Buffalo | The HistoryMakers

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Joyce Moorehead

Lawyer Joyce Moorehead was born on May 29, 1946 in Buffalo, New York to Rita Faragher and Ernest Hanks. She was raised in Crescent City, Florida. In 1967, she graduated from Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida with her B.S. degree in sociology with a concentration in criminology. Moorehead then graduated from the University of Arkansas with her J.D. degree in 1976.

Moorehead served as assistant city prosecutor in Fayetteville, Arkansas for a year, before returning to Miami, Florida to serve as assistant director of a public interest law firm. In 1978, she was elected to the Miami-Dade County School Board, which she served on until 1982. Moorehead was subsequently hired by the Legal Services of Greater Miami as a senior attorney. In 1984, she moved to Baltimore, Maryland upon accepting a position as general counsel for Chicken George, Inc. She was then made associate general counsel for the NAACP, where she assisted in the development of civil rights litigation and handled cases in the federal system concerning employment and labor issues, as well as voting rights and education. Moorehead was also the primary liaison to multiple attorneys affiliated with various NAACP regions and several attorneys outside the organization. Starting in 1991, she worked as a senior associate at Hollis & Associates in Baltimore, specializing in employment and family cases. Moorehead left the firm in 1993 and started her own private practice focusing on employment, family, and labor issues. In 2004, she and her husband, Thomas Moorehead, established the Joyce and Thomas Moorehead Foundation to assist working families and provide college scholarships for graduating high school seniors. She also became co-owner of Sterling Motorcars with her husband in Sterling, Virginia. Thomas Moorehead was the first African American awarded a full franchise of Rolls Royce, McLaren, and Lamborghini brands.

Moorehead has served on the boards of the Maryland Legal Services Corporation, the Family League of Baltimore, the Sexual Assault Recovery Center, Bethune-Cookman University, the Urban League of Greater Miami, WPBT-TV of South Florida, the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida, and the Library of Congress. She has also been a member of the Maryland and Florida Bars, the Monumental City Bar Association, the Baltimore City Bar Association, the Maryland Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, the Citizens Planning and Housing Authority of Baltimore, of which she was also chairman, and the Alliance of Black Women Attorneys, where she was a former president as well.

Moorehead resides in Virginia with her husband.

Joyce Moorehead was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on September 23, 2019.

Accession Number

A2019.103

Sex

Female

Interview Date

9/23/2019

Last Name

Moorehead

Maker Category

LawMakers

Marital Status

Married

Middle Name

Anne

Occupation

Lawyer

Organizations

The Joyce & Thomas Moorehead Foundation

Library of Congress Board

Arena Stage

Miami-Dade County School Board

Maryland Legal Services Corporation

Family League of Baltimore

Monumental City Bar Association

Baltimore City Bar Association

Alliance of Black Women Attorneys

Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure

Citizens Planning and Housing Authority of Baltimore

Sexual Assault Recovery Center

Maryland Bar

Florida Bar

Bethune-Cookman University

Urban League of Greater Miami

WPBT-TV

Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida

Schools

Bethune-Cookman University

University of Arkansas Law School

First Name

Joyce

Birth City, State, Country

Buffalo

HM ID

MOO21

Favorite Season

Spring

State

New York

Favorite Vacation Destination

Morocco, Florence,Martha's Vineyard, and Pasadena, MD

Favorite Quote

This Too Shall Pass

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

District of Columbia

Birth Date

5/29/1946

Birth Place Term

Buffalo

Speakers Bureau Region City

Washington

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Pizza

Short Description

Lawyer Joyce Moorehead (1946 - ) was a senior attorney at Legal Services of Greater Miami, and served as general counsel for Chicken George Chicken, Inc. and the NAACP before opening her private law practice and becoming co-owner of BMW of Sterling and MINI of Sterling in Virginia with her husband.

Employment

City of Fayetteville

Legal Services of Greater Miami

Chicken George, Inc.

NAACP

Hollis & Associates

Sterling Motorcars

Favorite Color

Red

Read more about Joyce Moorehead

Judith N. Batty

Lawyer Judith N. Batty was born on January 4, 1959 in Buffalo, New York to Constance Wheat Batty and Beauford Batty. Batty graduated one year early in 1975 from Friends Academy High School in Glen Cove, New York. Batty received her B.A. degree in political science from New York University in 1978, and was admitted to New York University School of Law. During the summer of her second year, she interned at the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division.

After obtaining her law degree in 1981, Batty became a staff attorney in the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. In 1985, she joined the law firm of Galland, Kharasch, Morse & Garfinkle, P.C. as an associate. In 1987, Batty became the senior counsel for Mobil Oil Corporation. She moved to Dallas, Texas in 1990 to work with Mobil New Exploration Ventures before joining the London offices of Mobil North Sea Limited in 1994. Upon her return to the United States in 1996, Batty began working in Mobil’s major transactions department. In 2006, Batty moved to Tokyo, Japan, where she worked as general counsel with ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha. After her relocation to Washington, D.C. in 2009, Batty specialized in government and public affairs at ExxonMobil Corporation until her retirement as senior counsel in 2014. Over her career, Batty worked on various policy issues, including patent reform, trade sanctions, and STEM education.

Batty served as president of ExxonMobil’s Black Employee Success Team (BEST), and was a member of the Xi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. in Washington, D.C. In the early 2000s, Batty joined the board of trustees of the Levine School of Music and the Legal Aid Society of Washington, D.C. In 2010, Batty became an executive board member of Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, before beginning her tenure as chair of the board of trustees in 2016. Starting in 2014, Batty served as international commissioner of the Girl Scouts of the USA’s board of directors. Batty also served as chair of grants on the national board of The Links, Incorporated.

Judith Batty was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 25, 2018.

Accession Number

A2018.175

Sex

Female

Interview Date

8/25/2018

Last Name

Batty

Maker Category

LawMakers

Middle Name

Occupation

Corporate General Counsel

Organizations

First Name

Judith

Birth City, State, Country

Buffalo

HM ID

BAT11

Favorite Season

Spring, Fall

State

New York

Favorite Vacation Destination

Bali

Favorite Quote

What Goes Around Comes Around.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

District of Columbia

Birth Date

1/4/1959

Birth Place Term

Buffalo

Speakers Bureau Region City

Washington

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Rice

Short Description

Corporate general counsel Judith N. Batty (1959 - )

Favorite Color

Blue

Read more about Judith N. Batty

George K. Arthur

Civic leader and municipal official George K. Arthur was born on June 29, 1933 in Buffalo, New York to Jayne Arthur and William Arthur. Arthur attended School 32 and graduated from Seneca Vocational High School in 1951. After serving in the U.S. Army’s Signal Corps from 1953 to 1955, Arthur took night classes at the University of Buffalo’s Millard Fillmore School. He later earned his B.A. degree in political science at Empire State College in 1977.

Arthur worked briefly at Bethlehem Steel and as a photo technician at PhotoTech Studios in Buffalo. In 1964, Arthur won a seat on the Erie County Board of Supervisors, serving until 1967. From 1970 to 1976, he worked as a narcotics counselor for the New York State Office of Drug Abuse. He also served on the Buffalo Common Council as a representative of the Ellicott District from 1970 to 1977. With the support of the Buffalo branch of the NAACP and the Citizens’ Council for Human Relations, Arthur was one of the plaintiffs to file a school desegregation lawsuit against the City of Buffalo in 1972. In 1976, the courts ruled their favor. Arthur was elected in 1978 to serve as councilman-at-large on the Buffalo Common Council. He served as president of the Buffalo Common Council from 1984 to 1996. In 2002, Arthur was selected to serve as chair of the Citizens’ Advisory Commission on Reapportionment. He also served as chair of the Erie Council Charter Revision Commission and secretary of the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority. In 2008, Arthur served as a Barack Obama delegate to the Electoral College.

Arthur served as president and treasurer of the Michigan Street Preservation Corporation, and oversaw the preservation of Reverend J. Edward Nash’s home in Buffalo. In 2007, Arthur was honored with the Red Jacket Award from the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society. He was also a recipient of the NAACP Medgar Evers Award and the citizen of the month award from the Erie County Legislature. In 2017, Arthurs’ likeness was included on The Freedom Wall in Buffalo.

Arthur and his wife, Frances Bivens Arthur, have three children: Hugh, Janice, and George Jr.

George K. Arthur was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 21, 2018.

Accession Number

A2018.079

Sex

Male

Interview Date

4/21/2018

Last Name

Arthur

Maker Category

PoliticalMakers

Marital Status

Married

Middle Name

Occupation

City Council Member

Organizations

St. Johns Lodge #16

Michigan Street Preservation

Schools

PS 32 Bennett Park Montessori

Seneca Vocational High School

State University of New York / Empire State College

First Name

George

Birth City, State, Country

Buffalo

HM ID

ART02

Favorite Season

Fall

State

New York

Favorite Vacation Destination

None

Favorite Quote

How Sweet It Is.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

New York

Birth Date

6/29/1933

Birth Place Term

Buffalo

Speakers Bureau Region City

Buffalo

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Barbecue Ribs

Short Description

Civic leader and municipal official George K. Arthur (1933 - ) served on the Buffalo Common Council for over twenty years, acting as president from 1984 to 1996.

