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National News Update
Black Jobless Rate Hyatt Regency Upbraided for
Drops in October its Racially Discriminatory
"Anti-Cornrows"
Employment Practices
Employment was up sharply in October for all workers. The number of
Blacks with jobs increased by 160,000 over the month and the proportion
with jobs increased by more than 2 full percentage points over the year. This
increase in jobs for Blacks was considerably more than the 8 tenths of a
percent increase for whites.
The Black unemployment rate in October, at 12.0 percent, was a three-
tenths of a percent drop from September. The October rate compared favor
ably to the 14.3 percent of a year ago but the rate was, nevertheless, at more
than twice that of whites (5.2%).
Nearly 11.6 million Blacks were employed in October, almost 700,000
more than a year ago. Black adult women, with 5.5 million at work, showed
the largest increase with 333,000 over the year. Black adult men in jobs num
bered 5.4 million, an increase of 282,000 while Black teenagers increased
their work participation over the year by 72,000 to an October total of
636,000.
The jobless rate for Black adult men was 9.6 percent, a sharp drop from
13.1 percent a year ago. The rate for adult women was 11 percent, a de
crease of more than a point over the year.
The teenage unemployment rate in October was 34.0 percent, more
than double the jobless rate for white teenagers and a sharp 4-point jump
from last month, almost equalling a similar increase last year when the rate
was nearly 36 percent.
The nation's overall unemployment rate, 5.9 percent, and the rate for
civilian workers, 6.0 percent, were about the same as in September.
OIC/A Names
National Chairman
Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America (OICz A) has named
Edmund T. Pratt, Jr., to serve a one-year term as Chairman of its National
Industrial Advisory Council (NIAC).
Mr. Pratt, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer Inc., succeeds
Richard Ferris, former chairman of Allegis Corporation as head of the NIAC
advisory group, comprised of executives from leading corporations.
Through a network of some 75 affiliates around the country, OIC cur
rently offers employment, training and supportive services to unemployed
and underemployed persons and is launching a five-year drive to increase the
number of affiliates to at least 125.
OIC founder Rev. Leon Sullivan said the organization "w ill continue to
make great strides under Ed Pratt's able guidance. We have worked closely
together across the years and I have great respect for his leadership, inte
grity and deep commitment to social responsibility."
Between now and the turn of the century, Mr. Pratt said, demographic
changes, along with proposed welfare and education reforms, pose signifi
cant challenges to society and to business.
OIC, he said, "is uniquely positioned to help assure that the nation's
critical manpower needs are successfully met and that we begin to deal more
effectively with the multitude of problems brought on by a sizable group of
our citizens who are not adequately integrated into our society."
RJR Nabisco
Donates Millions
to UNCF
To help put college educations in reach for more Black youth, RJR Nabi
sco has donated $250,000 to the United Negro College Fund.
This grant was the first of four payments toward a new million-dollar
pledge from RJR Nabisco, which has been the largest contributor to UNCF
schools since 1983. Prior to making this pledge, the company had already
donated more than $2 million to UNCF.
RJR Nabisco presented its most recent contribution to UNCF during the
Ebony Fashion Fair in Chicago on November 8, 1987. Assisting RJR Nabisco
in the presentation was actor Danny Glover, who has received critical ac
claim for starring roles in movies such as "Places in the Heart,
Witness,
"Lethal Weapon," "The Color Purple" and HBO's Mandela.
"This nation's Black colleges build self-esteem in countless young peo
ple," Glover said. "That is of immense importance, because an individual’s
ability to achieve depends in large measure on what that person thinks he or
she can achieve."
He added, "Black colleges have produced many of our leaders, educa
tors and historians. They have been a cornerstone of our culture, and our
cultural traditions are what sustain us.
"From Reconstruction to Jim Crowism to the Depression, from world
wars to civil rights battlefields - at all those junctures, Black colleges have
been a valuable resource,” Glover continued. "They have examined the
issues of our time, and given us guidance for the future.
UNCF's mission of making college educations affordable for Black stu
dents is not just a benefit to the Black community, Glover noted. "The
minds enriched at Black colleges do not just enhance the Black community.
They make contributions that benefit the whole country, other nations — all
of humanity.”
Glover also encouraged greater participation in support of educational
programs, noting that only 4 percent of the Black community's charitable
dollars are directed toward education. "Black colleges have struggled and
survived without the large endowments common at other universities,' he
said. "Like the Black church, Black colleges have always been there for us.
Now, we need to develop a strategy to be there for our colleges, more than
ever before."
. . . .
