Melvin B. Miller
Editor & Publisher

Diversity — An economic necessity

Ever since our first publication in 1965, the Bay State Banner has been committed to the promotion of employment opportunities for African Americans. Today’s Banner “Diversity Today Career Explosion” is a manifestation of that policy. The objective is to provide a forum for employers that are committed to diversity to meet with competent, qualified applicants.

Today’s congenial environment is quite different from the attitudes which were prevalent 60 years ago. Jobs were available for blacks, but not at an appropriate skill level. Black college graduates were forced to take jobs as redcaps, Pullman porters or postal clerks. A black graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law School’s class of 1954 even had to work as a hospital orderly for a time when other employment opportunities were closed.

Massachusetts, along with a few other states, established the Fair Employment Practices Commission in 1941. This was the precursor of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, which was created in 1945. Neither organization has been very successful in employment matters because the penalties for noncompliance have been unsubstantial.

Back in 1940, the black population of Boston was only 23,675, accounting for just 3.1 percent of the city’s total. At that time, blacks had generally not worked in professional and executive positions. Consequently, many employers concluded that they did not want to become involved in the social engineering that they believed would result from raising the employment ceiling.

Circumstances began to change in the 1960s after Tom Brown established Jobs Clearing House. A graduate of Brown University, Brown came to Boston as the first black with a major role in the advertising industry. His skills were recognized by Ed Land, the founder of the Polaroid Corporation, and Brown became the special assistant to Polaroid’s CEO.

From this bully pulpit, Brown had access to the top CEOs in the Boston area. He never missed an opportunity to encourage them to improve their minority hiring statistics. Whenever he had a “yes,” Brown and the Banner would prepare an advertisement to encourage readers to apply to Jobs Clearing House for the opening.

Sadly, many blacks were reluctant to apply directly to companies because of a history of being disrespected. But with the intervention of Jobs Clearing House, Tom Brown was able to fill 10,000 jobs over 40 years.

The market dynamics have now changed. Minorities were an insignificant percentage of the total population in 1940, but today the majority of Boston residents are African American, Asian or Latino. With an annual out-migration from Massachusetts of 4.5 percent over the past four years, it is important for employers to be able to recruit the highly educated personnel needed in Greater Boston, regardless of race.

In 1991, only 32.4 percent of the state’s labor force had a bachelor’s degree. That percentage climbed to 42.3 by 2006, with another 22.8 percent having completed some college. The market’s demand for educated workers is creating greater opportunities for African Americans.

Nationally, there has been a change in the nature of the jobs available to blacks. In 1960, only 3.9 percent of blacks were in management, professional and related occupations. As of last month, this percentage had climbed to 26.5 percent.

A major objective of rising in the business and professional ranks is to increase income. African Americans have been doing that. Over the past two decades, black income has grown substantially, from $208.5 billion in 1986 to $723.5 billion in 2006.

The Banner has launched its annual “Diversity Today Career Explosion” in an environment appropriate for the rising level of employment opportunities. However, blacks should also reflect upon the history of the effort that brought them here.

“It’s time for me to start
climbing the ladder.”