Employment

City of Buffalo

State of New York

County of Erie

Favorite Color

Brown

Read more about George K. Arthur

Robert T. Coles

Architect Robert T. Coles was born on August 24, 1929 in Buffalo, New York to George Edwards and Helena Vesta Traynham Coles. After graduating from Buffalo Technical High School, Coles enrolled at the Hampton Institute. He transferred to the University of Minnesota in 1949, where he co-founded the university’s NAACP chapter. Coles received his B.A. degree in 1951, and his B.Arch. degree in 1953; and went on to earn his M.Arch. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1955.

In 1955, Coles studied in Europe, having received the Rotch Traveling Scholarship from the Boston Society of Architects. Upon returning to the United States in 1956, Coles was hired at the Boston architectural firm of Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean in Boston, Massachusetts. One year later, Coles joined the Boston firm of Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and Abbott. After spending the next several years at Carl Koch and Associates and working as an architect and custom design manager for Techbuilt, Inc., Coles returned to Buffalo to design the John F. Kennedy Recreation Center. In 1963, he founded his own architectural firm, Robert Traynham Coles, Architect, P.C.; and the following year, he founded the East Side Community Organization. Coles designed the Joseph J. Kelly Gardens Housing for the Elderly in Buffalo in 1967, and the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Complex at the University of Buffalo's Amherst Campus in 1968. In 1972, Coles completed the Urban Park Housing Development in Rochester and founded the Community Planning Assistance Center of Western New York. Coles also served as the American Institute of Architects’ deputy vice president for minority affairs. In 1981, he became a fellow at the American Institute of Architects. Coles designed the Providence, Rhode Island Railroad Station in 1984, and the Frank Reeves Center for Municipal Affairs in Washington, D.C. in 1986. Coles also taught as a professor of architecture at the University of Kansas, and later worked as an associate professor of architecture at Carnegie Mellon University. In 1994, he became the first African American chancellor of the American Institute of Architect’s College of Fellows; and in 2006, Coles designed Buffalo’s Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Branch Library. Coles published his memoir Architecture and Advocacy in 2016.

Coles received an honorary doctorate of letters degree from Medaille College in 1977; and in 1981, he was awarded the Whitney M. Young Jr. Citation from the American Institute of Architects. Coles also received the James Williams Kideney Award from the New York State Association of Architects in 2004; the Robert and Louise Bethune Award in 2009 from the Buffalo/Western New York Chapter, AIA; the Fellows Award from the 2011 Honors Awards Jury, New York State AIA; and in 2016 the Diversity Award from the Buffalo/Western New York Chapter, AIA. In 2011, his home in Buffalo, which he designed, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Coles and his wife, Sylvia Meyn Coles, have a son, Darcy, and a daughter, Marion.

Robert T. Coles was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 22, 2018.

Accession Number

A2018.077

Sex

Male

Interview Date

4/22/2018

Last Name

Coles

Maker Category

BusinessMakers

Middle Name

Occupation

Architect

Organizations

Schools

Follow Through Magnet School

Hutchinson Central Technical High School

Hampton University

University of Minnesota

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

First Name

Robert

Birth City, State, Country

Buffalo

HM ID

COL36

Favorite Season

Spring

State

New York

Favorite Vacation Destination

Virgin Islands

Favorite Quote

I See.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

New York

Birth Date

8/24/1929

Birth Place Term

Buffalo

Speakers Bureau Region City

Buffalo

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Salmon

Short Description

Architect Robert T. Coles (1929 - ) founded Robert Traynham Coles, Architect, P.C. in 1963. He also co-founded the National Organization of Minority Architects, and taught at the University of Kansas and at Carnegie Mellon University.

Favorite Color

Brown

Read more about Robert T. Coles

Clayborne Carson

African American history professor Clayborne Carson was born on June 15, 1944 in Buffalo, New York to parents Clayborne Carson and Louise (Lee) Carson. He grew up near Los Alamos, New Mexico. Carson attended the University of California, Los Angeles where he studied history and graduated with his B.A. degree in 1967, his M.A. degree in 1971, and his Ph.D. degree in 1975.

Prior to academia, Carson worked as a laboratory assistant at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, an editor for Audience Studies, Inc., a staff writer for the Los Angeles Free Press, and a computer programmer in the Survey Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. He joined the faculty of the history department at UCLA as an acting assistant professor in 1971, before being hired as assistant professor at Stanford University in 1974. Caron was promoted to associate professor at Stanford University in 1981. In 1985, Coretta Scott King requested that Carson became senior editor of an ongoing multi-volume project, The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.. Carson was promoted to professor of American history in 1991, and became founding director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute in 2005. Carson’s academic appointments outside Stanford University include teaching and lecturing in Great Britain, France, China, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania; as well as visiting professorships at the American University, the University of California at Berkeley, and Emory University.

Carson contributions include works of fiction and non-fiction, documentaries, and other creative productions. His most notable scholarship includes, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1998) and In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960’s (1981). He served as senior advisor for the Public Broadcasting System’s (PBS) fourteen-part documentary series “Eyes on the Prize”; and as historical advisor for the motion pictures “Freedom on My Mind” (1995), “Chicano!” (1996), and “Blacks and Jews” (1997). Carson, along with Roma Design Group, created the winning proposal in an international competition to design a national memorial for King in Washington, D.C.; and he authored “Passages of Martin Luther King” (1993), a docudrama.

As a member of professional organizations, Carson has been considerably active throughout his career. Those affiliations include: the American Historical Association (AHA), the Organization of American Historians (OAH), the Social Science History Association (SSHA), the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASAALH), and the Southern Historical Association. In 1995, Carson received the OAH Frederick Jackson Turner Award for, In Struggle: . In addition, he served as an Andrew Mellon Fellow at Stanford University, the Center for the Study of Civil Rights and Race Relations at Duke University, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

Carson lives with his wife, Susan Ann Carson, who until her retirement was the managing editor of the King Papers Project, in Palo Alto, California. They have two children: Malcolm Carson, an attorney; and Temera Carson, a social worker.

Clayborne Carson was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on November 7, 2013.

Accession Number

A2013.257

Sex

Male

Interview Date

11/7/2013 |and| 12/12/2015

Last Name

Carson

Maker Category

EducationMakers

Marital Status

Married

Occupation

African American History Professor

Organizations

American Historical Association

Association for Documentary Editing

Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)

Organization of American Historians

Society of American Historians

Southern Historical Association

Writers Guild of America

Schools

University of California, Los Angeles

First Name

Clayborne

Birth City, State, Country

Buffalo

HM ID

CAR27

Favorite Season

Spring, Summer

State

New York

Favorite Vacation Destination

Hawaii

Favorite Quote

None

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

California

Birth Date

6/15/1944

Birth Place Term

Buffalo

Speakers Bureau Region City

Bay Area/Stanford

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Salmon

Short Description

African american history professor Clayborne Carson (1944 - ) served as professor of American history at Stanford University, senior editor of The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., and as founding director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.

Employment

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Audience Studies, Inc.

Los Angeles Free Press

University of California, Los Angeles Survey Research Center

University of California, Los Angeles

Stanford University

University of California, Berkeley

American University

Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences

Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project, Stanford University

Emory University

L'Ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales

Morehouse College

Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, Stanford University

Favorite Color

Blue

Read more about Clayborne Carson

The Honorable Jolette Westbrook

Attorney Jolette Westbrook was born in 1956 in Buffalo, New York; her parents operated a news agency. Westbrook attended Public School #93, Public School #74, and West Hertle Middle School. At St. Joseph’s High School, Westbrook’s role model was Reverend Joseph Moore; she graduated in 1974 and entered Russell Sage College. There, Westbrook was elected student government president, played in the state volleyball championship, and traveled to England. Graduating with her B.S. degree in criminal science in 1978, Westbrook entered Northeastern University Law School’s Cooperative Program and worked as an intern with Greater Boston Legal Services; she earned her J.D. degree in 1981.

Westbrook served as clerk for the Honorable Charles Grabau, associate justice of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1981. In 1982, Westbrook joined the Supreme Judicial Court Bar in Massachusetts and began working for the National Institute for Paralegal Studies as an instructor in the areas of legal research and writing, corporations, and family law. Westbrook joined the firm of Dawkins and Quarles in 1983, where she worked in the area of juvenile law. Westbrook became managing attorney, supervising the appellate work and case loads of attorneys and paralegals for the Southeastern Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (SMLAC). Later, Westbrook joined the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Consumer Affairs as Director of the State’s Lemon Law Arbitration Program. After 1991, Westbrook worked with the Department of Public Utilities and became the Director of the Energy Facilities Siting Division of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In April of 2009, Westbrook was appointed Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities by Governor Deval Patrick.

Westbrook was admitted to the United States Supreme Court bar membership in 1996. In 2005, she was appointed a member of the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Committee. The recipient of numerous awards, Westbrook was an avid tennis player, and coach of youth basketball and soccer.

