of Darden Restaurants, which owns and operates Red Lobster and Olive Garden. Steve Davis held executive positions with Yum! Brands, parent of Pizza Hut and Long John Silver, before recently becoming CEO of Bob Evans Farms Inc., an Ohio-based restaurant chain and sausage distribution company whose net sales last year topped $1.5 billion. As president of McDonald’s USA, Don Thompson is responsible for the burger giant’s entire American operation, which includes 13,700 restaurants.

Racial discrimination still exists in the United States, but that is old news. The advancement of blacks in politics and business indicates that opportunity is also abundant. With so many African Americans going on to such successful careers, it is no longer appropriate to blame failure on racial abuse.

The secret to success is to think and act like a winner. Observation and curiosity will show the way to victory. Now there is a cadre of African Americans — in both industry and public service — to lend a hand to the brightest and best that are committed to excellence.