September 12, 1990 The Portland O bserver- Page 5
OPINION
999
Learning to L ove
W ith o u t C o n d itio n s
GUEST COLUMN - THE NIKE CONTROVERSY CONTINUES
is Pushing Progress
for Minorities
BY PHILIP KNIGHT
GUEST COLUMNIST________
BEAVERTON, OR.-The company
that became Nike started 25 years ago as
a pertnership be­
tween my track
coach and myself.
We each put in $500
in capital, and my
mother’s laundry
room was our first
warehouse.
Philip Knight is
In 25 years
chairman/
we have made a ton
president o f
of mistakes, but
Nike Inc.
overall, we are
enormously proud of
what has been accomplished. This in­
cludes the area of minority relations.
Each year for the past four years,
every manager at Nike has received a
letter from me outlining our affirmative
action programs and our corporate
commitment to cultural diversity. In
1987-88, we made slow but steady prog­
ress. Slow, because we were laying off
employees, not hiring. Steady, because
our employees share the goal of sustain­
ing Nike’s open, untraditional environ­
ment.
In the past two years, our business
has grown substantially and so has our
minority recruiting and hiring. Since
January of this year, Nike has hired more
than 1,039 new employees, 21% of them
minorities.
In total, our domestic
workforce is 14.4% minority. In Port­
land, where most of our employees live,
we have a 7% available minority
workforce and we employ 10% minor­
ity-
The two highest-paid people at
Nike are not its white chairman and
president, but black endorsees named
Michael and Bo. They earned that rank­
ing.
Three-qurters of our $10 million
philanthropic donations go to minority
organizations.
What are we going to do next?
Last week we announced:
•Within one year, we will have a mi­
nority member on the board of directors.
•Within 24 months, we will have a
minority vice president.
•We will have a 10% increase in mi­
nority department heads.
•We will hold at least the 21% mi­
nority level in the next 1,000 employees
we hire.
•Our progress will be monitored by
an independent board of three minori-
tiesto be named before the middle of
September and to report to us on a six-
month basis.
We have not announced any goals
for black-owned banks, law firms or
insurance firms. All are welcome if they
earn the business.
Every 1% of market share in this
industry is worth $50 million in revenue.
Balancing an aggressive affirmative ac­
tion program with the daily competitive
needs of an industry that changes with
enormous speed is a real challenge. It is,
however, what 1 am paid to do.
I believe we have made real prog­
ress in the past few years, out we can do
better. And we will.
NIKE’s Minority Hiring Practices
To Be Debated Next Sunday
On August eleventh, Operation PUSH ambushed NIKE with a barrage of charges: not hiring enough blacks; too few
blacks in management and board positions; too much overseas production; not contracting with enough black businesses.
NIKE reacted by challenging PUSH’S motives,citing $6000 in advertising purchased by NIKEcompctitorREEBOKinPUSH’s
magazine. NIKE also defended its minority hiring practices and civic involvement-and promised to do m ore-but refused to
release actual employment data.
The debate raises larger issues that affect all businesses: What responsibility do companies have to hire minorities?
Do they have a GREATER duty if more of their customers arc minorities? Arc there different standards for companies based
in areas with small minority populations? Are people who buy a company s products investors , as PUSH labels NIKE
buyers, or merely “ customers” ? Do companies owe more to the community or their bottom line?
White males hold 95% of the top management jobs in the U.S.,and the percent of minorities in those jobs has changed
little in the last decade. Why are so few minorities in upper management positions at major companies? How do NIKE’s hiring
practices compare with other local companies? Is a boycott an appropriate solution to the problem ol minority hiring and ad­
vancement? What do YOU think? Join host Jack Faust, PUSH director Tyrone Crider and other guests for this timely debate
on Sunday, September sixteenth from 6-7 p.m.
LOOKING FOR THE
BEST HOMEBUYING
VALUE?
loving the person must the same, but the
reality is that the situation is dead-end.
People damage themselves emotionally
by cutting off this love, rather abruptly in
some cases, when it is the very thing that
brings them great jo y . People only create
greater pain for themselves when they
shut down their feelings and this alone
can make a person cold, aloof, and cut
them off from future opportunities. Do
not make the mistake of building a wall
around your heart. Remember the rela­
tionship for what was.
It is important to note that before a
human being can give unconditional love,
they must love and care for themselves
unconditionally. Loving ones self can
only enhance another persons love for
you. In many cases, human beings are
products of the mixed-up conditions that
their parents placed on love. Be it con­
scious or not, most parents place condi­
tions on love and this ultimately affect
peoples attitude toward love in the fu­
ture. Parents should not use love as a
technique to control a child’s behavior
because they internalize it. For example,
I love you when you’re good and not
when you’re bad. In my opinion, this
teaches children, who then become adults,
to love themselves conditionally. People
must realize that they do not have to live
up to a certain standard to be considered
good because it is human nature. We all
have good hearts, but the emotional scars
and past baggage get in the way.