Accession Number

A2007.065

Sex

Female

Interview Date

2/13/2007

Last Name

Westbrook

Maker Category

LawMakers

PoliticalMakers

Occupation

Lawyer

State Government Official

Organizations

Judicial Nominating Commission

Schools

St. Joseph’s High School

P.S. 74

West Hertle Middle School

Russell Sage College

Northeastern University School of Law

First Name

Jolette

Birth City, State, Country

Buffalo

HM ID

WES04

Favorite Season

Thanksgiving

State

New York

THM DA Link

http://marc.thehistorymakers.org/thmdigital/A2007.065.htm

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/421444

Favorite Vacation Destination

None

Favorite Quote

Nothing Works Unless You Do.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

Massachusetts

Birth Date

12/10/1956

Birth Place Term

Buffalo

Speakers Bureau Region City

Plymouth

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Salmon (Wild)

Short Description

Lawyer and state government official The Honorable Jolette Westbrook (1956 - ) served as a director, and later a commissioner, of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities. In addition to her work in public office, Westbrook had a long and successful career as an attorney, which also included working as an instructor for the National Institute for Paralegal Studies.

Employment

Clerkship with the Honorable Charles Grabau

Dawkins and Quarles

Division of Employment Security

Southeastern Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation

Department of Telecommunications and Energy

Favorite Color

Yellow

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/421450

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of The Honorable Jolette Westbrook's interview

Tape: 1 Story: 2 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook lists her favorites

Tape: 1 Story: 3 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her mother's family background

Tape: 1 Story: 4 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook shares a stories from her mother's childhood in Tennessee

Tape: 1 Story: 5 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her father's family background

Tape: 1 Story: 6 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her parents' education

Tape: 1 Story: 7 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her father's personality

Tape: 1 Story: 8 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls how her parents valued education

Tape: 1 Story: 9 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her earliest childhood memory

Tape: 1 Story: 10 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes the sights and smells of her childhood

Tape: 1 Story: 11 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls her childhood hobbies

Tape: 1 Story: 12 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook remembers family outings

Tape: 2 Story: 1 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her early education

Tape: 2 Story: 2 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls her early personality

Tape: 2 Story: 3 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook remembers P.S. 74, Hamlin Park School in Buffalo, New York

Tape: 2 Story: 4 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls P.S. 94, West Hertel Academy in Buffalo, New York

Tape: 2 Story: 5 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tape: 2 Story: 6 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls her neighborhood in Buffalo, New York

Tape: 2 Story: 7 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook remembers Mount St. Joseph's Academy in Buffalo, New York

Tape: 2 Story: 8 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls her activities in high school

Tape: 2 Story: 9 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook remembers her senior class trip to Brazil

Tape: 2 Story: 10 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls the influence of Reverend Joseph Moore

Tape: 2 Story: 11 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her early interest in theater

Tape: 3 Story: 1 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls her admission to Russell Sage College

Tape: 3 Story: 2 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook remembers organizing a sit-in

Tape: 3 Story: 3 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes the advantages of women's colleges

Tape: 3 Story: 4 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her extracurricular activities at Russell Sage College

Tape: 3 Story: 5 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls her decision to study criminal science

Tape: 3 Story: 6 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her decision to attend law school

Tape: 3 Story: 7 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook remembers Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts

Tape: 3 Story: 8 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls her challenges at Northeastern University School of Law

Tape: 3 Story: 9 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls working in legal services in Midland, Michigan

Tape: 4 Story: 1 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls the law firm of Dawkins and Quarles

Tape: 4 Story: 2 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook remembers litigating a child abuse case

Tape: 4 Story: 3 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook remembers representing a solicitation case

Tape: 4 Story: 4 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook talks about the juvenile court system, pt. 1

Tape: 4 Story: 5 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook talks about the juvenile court system, pt. 2

Tape: 4 Story: 6 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook recalls leaving Dawkins and Quarles

Tape: 4 Story: 7 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes the Southeastern Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation

Tape: 4 Story: 8 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her role at the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy

Tape: 4 Story: 9 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes the petitions to the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board

Tape: 4 Story: 10 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook talks about environmental impact issues

Tape: 5 Story: 1 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook talks about alternative energy sources

Tape: 5 Story: 2 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her hopes for the future

Tape: 5 Story: 3 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her organizational involvement

Tape: 5 Story: 4 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her parenting philosophy

Tape: 5 Story: 5 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes her hopes and concerns for the African American community

Tape: 5 Story: 6 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook reflects upon her life

Tape: 5 Story: 7 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook reflects upon her legacy

Tape: 5 Story: 8 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook talks about her family

Tape: 5 Story: 9 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook remembers her experiences in Malawi, pt. 1

Tape: 5 Story: 10 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook remembers her experiences in Malawi, pt. 2

Tape: 5 Story: 11 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook describes how she would like to be remembered

Tape: 6 Story: 1 - The Honorable Jolette Westbrook narrates her photographs

DASession

1$1

DATape

3$4

DAStory

7$4

DATitle

The Honorable Jolette Westbrook remembers Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts

The Honorable Jolette Westbrook talks about the juvenile court system, pt. 1

Transcript

So I decided on law school, and I chose Northeastern [Northeastern University School of Law] in Boston [Massachusetts] primarily because of their co-op program. And what I mean by that is, after going to school from September, I think we had to go through August. Then we could take three months and work in the field, so the class was split in two. Half would do internships, and half would stay in school. And we did that for the remainder of law school. So it was about a year and a half of in school for three months, doing internships for three months. And that helped me get a feel for the type of law that I wanted to practice. And so that was, that was a good fit for me. I did my--some of my co-ops I, I worked at the parole board in New York State. And the one that really, I think, shaped my early career was with legal services. I worked with Greater Boston Legal Services [Boston, Massachusetts] during my internships. And there are courtrooms in the state, at least back then--I don't know if they're still applicable--whereby if you had taken certain courses, you could go into court and work on certain types of cases, as long as there was a supervising attorney. And so I, I worked on divorce cases. I think that's primarily what I did. And I liked being in the courtroom. But more than that, it was talking with the people I was going to help. And sometimes the stories would be very sad. And even back then it was hard for me to sort of separate my work from my life, to say, listen to maybe what turns out to be horror stories during the day. And then at five o'clock pick up a briefcase and say, oh, well, I can now go to my happy life. That's not the way it worked for me, because there are people who are hurting, people who needed help. And I, I think I remarked earlier in our conversation that I, I knew I wanted to save the world, and I really started off thinking that I could save the world. And the more cases I did in law school and out of law school, the more I realized that I couldn't save the world and that I needed to narrow my sights. And if I could really touch the life of one person, then I was, I've, I've done a good thing. And so that's how my focus of life changed from law school to now. It's, it's like, as much as I would like to save the world, I, I sort of have to pick at it by helping one person. Then maybe I can help two, then three, and I can move. I guess I no longer have the illusion that I can save the world, but I, I do believe that I have helped, and, and that does make me feel good.$One day, maybe about six or seven years ago, I was walking in downtown Boston [Massachusetts]. And a woman came up to me with tears in her eyes, and she said, "Do you remember me?" And I, I said something like, "I'm, I'm sorry; your face looks familiar, but I, I can't place you." And she said, "You represented my daughter in juvenile court," and she said, "I just want to thank you." She said, "You provided such a good role model for her that she turned her life around. She graduated from college." And I came back to my office; I closed the door, and I cried. That's the one--it came back to me. I helped at least one person. It, I mean it, it, it may not be a big thing to anyone else, but for me, I was able to take someone by the hand and help them, just like my father [Quinton Westbrook] and mother [Mary Lue Loveless Westbrook] took me by the hand and helped me. And I just wish that, for every young person out there, that there was someone to take them by the hand and help them. I just, this, it's just not enough that's being done in my opinion by those people who have achieved some success in life. And, and that's the thing. In my opinion, you don't have to have a lot of money. You don't have to have a prestigious career. You, you just have to have compassion and know that it's tough out here for the kids. When, when I represented kids in criminal court, what I heard time and time again was, okay, I'm gonna go out; I'm going to get--I'm going to take what I want because if I don't take it, there's no guarantee that in the future, number one, I'm going to be alive to get it.

Read more about The Honorable Jolette Westbrook

Florence M. Rice

Florence M. Rice was born on March 22, 1919, in Buffalo, New York. She is the founder of the Harlem Consumer Education Council. During her childhood, Rice spent several years in the Colored Orphan Asylum and in several foster homes in New York. Upon completion of the eighth grade, Rice left school for work as a domestic seamstress where she became a member of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Rice spoke out against the discriminatory practices against African American and Latino workers. She participated in Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.’s 1962 congressional hearing, which probed dressmaker union’s policies, and after testifying, she was blacklisted.

In the 1960s, Rice founded the Harlem Consumer Education Council, waging a war against corporations who discriminated against African Americans and other minorities. The Council organized many successful New York City boycotts and picket lines against grocery stories, furniture stores, and individuals found to be overcharging minorities. Rice’s biggest victory was against the New York State Public Service Commission, forcing New York Telephone to stop charging low income residents pre-installation fees. The Harlem Consumer Education Council investigated over 100,000 complaints.

Appointed Special Consultant to the Consumer Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board in the 1970s, Rice also taught consumer education at Malcolm-King College and has lectured to thousands at her workshops and seminars. In the 1990s, Rice was responsible for the Bell Atlantic Technology Center in Harlem. The center is dedicated to educating business people, students, senior citizens and other customers about the latest advances in telecommunication technologies. She has lectured in several countries, including South Africa where she was named a delegate in the first World Consumer Congress. Rice continues to work in consumer affairs in New York City where she lives.