«
Virgidl E. Ecton, executive vice president of the United Negro College
Fund, commented on the need for support among UNCF's 42 member col
leges' "On the heels of the civil Fights movement, college enrollment in
creased among Blacks during the 1970s. But since 1980, Black college en
rollment has been declining. The causes include cutbacks in federal aid for
education and rising tuition costs.
Ecton noted that UNCF « ^w o rkin g hard to address those problems,
and added that "RJR Nabisco's generosity will go a long way toward help
ing.”
Notwithstanding Hyatt Regency Crystal City's advertisements offering
sumptuous accommodations and courteous service, there is evidently "no
room at the Inn" for many of it black women employees. As a result, a law
suit has been commenced against the hotel for its employment practices
banning braided hairstyles.
On August 3, 1986, Ms. Cheryl R. Tatum, a food and beverage cashier
at Hyatt Regency, arrived at work with her hair in thick lustrous cornrow
braids. Her reasons for donning the cornrows haristyle were threefold:
one, with respect to the hair growth and maintenance of African hair, the
cornrows style is the most healthy way for black women to wear their hair;
two, cornrows are an African-inspired artstyle, an expression of the heri
tage, culture, and racial pride of black women; and three, the style is im
peccably groomed, professional in appearance, and cost-efficient.
From roughly August 3rd to August 17th, there was no adverse reaction
or comment to Ms. Tatum's hairstyle. To the contrary, guests and co
workers complimented her daily, generally commenting that her cornrows
were quite exquisite. However, on or about August 17th, cashier manager
Mizita Sannoh directed Ms. Tatum to pull her braids into a "b u n ". Without
protesting. Ms. Tatum began wearing her cornrows in a bun the following
day. Another two weeks proceeded without any further suggestions from
Ms. Sannoh n t from any other supervisory personnel.
On September 4th, personnel director Betty McDermott summoned Ms.
Tatum to the personnel office. Ms. McDermott ordered her to re-style her
trait asserting that cornrows were an "extreme hairstyle.
After several
minutes of discussion in which Ms. Tatum disputed this baseless charac
terization Ms McDermott bluntly stated, "I can't understand why you
would want to wear you hair like that anyway. What would the guests
think if w e allowed you all to wear your hair like that!" Ms. McDermott
ended the r conveisat in soon thereafter. Notwithstanding Ms. Tatum's
exemplary employment record, Ms. McDermott determined that she could
no longer work
Hyu” Regency if she continued to wear her cornrows.
Left with no c tim i e, Ms latum tendered her resignation under duress
In her law sun, Ms la tum seeks redress for discrimination on account of
race, suffered by bet m violation of federal and state laws, in her capacity
as an employee of Hyatt Regency. Specifically, she alleges that she was
subject to a discriminatory atmosphere on the job and that as a tesult she
was constructively discharged She demands an award of back pay, front
pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney s fees
against lb“ hotel
The cornrows hairstyle is worn predominantly, if not exclusively, by A fri
cans, African Americans rod other people of African descent. In the
Washington metropolitan area, cornrows are extremely popular among
black professional women, black female clericals, and black female college
students You can readily observe black women with cornrows in various
professional, business, and educational settings throughout the region.
Commenting on the import of this litigation, Taalib Din A. Uqdah, co
owner of Cornrows Et Co., Inc. (the natural hair care salon which created
ADL Amends Policy
Opposing Quotas
The Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith has amended its long
standing policy opposing quotas and preferential treatment by recognizing
that such measures may be appropriate under limited conditions.
The League approved exceptions to its policy in two resolutions —
one dealing with court-ordered preferential relief, including quotas, and one
dealing with the consideration of race, gender or ethnicity as a factor in
private sector employment. The actions were taken at the agency s recent
National Executive Committee meeting in Chicago.
In the resolution on court-ordered preferential relief, ADL emphasized
that it "continues to oppose quotas, preferences and government required
goals and timetables based on race, gender or ethnicity as a means of equal
opportunity." ADL approved as an exception to this policy, that court-
ordered preferential relief, including quotas, may be appropriate under the
following limited conditions” :
• Where there has been a long history of "systematic and egregious
discrimination" and
• Where the workforce is "substantially segregated
by race, gender
or ethnicity and
• Where appropriate remedies such as training, education, vigorous
recruitment efforts and/or fines and penalties ordered by the court have
been unsuccessful and the workforce remains substantially segregated and
• Where preferential relief is limited to a defined duration after which
it must be re-evaluated.