Unconditional love is naturally
available to everyone, especially during
the early periods of a relationship. If
people can cope with the everyday drama
associated with life like family, work
responsibilities, racism, and still com­
municate enough to meet each others
needs-then I say that there is a great
chance for unconditional love. Outside
factors have a negative way of eroding
the communications process. It is tough
to do during pain, doubt, and dark mo­
ments, but people need to stay focused.
Remember, unconditional love is the
passionate and abiding desire on the part
of two people to produce together har­
mony in which each can be, spontane­
ously express his/her real self; to pro­
duce together an intellectual soil and an
emotional climate in which each can
flourish, far superior to what could be
achieved alone...
love and the other side is afraid.
Whether people accept it or not, the
heart
functions unconditionally when it
ntimate relationships offer
comes
to love. The heart can reach out,
I a promise of healing, for
touch,
understand,
share, and let others
they have potential to free
get
close.
The
heart
can also be moved
___ up the flow of unconditional
by
individual
acts
of
kindness and the
love to those parts of us that
heart
knows
the
type
of
human being that
are wounded, cutoff, or deprived of car­
makes
it
feel
good.
Despite
our desire to
ing...”
maintain
a
safe
distance
or
play it cool,
John Welwood, “ Challenge of the
______
______
the
heart
has
a way
Heart’ ’
_ — __________
of
exposing
a per­
Deep
down
son’s
coolness
or
There are hundreds of
inside of everyone,
desire
to
not
get
there is a very strong
elements that can pre­
overly involved. It
need to be loved by
vent someone from lov­
is my belief that
someone without
ing
unconditionally
and
once
you allow a
conditions or emo­
each
individual
needs
to
person
to crack the
tional restriction
barriers
or walls
despite our fears.
check his or her reasons
around
your
heart,
There is no greater
for holding back this
you
will
be
for­
feeling in the world
love. If a person never
ever affected by
than moving beyond
progresses beyond lov­
that individual
personal judgements
even if the rela­
ing someone without
and opening ones
tionship is no
heart to another
conditions, then they will
more. Love has
human being. Un­
never know the full ex­
reasons we have
conditional love has
tent to which someone
yet to discover as
the power to knock
can
love
them,
support
lovers, psycholo­
down the strongest
gist, or scholars.
their goals and aspira­
walls and greatest
It (love) is beyond
barriers. There are
tions, or grow together.
logic and reason.
places inside the
______________
™
It simply is. I’m
heart that love can
melt like a glacier on a warm spring day most confident that each of us can name
if people allowed themselves to feel. a few “ unconditional loves” that got
Can you recall the feeling you had when away and still affect our lives in a posi­
someone in our family gave birth and tive way. I can.
Now, why is it that human beings
you saw the child for the first time?
That’s unconditional love. You, more have conditions or restrictions as to how
than likely, melted when you saw the much they can love somebody? Condi­
child and you felt warm all over. Yet in tions evolve because of values, morals,
relationships, people have a tendency to lifestyles, attitudes, needs, sexual orien­
emotionally withdraw or restricted the tation, emotional/psychological needs,
flow of these feelings or positive vibra­ fears, beliefs, and dislikes. There are
tions they might receive from another hundreds of elements that can prevent
person. People start to question their someone from loving unconditionally
feelings, re-live pst pains, hurt, and and each individual needs to check his or
unpleasant memories from old relation­ her reasons for holding back this love. If
ships. Will he or she hurt me?: Is he or a person never progresses beyond loving
she for real? Can I trust him or her? Will someone without conditions, then they
we fulfill each others needs or meet each will never know the full extent to which
others expectations? There are all types someone can love them, support their
of little questions that pop into the hu­ goals and aspirations, or grow together.
man mind when they progress to the On the other hand, people shouldn ’ t give
edge of intimacy or loving without con­ unconditional love when nothing is there
ditions. The “ tug of war” between lov­ in return. For example, let’s say that
ing someone or accepting someone with­ you’re in a relationship that needs to be
out conditions causes great tension in the terminated simply because it is not
interaction process. One side wants to productive.The heart may want to keep
BY ULLYSSES TUCKER, JR._______
Observer Seeks New Writer
T,
he HERS side of the His/Hers Opinion Page has been temporarily suspended
while the Observer seeks a new writer
The Portland Observer is seeking a female to write the HERS
,______
viewpoint in the popular column "HIS/HERS Opinion" published xx
weekly in this paper. Individuals should be creative, intelligent,
committed, black, and an excellent writer. This person should also ~
be able to meet publication dealines. Please drop off samples at 4747
N.E. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. No telephone calls, please. A
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