Accession Number

A2006.169

Sex

Female

Interview Date

6/29/2006 |and| 12/14/2006

Last Name

Rice

Maker Category

CivicMakers

EducationMakers

Middle Name

Occupation

Consumer Activist

Consumer Educator

Organizations

International Ladies\' Garment Workers Union

Harlem Consumer Education Council

Schools

P.S. 040 Samuel Huntington

Oakside School

First Name

Florence

Birth City, State, Country

Buffalo

HM ID

RIC12

Favorite Season

Winter

State

New York

THM DA Link

http://marc.thehistorymakers.org/thmdigital/A2006.169.htm

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/352123

Favorite Vacation Destination

Anywhere

Favorite Quote

Keep The Faith.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

New York

Birth Date

3/22/1919

Birth Place Term

Buffalo

Speakers Bureau Region City

New York

Country

USA

Favorite Food

None

Short Description

Consumer activist and consumer educator Florence M. Rice (1919 - ) founded the Harlem Consumer Education Council, fighting discriminatory practices by businesses and corporations with protests and boycotts. In the 1990s, Rice was responsible for the Bell Atlantic Technology Center in Harlem.

Employment

Malcolm-King College

Favorite Color

Blue, Red, White

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/351654

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Florence M. Rice's interview, session 1

Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Florence M. Rice lists her favorites

Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Florence M. Rice talks about her parents

Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Florence M. Rice recalls her time in foster care

Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Florence M. Rice recalls P.S. 040 Samuel Huntington in New York City

Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Florence M. Rice recalls Rush Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Florence M. Rice recalls the schools she attended

Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Florence M. Rice remembers her rebellious teenage years

Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Florence M. Rice remembers running away to New York City

Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Florence M. Rice remembers working in New York City as a teenage mother

Tape: 1 Story: 11 - Florence M. Rice recalls placing her daughter in foster care during World War II

Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Florence M. Rice recalls regaining custody of her daughter

Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Florence M. Rice recalls famous African Americans in Harlem, New York

Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Florence M. Rice recalls racial discrimination at New York City department stores

Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Florence M. Rice talks about her political role models

Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Florence M. Rice recalls joining the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union

Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Florence M. Rice recalls her abusive ex-husband

Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Florence M. Rice describes her ex-husband

Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Florence M. Rice recalls speaking at Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.'s 1962 congressional hearing

Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Florence M. Rice remembers looking for a job after the congressional hearing

Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Florence M. Rice describes the value of political connections

Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Florence M. Rice recalls the creation of the Bell Atlantic Technology Center

Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Florence M. Rice recalls challenging New York Telephone Company's discriminatory practices

Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Florence M. Rice talks about the Harlem Consumer Education Council

Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Florence M. Rice cautions about speaking against economic racism

Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Florence M. Rice recalls the greatest difficulty in community education

Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Florence M. Rice describes the importance of consumer education

Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Florence M. Rice talks about Roger Toussaint and expectations for black men

Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Florence M. Rice describes influential members of the Harlem community

Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Florence M. Rice describes her hopes and concerns for the African American community in Harlem, New York

Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Florence M. Rice talks about her fight against direct deposit policies

Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Florence M. Rice reflects upon her legacy and how she would like to be remembered

Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Florence M. Rice talks about her mentor, Lugenia Gordon

Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Florence M. Rice talks about the Original Gullah Festival

Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Florence M. Rice describes her advocacy for tenants of her apartment building

Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Florence M. Rice describes changes in the American education system

Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Florence M. Rice reflects upon her most meaningful awards

Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Slating of Florence M. Rice's interview, session 2

Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Florence M. Rice recalls her testimony against the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union

Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Florence M. Rice explains how she first became involved in activism

Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Florence M. Rice shares some tips from her book, 'Shopping'

Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Florence M. Rice explains her desire to teach consumer education

Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Florence M. Rice shares tips for educated consumption

Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Florence M. Rice describes her hopes and concerns for the education system

Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Florence M. Rice recalls volunteering to teach at Malcolm-King College

Tape: 5 Story: 9 - Florence M. Rice describes the changes in the American labor market

Tape: 5 Story: 10 - Florence M. Rice talks about racial discrimination in consumer education

Tape: 5 Story: 11 - Florence M. Rice describes other trailblazers in consumer education

Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Florence M. Rice recalls studying at the Henry George School of Social Science

Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Florence M. Rice recalls conducting consumer education conferences

Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Florence M. Rice remembers running on a ticket with Harvey McArthur

Tape: 6 Story: 4 - Florence M. Rice remembers trying to establish a technology center in Harlem

Tape: 6 Story: 5 - Florence M. Rice talks about her radio show on WLIB Radio in New York City

Tape: 6 Story: 6 - Florence M. Rice talks about Dorothy Garrett and her aspirations

Tape: 6 Story: 7 - Florence M. Rice describes the results of her battle with her landlord

Tape: 6 Story: 8 - Florence M. Rice talks about her radio and cable shows

Tape: 6 Story: 9 - Florence M. Rice talks about consumer reports and consumer agencies

Tape: 6 Story: 10 - Florence M. Rice describes the dismantlement of federal consumer protections

Tape: 6 Story: 11 - Florence M. Rice talks about her nephew's business

Tape: 6 Story: 12 - Florence M. Rice describes her concerns about direct deposits and police brutality

Tape: 6 Story: 13 - Florence M. Rice talks about her daughter

Tape: 7 Story: 1 - Florence M. Rice recalls writing a resolution for Son-in-Law Day

Tape: 7 Story: 2 - Florence M. Rice describes her plans and concerns for the future

Tape: 7 Story: 3 - Florence M. Rice talks about gentrification in Harlem

Tape: 7 Story: 4 - Florence M. Rice describes her hopes and concerns for the African American community

Tape: 7 Story: 5 - Florence M. Rice talks about consumer rights groups

Tape: 7 Story: 6 - Florence M. Rice offers advice about the value of kindness

Tape: 7 Story: 7 - Florence M. Rice describes how she would like to be remembered

Tape: 7 Story: 8 - Florence M. Rice talks about the Harlem Consumer Education Council

Tape: 7 Story: 9 - Florence M. Rice narrates her photographs

DASession

1$1

DATape

2$3

DAStory

9$1

DATitle

Florence M. Rice remembers looking for a job after the congressional hearing

Florence M. Rice describes the value of political connections

Transcript

And I just stood for what I believed and I just never, and then to, to punish me I never worked another day in a union shop, you know. And I always like to say I think unions, you know, I, I, that union treated me bad but see I say that the unions have never been for black people, you know, they were, they, you became a member but you never received the benefits like the, the whites and I guess that's, I always showed, you know, showed that. And as a result I did work in a couple of union shops until, I think then what you had, you had your poverty problem program come along and then there were things that I had, I began to, you know, move into that direction.$$So talk to me about moving from, you, you said you were blackballed so you couldn't get any work?$$Couldn't get no garment work (simultaneous).$$(Simultaneous) Union, no garment work.$$Um-um.$$And what was the poverty program that you spoke about?$$Now, when I say the poverty well, at that time, oh, well, see what happened from the, from the union there was a District 65, and he had a, I can't, and that's terrible 'cause I'd like to give honors to him and he just, he, we were talking and so he told me that he could get me work and he got me work in, where are we, here. At met, right across the street in Mentor Bentley [ph.]. And, and I got a job at Mentor Bentley in the credit house. And that's when I began to see how we were being charged high- you know, higher prices. And Mornat [ph.], and I had an Irish guy who taught me about, Mornat told me about credit 'cause the main idea was to keep people buying and buying which that's the, the, the, I call it the economy and that's the capitalistic system. And that they had the door to door salesmen that was the dollar down, dollar, dollar down, dollar a month, what is it, dollar down, and the dollar a week. I, I might not have that right but anyway you paid a dollar down, you paid for it for the rest of your life. And I was able to, to begin to educate and tell people, you know, how they were being overpriced and like that, so.$I think one of the things that had helped me out was attending hearings and that's where you meet all the, the big boys, the CEOs because they come to the hearings. And I, I've met, well, generally in the utilities they all know me, well they know my name, you know. And--$$How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as an activist for the poor? Do you see yourself--$$I like to, I'm always concerned with them, I'm not concerned with the well-to-do, I'm concerned with the people who don't know, I want the people like I never knew, you know. And I found that people were not always willing to share, and especially the African Americans. They're, we, we had sort of blocked oursel- selves, that they had their sororities and their membership and, and it appeared to me they, they never reached back, you know. And what I always like to tell people, the doors were never opened to me by my people, they were always opened by, by the other, the whites. And they, I, I find that generally when they meet people like myself and, you know, you, they hear your ideas and your thoughts, they work with it. And on, on account of that and I've had a great life. I've been able to travel. And I've been able to go places that most people, and associate with people because I always like to say there's not--I will--it's spent, when I say spent time in Washington [D.C.] but I'd be in Washington practically all the time and you, you met all the, all the people, you know, the, the people that you need to know (laughter) which is, is good when you, when you, and especially when we were certainly trying to put through bills and stuff like that. For me I just say it's been a, my, my work has been a, a, a great work because out of it, I was able through a woman called Mattie Cook who was, what is it, here at, president, and I don't wanna mislabel like the president at Malcom-King College [Malcolm-King: Harlem College Extension, New York, New York], this Mattie Cook who gave me the opportunity to teach consumer education. And I think I taught for about almost eight years, eight, between eight and ten years.$$Where did you teach?$$Malcom-King College, right over (simultaneous)--$$(Simultaneous) Malcolm-King College, okay.$$Um-hm, well, it was through, through Mattie otherwise I would probably, wouldn't even be talking.$$Mattie Cook?$$Mattie Cook, Mattie Cook, Malcolm-King president, I'll say president of Malcolm-King College. And I was able to, what I learnt from the, I, the people that I associated with, I was able to bring a lot of the heads of the agency, the head of the agency into Harlem [New York, New York]. I was able to teach so many people out there consumer education, how to handle a telephone bill, their Con Ed [Consolidated Edison, Inc., New York, New York] bill. It would always amaze me, you had doctors and lawyers and, you know, blacks who didn't know how to take care of their own bills, (laughter) you know.

