H O N O R I N G D R . M A RT I N L U T H E R K I N G , J R .
Opportunity and Diversity One Industry at a Time
By Benjamin Todd Jealous
Special to the NNPA
from the North Dallas Gazette
T
here is a missing component to the national discus-
sion concerning how to strengthen and rebuild the
American economy. It is true that high unemploy-
ment, a weak national infrastructure, the need for stronger
public education, the concentration of wealth and the deficit
are all challenges to the nation’s economy but being left out
of the discussion is the continued economic marginalization
of racial and ethnic minorities.
The American economy has always been strongest when
examined—Hyatt, Starwood, Wyndham, Marriott and
Hilton—reveal the widespread lack of investment in minor-
ity suppliers, the over representation of people of color in
the lowest paying entry level positions, the under represen-
tation in the more highly paid career track positions and
finally a lack of commitment to collecting basic diversity
data that could be used to strengthen inclusion efforts.
Our report shows that black-owned businesses,
which comprise 7 percent of all businesses in the U.S.,
make up only 0.9 percent of all vendors receipts —a trou-
bling red flag that signals how far corporate America has to
go in their supplier diversity outreach. And
while people of color are 36 percent of the pop-
ulation, only 13 percent of the governing
bodies in the hotel and lodging industry
consists of people of color.
One of the most disconcerting findings
of our report card is that all of the top 5
hotel and lodging corporations do not
collect diversity data from their franchise
properties. This means for four out of
five of these leading corporations no data
is collected for the majority of their indi-
vidual hotels. This is unacceptable
The NAACP is calling for these corpo-
rations to collect the diversity data already man-
dated by the government through EEO1 reports.
We are also asking for planners of major events
to request EEO1 reports from any individual
hotel they are considering for their event so they
can make diversity and inclusion part of their
assessment as to which hotel is worthy of their business.
The National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners has
already voiced support for this action and we will be work-
ing with our community and civil rights partners as well as
local bureaus of tourism to make widespread the use of
EEO1 data as an important and widely used factor for deter-
As the country rapidly becomes
majority-minority the nation’s
economic well-being is increasingly
tied to overcoming racial
economic inequality
it’s kept the middle class within reach for most Americans.
But with white households holding nearly 20 times the
wealth of black or Latino households, and with rising dis-
parities in unemployment, poverty, and income, the future
of the middle class has never looked more uncertain. As the
country rapidly becomes majority-minority the nation’s
economic well-being is increasingly tied to overcoming
racial economic inequality.
The economic challenges that people of color face is
reflected in the recently released NAACP Opportunity and
Diversity Report Card which analyzes the hotel and lodging
industry. Mediocre grades among the five leading hotels we
mining which hotels qualify to hold major events.
The EEO1 survey is a primary means that the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission uses to advance its
mission derived from the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Title VII
of the 1964 Civil Rights Act focused on prohibiting racial
discrimination in employment and almost 60 years later we
still find great racial and ethnic disparities in business and
its workforce. The Opportunity and Diversity Report Card
and our call to action for greater use of EEO1 data should
not be seen as just a “civil rights” matter but should be
understood as a means of dealing with one of the greatest
True compassion is
more than flinging
a coin to a
beggar; it comes
to see that an
edifice which
produces beggars
needs
restructuring.
threats facing the American economy over the next thirty
years, racial economic inequality. We at the NAACP have
always seen racial inequality as a grave threat to the coun-
try and in the next few decades if serious action isn’t taken
to bridge this divide the entire nation will see the economic
results of this inequality.
The Portland and Seattle Skanner Martin Luther King Special Edition January 16, 2013 Page 5