The second resoluition on private sector employment says that in
situations where there has been impaired access to a workforce by minori
ties and/or women resulting in a workforce which is substantially segre
gated, a private employer's consideration of race, gender or ethnicity as
one factor in choosing among equally qualified applicants shall not be
deemed a preference."
The League defined "substantially segregated" to mean instances in
which "there are no representatives or only token representatives of the
aggrieved class," and not situations where "the aggrieved class is merely
underrepresented in relation to the population, labor pool or workforce.
Marshall B. Bass, senior vice president of RJR Nabisco, presented the
$250,000 check to UNCF. "Black colleges have produced more than half
the nation's Black executives; 80 percent of the country s Black lawyers and
doctors; and three-quarters of all Black Ph.D's and military officers," said
Bass. "W e want to be a partner in those kinds of achievements. And we
also believe that those who do not help Blacks are guilty of helping to hold
them back."
RJR Nabisco, Inc., an international consumer products corporation with
headquarters in Atlanta, GA., is the parent company of R.J. Reynolds To
bacco Co. and Nabisco Brands, Inc. Well-known RJR Nabisco brands in
clude Winston, Salem, Camel and Vantage cigarettes; Oreo cookies; Ritz
and Premium crackers; Del Monte fruits and vegetables; Planters nuts and
snacks; Life Savers candy; Nabisco Shredded Wheat cereals; and Fleisch-
mann's margarines.
Disputed hairstyle - Cheryl Tatum and the Hyatt Regency in Crystal
City are going to court over the corn-rowed hairstyle Tatum claims
in court briefs the hotel insisted she get rid of.
Ms. Tatum's hairstyle), explained that this scenario was becoming distur
bingly familiar: "W e have many clients who relate similar instances of job
discrimination happening to them. It seems that although white establish
ments are forced, by law, to seek an integrated workforce, many employers
nonetheless insist that their black female employees appear as white or
'European' as possible. Thus, often when a sister wears cornrows, another
braided artstyle, or any other chemical-free natural hairstyle, this seems to
strike a racist 'nerve' in her white supervisor who cannot stand to see some
thing inherently African in the workplace . . . It is tragic that, in 1987, we as
Americans cannot realize integration in the true sense of the word, i.e.,
the coming together of equals for the benefit of the united whole. It
appears that for many whites, integration is, at best, only a one-way street
of assimilation for blacks."
Mr. Uqdah added that, on behalf of Ms. Tatum and other similarly situ
ated women, he is having preliminary discussions with representatives from
several civil rights and women's rights organizations. In addition to the in
stant suit, some consideration is being given to organizing a boycott against
Hyatt Regency to force it to modify its discriminatory employment prac
tices.
Transylvania University
Announces $260,000
Minority Scholarship Program
Officials at Transylvania University have announced plans for a
$260,000 minority scholarship program to begin in the Fall term of 1988.
An anonymous gift has endowed a program that will annually provide
up to four partial scholarships for minority students. The individual scholar
ship amounts can range up to $4000 per year, depending on the family's
financial background.
According to Dr. Charles L. Shearer, Transylvania's president, the
scholarships will be need-based and both high school seniors and transfer
students are eligible.
The criteria for selection will include academic performance, leader
ship ability, promise as a citizen, and other personal traits. Final candidates
will be invited to the Transylvania campus for an interview with a selection
committee.
Dr. Shearer added that candidates for the minority scholarships are
also eligible to apply for other need-based or merit scholarships at Transyl
vania.
For additional information contact the Transylvania University Admis
sions Office, Lexington, Kentucky, 40508, (606) 233-8242.
Transylvania University was established in 1780 and is one of the oldest
colleges in the nation. The school offers 23 majors and was recently listed
one of the best colleges in the South by U.S. News Et World Report and
named a "Best Buy in a College Education" by the education editor of The
New York Times.
National Baptist Convention
of America Presents $50,000
to Florida Memorial College
Florida Memorial College has received a gift by the National Baptist
Convention of America, fulfilling a $50,000 commitment to quality black
higher education and excellence at the College. The Rev. Dr. J.B. Adams,
pastor of St. John Baptist Church, Belle Glade, FL, representing the Rev.
Dr. Edward Jones, president of the National Baptist Convention of Ame
rica, recently visited officials at Florida Memorial to present the gift on
behalf of the Convention.
According to Dr. Willie C. Robinson, president of the College, this is
the largest single gift to Florida Memorial by its special constituency, which
fulfills a commitment made by Dr. Jones to the College family nearly two
years ago. "D r. Jones is without a doubt one of the most articulate, influ
ential, and creative black leaders in this century. This is another example
of the Convention's work, which uplifts the people that it represents," said
Dr. Robinson.
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