Read more about Florence M. Rice

Dr. Helene Gayle

Epidemiologist and public health administrator Dr. Helene D. Gayle was born on August 16, 1955, in Buffalo, New York. The daughter of social worker Marietta Spiller Dabney Gayle and businessman Jacob Astor Gayle, she attended Lancaster, New York’s Court Street Elementary School and Lancaster Middle School. Moving back to Buffalo, Gayle graduated with honors from Woodlawn Junior High School and then from Bennett High School in 1972. Briefly attending Baldwin-Wallace College, she graduated from Barnard College in New York City with her B.S. degree in psychology. Deciding to pursue medicine, Gayle earned her M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where she served as president of the Student National Medical Association. Gayle went on to earn her Masters of Public Health degree from John Hopkins University. She did her pediatric internship and residency at Children’s Hospital National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Gayle was selected to enter the epidemiology training program at Atlanta’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) in 1984. By 2001, she had risen to director of the National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention of the CDC. Throughout, Gayle concentrated on the effects of AIDS on children, adolescents and families. In the early 1990s, she began to investigate the global ramifications of the disease and authored numerous reports on the real risk factors involved with AIDS. In so doing, she became one of the foremost experts on the subject, appearing on ABC’s Nightline and other news and information programs. Gayle also served as a medical researcher in the AIDS Division of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Gayle warned about substance abuse and advocated female condoms and vaginal virucides. In 2001, Gayle joined the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation as director of the HIV, TB and Reproductive Health Program and was responsible for administering its $300 million dollar budget. At the same time, she was named Assistant Surgeon General and Rear Admiral in the United States Public Health Service. In 2006, Gayle was chosen as the new president and CEO of CARE, the international poverty fighting organization.

Gayle is the recipient of many honors, including: the U.S. Public Health Service achievement medal, in 1989; the National Medical Association Scroll of Merit Award, 2002; Barnard College, Columbia University, Barnard Woman of Achievement, 2001 and the Women of Color, Health Science and Technology Awards, Medical Leadership in Industry Award in 2002. Gayle sits on many community boards. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Accession Number

A2006.118

Sex

Female

Interview Date

10/14/2006

Last Name

Gayle

Maker Category

MedicalMakers

Marital Status

Married

Occupation

Epidemiologist

Organizations

Student National Medical Association

Operation Crossroads Africa, Incorporated

The Rockefeller Foundation

ONE

Colgate-Palmolive Company

Friends of the Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Center for Strategic and International Studies

Council on Foreign Relations

American Public Health Association

President Obama\'s Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

President Obama\'s Commission on White House Fellowships

New America Foundation

Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative Advisory Board

Coca Cola Company

Schools

Bennett High School

Court Street Elementary School

Lancaster Middle School

Johns Hopkins University

University of Pennsylvania

Barnard College

Speakers Bureau

Yes

Speakers Bureau Availability

Evenings, Weekends

First Name

Helene

Birth City, State, Country

Buffalo

HM ID

GAY01

Speakers Bureau Preferred Audience

Any

Speakers Bureau Honorarium

Favorite Season

Spring

Speaker Bureau Notes

Preferred Audience: Any

State

New York

THM DA Link

http://marc.thehistorymakers.org/thmdigital/A2006.118.htm

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/365226

Favorite Vacation Destination

Caribbean

Favorite Quote

Injustice Anywhere Is A Threat To Justice Everywhere.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

Illinois

Birth Date

8/16/1955

Birth Place Term

Buffalo

Speakers Bureau Region City

Chicago

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Salmon

Short Description

Epidemiologist Dr. Helene Gayle (1955 - ) was president and CEO of CARE, the international poverty fighting organization. She served as director of the National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention of the Center for Disease Control; the director of the HIV, TB and Reproductive Health Program for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and the Assistant Surgeon General and Rear Admiral in the United States Public Health Service.

Employment

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

United States Public Health Services

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

CARE

Children's Hospital National Medical Center

McKinsey Social Initiative

The Chicago Community Trust

Favorite Color

None

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/365230

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Dr. Helene Gayle's interview

Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Dr. Helene Gayle lists her favorites

Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her mother's family background

Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her mother's education

Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her father's family background

Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her parents' personalities

Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her earliest childhood memory

Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes some of the sights, sounds and smells of her childhood

Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Dr. Helene Gayle remembers Court Street Elementary School in Lancaster, New York

Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her childhood hobbies

Tape: 1 Story: 11 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her parents' civil rights involvement

Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Dr. Helene Gayle recalls how she became interested in medicine

Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her experience at Woodlawn Junior High School

Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Dr. Helene Gayle remembers attending Bennett High School in Buffalo, New York

Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Dr. Helene Gayle recalls the death of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Dr. Helene Gayle remembers being injured in a car accident as a child

Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Dr. Helene Gayle remembers Bennett High School's Black Student Union

Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her friendships in high school

Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Dr. Helene Gayle remembers her decision to attend Barnard College

Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her mentors at Barnard College in New York City

Tape: 2 Story: 10 - Dr. Helene Gayle recalls her decision to attend University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Tape: 2 Story: 11 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Tape: 2 Story: 12 - Dr. Helene Gayle recalls studying public health at Johns Hopkins University

Tape: 2 Story: 13 - Dr. Helene Gayle explains her interest in public health

Tape: 2 Story: 14 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes the public health campaign against smallpox

Tape: 2 Story: 15 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her experience at Johns Hopkins University

Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the Center for Disease Control

Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Dr. Helene Gayle recalls initially being deterred from working with HIV

Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her travels to Africa

Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Dr. Helene Gayle recalls becoming director of the Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention

Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her work for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes the relationship of the African American community to public health

Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes myths about HIV in the African American community

Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Dr. Helene Gayle talks about the occurrence of HIV among African Americans

Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes HIV policy under President George Walker Bush

Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes advancements in HIV research

Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Dr. Helene Gayle reflects upon her leadership of public health organizations

Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Dr. Helene Gayle reflects upon the response to HIV in the United States

Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Dr. Helene Gayle talks about the future of HIV treatment

Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes the importance of philanthropy

Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Dr. Helene Gayle talks about Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere

Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Dr. Helene Gayle describes her hopes and concerns for the African American community

Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Dr. Helene Gayle talks about her relationship with Africa

Tape: 4 Story: 9 - Dr. Helene Gayle reflects upon her life

Tape: 4 Story: 10 - Dr. Helene Gayle reflects upon her legacy and how she would like to be remembered

DASession

1$1

DATape

2$3

DAStory

13$2

DATitle

Dr. Helene Gayle explains her interest in public health

Dr. Helene Gayle recalls initially being deterred from working with HIV

Transcript

Now at that time would you say you were keenly aware of some of the health disparities in the black community and what the causes were?$$In a general sense, you know, this is when I heard the smallpox talk when I was, my brother was graduating from college and I went to his college graduation that was my, I guess that was in my last year, or my third year, what was ended up being my last year of medical school [University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania], and I'd been thinking about public health because I had this general notion of, of the fact that it kind of was an area where you could make a huge impact on, on populations, and then I heard this man [Donald A. Henderson] who had been the leader, one of the leaders of the smallpox eradication campaign and it kind of, for me, crystalized my thinking that this was a way that you could tangibly impact large numbers of peoples' lives, eradicate a disease like we did with smallpox or, you know, really change the course of something in a major way as opposed to doing one-by-one patient care where a lot of times what you're doing is putting band aids on for what are really larger systemic issues.$$Okay, so what I hear you saying and correct me if I'm wrong, is that somebody's got to organize a campaign to deal with disease, you know, to do a certain diseases. It's not enough just to treat 'em as an individual, as individuals coming in who are sick. It's better to, to try to hit with a organized hammer.$$Well, I think what you do in public health as opposed to taking care of individuals, you take care of populations, so the same things you do with individuals, you do with populations, so you look at, you know, you're able to look at what are the reasons why one population has more, is impacted more by hypertension, HIV [human immunodeficiency virus], tuberculosis, you know, low birth weight, or whatever the issue is, and look at what does it take to change that for populations. A lot of times that means changing policies. It may mean, you know, putting in systems that didn't exist. It may mean doing campaigns, but it's really looking at what are the reasons why populations of people are more likely to be hit by a disease or have a less good health in disease like infant mortality or death rates or birth rates, or whatever, and how do you look at what are the issues that influence that, and a lot of times those things aren't necessarily just the virus or the, you know, the infection, or the toxin, it has as much to do with how societies organize or don't organize to make sure that some people have access to the things that cause good health. I mean it could be as simple as the fact that we have bad grocery stores in poor neighborhoods so that obesity and poor nutrition is more likely in poor communities, and so I mean public health looks at all of those factors and not just, you know, X diseases caused by X germ.$$Okay, so for instance, coal miners keep getting black lungs because they're coal miners?$$Right, and so as opposed to being the person who looks at a coal miner and says that person has a particular disease state, let me give them the medicine, public health says these people are at risk because the conditions within the coal mines are making them sick. What do we do to change the conditions in the coal mine?$$Okay. And sometimes that's a struggle, isn't it? I mean in terms of trying to change--$$Change policies, and that's why I say public health really is the interface between medicine and politics and society because in order to make a difference for those coal miners, you may have to get legislation passed in [U.S.] Congress that will affect the conditions that they're, they're living under. So, you know, I think those, that's why for me public health is a, was always a real good blend for my interests because it does marry changing societal factors that cause poor health as well as looking at what's the immediate cause.$Interestingly, at the time when I came, which was 1984, three years after HIV [human immunodeficiency virus] had first been described, I was, had a passing interest in HIV. At that time, pediatric HIV had not been very visible so it wasn't something that I had been involved in in my training, but I asked people about, you know, whether HIV would be a good thing to do my EIS [Epidemic Intelligence Service] years in and most people said, "Stay away from it, it's just a political disease and it's not that important and it's gonna be gone soon anyway," so I kind of, you know, didn't think too much about HIV at the time. I went ahead and did the nutrition and worked on issues of malnutrition in children.$$Let me stop you. What do they mean by political disease?$$Well, it was highly political. You know it was a disease that had a lot of, you know, because it was occurring in gay men and injection drug users, you know, it was very politicized. There were a lot of, you know, just politics involved and people said, you know, "Stay away from it 'cause you just get broiled--embroiled in a bunch of politics around, you know, gays and drug users." And, you know, issues of morality, and all the issues that are involved in, you know, working with marginalized populations that (simultaneous)--$$(Simultaneous) Well what was it, the sense then from the physicians that you were talking to that it was gonna stay in a small, I mean, it wasn't really, they thought it was gonna stay right there (simultaneous)?$$(Simultaneous) Yeah, well that's what I said, I mean people that, people said, you know, "This is something that's gonna be gone." They compared it to like the Legionnaires' disease which CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia] had had been involved with, you know, big, an outbreak confined to a certain group of people, lot of visibility, lot of hype, and then it will be gone, and so go and deal with something that has longer term relevance. So, you know, for me it was, it was partly that, but it was also just, you know, again, since I had been in pediatrics where HIV had not yet really taken a hold, it wasn't as much in my consciousness at the time and so I focused on nutrition and looked at issues of low birth weight, malnutrition, did a lot of work in Africa as well as work here in the United States focusing on those issues. After that, I just, I really enjoyed my experience at the CDC and so took an additional year and preventive medicine residency, so it was another additional residency to get further training in public health and preventive medicine and I did that in our group that focused, the CDC group that focused on specifically issues of childhood mortality in Africa and I worked a lot on childhood, child survival issues, diarrhea and the things that are the main causes of children in African, diarrheal diseases, measles, malaria. I did a year doing a lot of work focused on that, and then just, and then those both the EIS and the preventive medicine program are short-term programs and so I had to make the decision after that: did I wanna stay at CDC and seek permanent employment, or did I wanna go and do something else? And by that time, it was clear that HIV was an important issue, and was, in fact, probably gonna be the defining public health issue of our day, and so I elected to interview the HIV group and started out as a staff epidemiologist in the HIV program. It was called the AIDS program then.$$So it was about 1987 (simultaneous).$$(Simultaneous) Eighty-seven [1987], yeah, yeah.

Read more about Dr. Helene Gayle

Calvin Darden

Calvin Darden, senior vice-president of U.S. operations of the United Parcel Services, was born February 5, 1950, in Buffalo, New York. He was a scholarship recipient and graduate of Canisius College, where he began his career working part-time at the local UPS terminal. After graduating in 1972 with a B.S. degree in business management, he became a full-time employee with the company.

Darden's first responsibilities at UPS were to load and unload trailers at the Buffalo hub. In January of 1974, he was promoted to customer service supervisor. Soon after, he became the hub manager and later managed three packaging centers. After twelve management positions and six location moves, Darden had built a reputation for making distribution centers more efficient, improving service and boosting employee morale. In Nashville, Tennessee, he increased the center's efficiency from 65 percent to almost 100 percent. In 1993, he was promoted to vice-president and regional manager of a nine-state region based in California.

In 1995, Darden moved to the headquarters in Atlanta as the company's first quality coordinator. He developed and implemented the quality strategy, which focused on customer satisfaction, employee empowerment, process improvement and effective methods of measurement. He has been credited with the introduction of the company's trademark policies and innovations. Also, he has added the technology that allowed the company to begin delivering to central points. He has been working with UPS for over thirty years and ensures the pick-up and delivery of 13.5 million packages a day from eight million customers.

Darden has been committed to the community by starting a chapter of the Black Executive Exchange Program at UPS, which travels around the nation to colleges and universities talking to students. He serves on the board of directors for the National Urban League; Target Corporation; Coca-Cola Enterprises; and is on the board of trustees for the Atlanta Police Foundation. In July 2002, Darden was ranked eighth on Fortune Magazine's 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America list. He is also active in his church, serving as chairman of the deacons at the Deliverance Temple Church of God and Christ in Atlanta, Georgia.

Darden and his wife, Patricia Gail, have been married for more than thirty years. They have three children.

Accession Number

A2004.033

Sex

Male

Interview Date

3/22/2004

Last Name

Darden

Maker Category

BusinessMakers

Marital Status

Married

Occupation

Corporate Executive

Organizations

Schools

Lafayette High School

Canisius College

Woodlawn Junior High School

P.S. 16

First Name

Calvin

Birth City, State, Country

Buffalo

HM ID

DAR01

Favorite Season

None

State

New York

THM DA Link

http://marc.thehistorymakers.org/thmdigital/A2004.033.htm

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/158767

Favorite Vacation Destination

None

Favorite Quote

None

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

Georgia

Birth Date

2/5/1950

Birth Place Term

Buffalo

Speakers Bureau Region City

Atlanta

Country

USA

Favorite Food

None

Short Description

Corporate executive Calvin Darden (1950 - ) was the senior vice-president of U.S. operations of the United Parcel Services, responsible for the pick-up and delivery of 13.5 million packages per day from eight million customers.

Employment

UPS

Favorite Color

None

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/158777

Timing Pairs

0,0:4954,90:10794,144:11522,153:16034,241:16538,250:16826,255:20066,323:28943,525:35765,611:36137,616:40230,665:44486,757:44790,762:46234,790:51022,910:60958,1014:65062,1097:70230,1207:73042,1258:81731,1398:87784,1502:88620,1515:94168,1624:98878,1693:100558,1729:100978,1735:101650,1744:102154,1752:107715,1815:108039,1820:120248,2039:120985,2056:126318,2143:141500,2435:142490,2458:143216,2472:143546,2479:144404,2496:146318,2551:146648,2557:148562,2603:149948,2636:150410,2646:150740,2653:157463,2680:161474,2751:161876,2758:162144,2763:168509,2897:168978,2906:169246,2911:169849,2922:170184,2928:172261,2984:172663,2991:181348,3116:184308,3179:196470,3378:199198,3409:201174,3464:201478,3469:201934,3477:213706,3711:217006,3789:217468,3797:222668,3893:223008,3903:229290,4002:229850,4012:233700,4084:234120,4092:234540,4100:234820,4105:235100,4110:247812,4313:248452,4325:248964,4334:250052,4358:250372,4364:251140,4395:252036,4407:255504,4437:257952,4489:258528,4499:259392,4514:260616,4540:260904,4545:261624,4565:275388,4774:275692,4779:277213,4794:278189,4821:278677,4830:279287,4841:287072,4984:291894,5058:294592,5128:296012,5166:296509,5174:299280,5181:299980,5191:300610,5200:306560,5332:308570,5339$0,0:7040,93:7616,103:8840,129:9344,137:9920,150:11216,175:11720,183:12368,191:13520,241:14024,249:21206,348:21682,357:23926,415:24266,421:33830,567:34250,575:35690,606:36350,621:37430,651:38210,669:38450,674:38750,680:39110,688:39650,700:40370,718:40850,727:44116,761:46016,794:46776,807:49740,860:50196,867:50956,879:52704,902:53616,917:53996,923:54376,929:55136,949:57410,973:57694,978:57978,983:59469,1017:62309,1080:63800,1117:65220,1146:69551,1222:69835,1227:84854,1457:85134,1463:89032,1563:89403,1571:90908,1583:91244,1591:94752,1660:95148,1667:95742,1678:96930,1704:97458,1716:99768,1778:100428,1795:103860,1866:105114,1891:105510,1903:106104,1916:106698,1926:107094,1933:113940,2006:114780,2022:115690,2039:118700,2107:119050,2113:119470,2124:119820,2130:133828,2413:134120,2418:134412,2424:134923,2433:139010,2455:140934,2507:141526,2516:142710,2551:143524,2566:150484,2631:154292,2713:157488,2792:157760,2797:160004,2849:161160,2872:164986,2879:165598,2900:169814,3026:171310,3067:171582,3075:174438,3152:174710,3157:176818,3230:178110,3260:182880,3296:183270,3310:183790,3319:184635,3338:184960,3345:187690,3411:188145,3419:191330,3510:198015,3625:198752,3637:199824,3659:200092,3664:200695,3675:205340,3740

DAStories

Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Calvin Darden's interview

Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Calvin Darden talks about his extended family background

Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Calvin Darden describes his parents' personalities and his earliest childhood memories

Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Calvin Darden remembers sights, sounds, and smells from his childhood in Buffalo, New York

Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Calvin Darden describes his personality as a child

Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Calvin Darden describes his childhood dreams and aspirations

Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Calvin Darden describes his hometown of Buffalo, New York

Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Calvin Darden remembers going to Greater Hope Baptist Church in Buffalo, New York

Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Calvin Darden describes how his parents have influenced his parenting

Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Calvin Darden remembers his elementary and junior high school experiences at P.S. 16 and Woodlawn Junior High in Buffalo, New York

Tape: 1 Story: 11 - Calvin Darden talks about the absence of racial diversity in professional and academic spaces

Tape: 1 Story: 12 - Calvin Darden describes how his parents have influenced his ethical compass

Tape: 1 Story: 13 - Calvin Darden recalls how he entertained himself as a child

Tape: 1 Story: 14 - Calvin Darden talks about his experiences at Lafayette High School and Canisius College in Buffalo, New York

Tape: 1 Story: 15 - Calvin Darden talks about his first job unloading trailers at United Parcel Service (UPS)

Tape: 1 Story: 16 - Calvin Darden details his professional life at United Parcel Service (UPS) from 1972 to 1993

Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Calvin Darden explains how he became senior vice president of U.S. operations at the United Parcel Service (UPS)

Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Calvin Darden describes raising his three children

Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Calvin Darden explains how he maintains work-life balance

Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Calvin Darden talks about his proudest accomplishment at United Parcel Service (UPS)

Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Calvin Darden describes his favorite part about working for United Parcel Service (UPS)

Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Calvin Darden talks about dealing with frustration, disappointment, and unexpected issues at work

Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Calvin Darden talks about being included on Fortune magazine's list of the fifty most powerful black executives in the United States

Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Calvin Darden explains what his primary responsibilities are as an executive at United Parcel Service (UPS)

Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Calvin Darden remembers having to take an unfavorable position with an employee

Tape: 2 Story: 10 - Calvin Darden talks about the Black Executive Exchange Program at United Parcel Service (UPS)

Tape: 2 Story: 11 - Calvin Darden shares his advice for aspiring professionals, pt. 1

Tape: 2 Story: 12 - Calvin Darden shares his advice for aspiring professionals, pt. 2

Tape: 2 Story: 13 - Calvin Darden describes being offered his first managerial opportunity at United Parcel Service (UPS)

Tape: 2 Story: 14 - Calvin Darden talks about mentoring students and employees

Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Calvin Darden describes a typical workday and his management philosophy

Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Calvin Darden talks about being recognized by the National Urban League and HistoryMaker Marc H. Morial for his work at United Parcel Service (UPS)

Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Calvin Darden remembers experiencing racial prejudice in Alabama and Florida in the 1960s

Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Calvin Darden talks about his community service work in Atlanta, Georgia

Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Calvin Darden considers how he would like to be remembered

Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Calvin Darden considers the value of humility

Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Calvin Darden describes his hopes and concerns for the African American community, pt. 1

Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Calvin Darden describes his hopes and concerns for the African American community, pt. 2

Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Calvin Darden describes his vision for United Parcel Service (UPS) after his tenure

DASession

1$1

DATape

1$2

DAStory

16$10

DATitle

Calvin Darden details his professional life at United Parcel Service (UPS) from 1972 to 1993

Calvin Darden talks about the Black Executive Exchange Program at United Parcel Service (UPS)

Transcript

So can you detail for us your professional life here at UPS [United Parcel Service]? You started out, as you mentioned, unloading, how did you progress from there?$$I started off unloading trailers. I'd actually planned to work at UPS for eight or nine months and then when I graduated I was going to leave UPS and go to work full-time somewhere. When I graduated in May of '72 [1972], they offered me a full-time hub position. I was working out in the hub, that's where we unload, sort take the package from one trailer sort them, put them into another trailer. They had a full-time position, actually at that time UPS had a rule that once you graduated from college you couldn't work at UPS any longer as a part-timer. So if there were no full-time jobs available you had to quit. That was to keep the students coming in getting their education and moving on. But we had a full-time job so I started working full-time in the hub. That was in--when I graduated, I worked out in the hub as a run out belt supervisor, then a--and this was part-time to full-time. And then I was a primary supervisor and then I was promoted to the hub manager, that was in 1976 I was promoted to hub manager. I did that job for two years and then transferred to the package side in November of '78 [1978] as a package, package center manager. Had about a hundred drivers that I was responsible for out of Buffalo [New York]. Did that assignment for about eight months and then I picked up the hub and feeder operation in addition to the package job. So, I ran hub feeder--feeder to tractor trailer units that run up and down the highways. So I had hub, feeder and the package side, had that for a year and I went to teach supervisor basic training school, which is SBTS, it's what we called it back then. I taught the last class of 1980 and the first two of '81 [1981]. Came back to Buffalo for about four months and was transferred to Nashville [Tennessee]. Moved out of Nashville as a Nashville hub division manager, stayed there for two years, made some great gains, I took a hub--I'll never forget it, I was being interviewed by two region managers and the hub that I took over was running 60 to 65 percent effective and they said, "Do you think you can make gains in this hub?" and I said, "Oh, absolutely." But inside, something was saying, "Are you nuts, are you crazy? This thing has been running 60 percent effective for ten years. What makes you think you can make a difference?" So they gave me the hub and in two year period we had all three sorts. That's a day (unclear) and night sort running at 100 percent effective which had never, ever happened before. And that was taking--that was my first experience out of Buffalo, but it's taking this large hub and any large problems broken--just break it down into small problems, and just one by one you fix those small problems and when you look around the whole thing has been fixed. And that's the premise that I've always used at UPS, no matter how bad it looks, how large it looks, it's still comprised of a bunch of small little issues or small problems and you have to fix those. So I stayed there for two years and then I was transferred to Memphis [Tennessee]. Went to Memphis as a package division manager, stayed there for nine months, made some tremendous gains. Memphis was a tough area and I was told probably by ten or twelve people that--don't go to Memphis it will be the end of your career, nobody survives in Memphis--da-da-da-da-da. And I was actually given a choice by the--their district manager, and he said, "You can stay here in Nashville as a package division manager or you can go to Memphis." And I said, Memphis before he finished asking me. He said, "Why Memphis?" I said, "I just don't believe that it has to run as badly as it runs." 'Cause I was there for--I'd been in Nashville for two years and it's all you hear is, everything negative about Memphis. So I went to Memphis and, that only took about six weeks to really fix that place and we broke all sorts of records and we took it from an hour over division to scratch meaning that all the drivers go out and if you're giving them 8.2 hours work they get it done in 8.2 or less, and that had never been done before. So at the age of thirty-four I was promoted to district manager. I moved up to North Jersey [New Jersey], that's in Parsippany, Jersey. Stayed there for two years as a district manager and then transferred to Secaucus, which is Metro Jersey. Stayed there for five years as a district manager and that was our largest hub at that time 60,000 packages per hour. We could process through, through the hub and another 30,000 through the small sort that we were able to do, and I had that job for five years. Had to work on a lot of problems, complete difference between North Jersey and Metro Jersey although it was all UPS. And then I was transferred to Metro [Washington] D.C., went down there for two years as the Metro D.C. district manager. Stayed there and after the two years, I was promoted to vice president region manager and I moved to California had the--what's called the Pacific region which was Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Hawaii, and I said, "Okay, when it gets that bad, just book a meeting to Hawaii and go there."$Are there any causes that you've championed in your professional life?$$Sure the one--one of which I'm most proud of is the BEEP program which is the Black Executive Exchange Program that we have here at UPS [United Parcel Service]. And we started back 1990, I was on a special assignment in the corporate office and I sat down with some official from the National Urban League, Renee DeJong was one and we talked about bringing the BEEP program into UPS. So I've been one of the sponsors of the BEEP program, and we have about 125 of our top managers that are all college graduates and we go out and we spend times at schools, we stand in front of classrooms and we talk about what it takes to be successful in the business world. And we tell them it is no joke out here so here's what you should be on guard for, we talk to our young men about not having police records and statistics say that 72 percent of our black males between the ages of thirteen and twenty-two will have some scrape with the law, some of which will end up with police records and I say police records will follow you for the rest of your life. I don't care who says what, there's not a Fortune 500, 100 or 50 company that is not going to run your background. And I say to them, "Now if you put on the application that you, you do have a felony, for example, you're not going to get hired. If you put on there that you don't and the company finds out that you do, what do you think you're going to be discharged for?" And they say, "For falsifying the application," I say, "That's exactly right. You will be discharged for falsifying the application," and I say, "If you had a little trouble in school, you did something wrong, went brain dead for a minute, you can write that off for temporary insanity. But a consistent line of some type of police problems that's not going to be tolerated anywhere." We talk to the young ladies about not having babies out of wedlock, only 13 percent go on to graduate. And if we are going to get to where we should, education is going to be one of the keys. We talk to--talk to them about taking the right courses, I say to the young men, "We don't need you to take a woodworking course, that's not going to help you get through this college." We don't need our young ladies to take homemaking courses, the mom can teach you that at home, the dad can teach you woodworking we need you to take math, science, history, good skills, understand how to speak, those are the type things, language skills that's what we talk to them about at these schools. The other thing I say to those students, the same, the same patterns you set right now--if right now you get up, you don't want to go to school parents have to push you out of the house every morning you come you do just enough to get by then what do you think is going to happen you graduate on Friday somehow, what do you think is going to happen Monday in the business world? The only difference is it's not going to be tolerated in the business world. You pay your tuition whether you come to school or not, some care some don't, what's the big deal you're just wasting your money. But in the business world you're going to be expected to come to work, come every day and do a great job and we stand there and we talk to these students about that. That, that I think is very, very important so I say, you can't--if you've been missing class and doing all these things you can't just hit a switch on Monday an say guess what I fixed all of that and now I'm ready for the business world, it doesn't work like that. So the same patterns being established through grade school, high school and college are the same ones that will come into the business world.

Read more about Calvin Darden

Leroy C. Richie

Born on September 27, 1941, in Buffalo, New York, to Mattie and Leroy C. Richie, the younger Leroy C. Richie graduated as valedictorian of his class at the City College of New York in 1970. After earning his law degree from New York University in 1973, Richie worked in private practice for the New York law firm of White & Case until 1978. Richie then entered government service when he was appointed to serve as director of the Federal Trade Commission's New York office.

In 1983, Richie entered corporate America as assistant general counsel to the Chrysler Corporation under the reign of Lee Iacocca. Given some key assignments, Richie quickly rose to vice president and general counsel; he was the only African American in the top ranks of the giant Detroit automaker at that time. In 1992, Richie made history again by becoming the first African American to serve as general counsel to the Executive Committee of the United States Golf Association. In 1997, Richie was elected to the organization's board of directors.

Richie was active in promoting diversity in the legal profession; he frequently spoke on that issue at conferences and on panels. Richie was also secretary of Detroit's Museum of African American History and served as an officer for the Detroit Black Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Richie served as a board member for Marygrove College; St. Joseph's Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan; and the Detroit Bar Foundation. Richie and his wife, Julia C. Thomas, were married in 1972; the couple raised two children, Brooke and Darcy.

Accession Number

A2003.152

Sex

Male

Interview Date

7/9/2003 |and| 1/31/2005

Last Name

Richie

Maker Category

LawMakers

Marital Status

Married

Middle Name

Occupation

Corporate General Counsel

Organizations

First Name

Leroy

Birth City, State, Country

Buffalo

HM ID

RIC07

Favorite Season

Summer

State

New York

THM DA Link

http://marc.thehistorymakers.org/thmdigital/A2003.152.htm

Favorite Vacation Destination

Naples, Florida

Favorite Quote

None

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

Michigan

Birth Date

9/27/1941

Birth Place Term

Buffalo

Speakers Bureau Region City

Detroit

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Salad

Short Description

Corporate general counsel Leroy C. Richie (1941 - ) has been a pioneering executive lawyer at the Chrysler Corporation and at the United States Golf Association.

Employment

White & Case

United States Federal Trade Commission

Chrysler Corporation

United States Golf Association

Favorite Color

Blue

DAStories

Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Leroy Richie interview

Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie's favorites

Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie remembers his mother

Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie remembers his father

Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie discusses his siblings

Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Leroy Richie shares early childhood memories

Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Leroy Richie describes his childhood environs

Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Leroy Richie describes life as the oldest child

Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Leroy Richie recalls his early school life

Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Leroy Richie describes his early participation in a gang

Tape: 1 Story: 11 - Leroy Richie remembers an influential figure from his early life

Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Leroy Richie continues to discuss his early education

Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie describes a memorable adolescent prank

Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie details his early aspirations of becoming a lawyer

Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie describes his early intellectual prowess

Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie describes his parents' relationship

Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Leroy Richie recalls his mother's response to his interracial relationship in college

Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Leroy Richie begins to detail his military stint

Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Leroy Richie talks about his experiences learning German while in the military

Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie recounts being the subject of a racially-motivated arrest in Buffalo, New York

Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie recalls his experiences at Bronx Community College where he met his wife

Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie talks about his aspirations to teach philosophy

Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie details his arrest while trying to help his brother

Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Leroy Richie talks about his experiences in law school

Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie recalls his first jobs working for law firms

Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie remembers his experiences working for the New York law firm, White and Case

Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie discusses White and Case's policy on projecting the corporate image in the 1970s

Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie gives a brief background of the New York law firm, White and Case

Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Leroy Richie shares a story about a client he represented at White and Case

Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie remembers a mentor at White and Case and discussses their client, Prudential Financial Inc.

Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie discusses his decision to leave White and Case

Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie talks about his decision to work at the Federal Trade Commission

Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie recalls his experience at the Federal Trade Commission

Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Leroy Richie recalls his decision to retain all his workers as director of the Federal Trade Commission's New York office

Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie describes the working environment at the Federal Trade Commission

Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie reflects on his years at the Federal Trade Commission and his decision to leave

Tape: 6 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie discusses the ethical challenges he encountered at the Federal Trade Commission

Tape: 6 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie talks briefly about his transition to the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 7 Story: 1 - Second slating of Leroy Richie interview

Tape: 7 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie talks about his departure from the Federal Trade Commission

Tape: 7 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie discusses his wife's postponement of her political aspirations

Tape: 7 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie details the restructuring of the Chrysler Corporation during the 1980s

Tape: 7 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie talks about his duties at the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 7 Story: 6 - Leroy Richie recalls the negotiations between the United Automobile Workers union and the Chrysler Corporation, Part 1

Tape: 8 Story: 1 - Leroy Richie recalls the negotiations between the United Automobile Workers union and the Chrysler Corporation, Part 2

Tape: 8 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie talks about challenges he encountered on the job at the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 8 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie details his promotion at the Chrysler Corporation, part 1

Tape: 8 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie details his promotion at the Chrysler Corporation, part 2

Tape: 8 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie recalls the African American community's response to his promotion at the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 9 Story: 1 - Leroy Richie details a falling out with his former supervisor at the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 9 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie explains his working relationship with Vice Chairman Gerald Greenwald at Chrysler

Tape: 9 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie describes the personality differences between his two supervisors at the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 9 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie talks about the development of the Minority Counsel Demonstration program

Tape: 9 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie details the activities of the Minority Counsel Demonstration Program

Tape: 9 Story: 6 - Leroy Richie talks about the limits placed on his position at the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 10 Story: 1 - Third slating of Leroy Richie interview

Tape: 10 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie discusses his promotion at Chrysler and pairing minority lawyers with those in the auto industry

Tape: 10 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie details his relationship with Detroit mayor Coleman Young while at the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 10 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie talks briefly about his meteoric rise at Chrysler

Tape: 10 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie recalls negotiating a dispute between the Chrysler Corporation and a government agency

Tape: 10 Story: 6 - Leroy Richie explains his negotiation strategies

Tape: 11 Story: 1 - Leroy Richie gives his management philosophy

Tape: 11 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie discusses product liability at the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 11 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie talks about black leadership within the automotive industry

Tape: 11 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie details his efforts to create diversity in the field of corporate law

Tape: 11 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie talks about the relationship between Chrysler and the law firm of Lewis & Munday

Tape: 11 Story: 6 - Leroy Richie comments on the Minority Corporate Counsel Association

Tape: 12 Story: 1 - Leroy Richie discusses handling the odometer fraud scandal at Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 12 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie talks briefly about Chrysler's success in the 1980s

Tape: 12 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie details Lee Iacocca's retirement and the takeover attempt of the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 12 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie discusses his role within Chrysler after Lee Iacocca's retirement

Tape: 12 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie talks about his decision to leave the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 12 Story: 6 - Leroy Richie explains his role as legal counsel to automobile dealers while at Chrysler

Tape: 13 Story: 1 - Leroy Richie shares a story about post-apartheid South Africa

Tape: 13 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie recalls his meeting with Nelson Mandela

Tape: 13 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie talks about Chrysler establishing black-owned dealerships in South Africa

Tape: 13 Story: 4 - Leroy Richie details his career activities since leaving the Chrysler Corporation

Tape: 13 Story: 5 - Leroy Richie talks about his children and gives advice on being a good lawyer

Tape: 13 Story: 6 - Leroy Richie comments on his legacy and his relationship with his wife, Part 1

Tape: 14 Story: 1 - Leroy Richie comments on his relationship with his wife, part 2

Tape: 14 Story: 2 - Leroy Richie talks about his plans for the future

Tape: 14 Story: 3 - Leroy Richie discusses his hopes and concerns for the African American community

Read more about Leroy C. Richie

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