Rochester Black Employees Association
- RBEA
(Formerly Concerned Association of Rochester, lnc.)
The Rochester Black Employees Association, (formerly Concerned
Association of Rochester, Incorporated, or CARI) is a non-profit
organization devoted to the elimination of discrimination in
the corporate environment at Xerox Corporation and to the improvement
of the quality of life in the Rochester area. CARI was born
in a period characterized by extreme frustration, anxiety and
hopelessness, epitomized by the assassinations of some of our
most articulate national leaders. Paradoxically, in 1968, Blacks
had made significant strides on the legal front. However, these
legal victories produced only a trickle of educational and
socioeconomic improvements.
It was at this time, in this environment, that Xerox Black
professionals united to address the inequities related to hiring,
career development and promotions of minorities.
The pivotal point in the growth and influence of CARl revolved
around the "Study of Blacks" commissioned by Xerox's
Personnel Department; a survey purported to flush out the feelings
of Blacks within Xerox. The study was conducted by Xerox psychologist,
Harold Tragash, Ph.D. This study, which was conducted in mid-1969,
showed that Blacks were happy with their work, performance,
atmosphere, and pay. Individual Blacks were interviewed and
a written report was issued to management supporting the allegations
that all was well at Xerox. Blacks who participated in the
study learned, through talking with one another, about the
personnel findings, and came to the startling realization that
management had said to each Black certain things that other
Blacks supposedly had revealed to them. Confirming with each
other that these statements were untrue, participating Blacks
became outraged and were determined to do something about it.
Some of the players were as follows:
John Anderson
Columbus Banks
John Holmes
Hank Joseph
Dave Robinson
Dennis Scott
Mary Lee Tsuffis
Sam White
Carl Williams
Bill Hamilton
John Anderson gathered the group together a few times to produce
a document (communication letter). Much of the time, meetings
were held at Webster Baptist Church after hours.
As the statement was pulled together and finalized, they requested
all Black exempt employees (55 in total) within the Greater
Rochester Area to stop by John Anderson's office and sign the
document. All but a few did so. John, thereby, stopped by each
of the offices of the hesitant persons and received their signature.
All 55 persons were a part of the original response process.
Once the signatures were received, the document was copied
and sent to Joseph C. Wilson, Chairman and C. Peter McCullough,
then President and CEO. Also, copies were mailed at a later
time to Dr. Tragash and other key persons in personnel. The
document requested a meeting with key steering committee Blacks.
There was no acknowledgment from Senior Management. What did
happen, however, was that immediately, 10 random Blacks (selected
by C. Peter McCullough via personnel and different from the
original interviewees) were summoned to a roundtable with McCullough.
These Black employees were not coached by the Steering Committee
and went into the roundtable with their own responses. The
responses, it turned out were no different than those of the
Steering Committee, and, indeed, were far more sharp in their
criticism.
It was shortly after that McCullough decided to acknowledge
the Concerned Blacks Steering Committee and accepted a meeting
with them. Simultaneously, a letter was also written by a Black
female employee in Webster denouncing the study. This letter
set the stage and tone of the entire movement. That letter
of protest happened to find its way to the President's desk
and started a series of chain reactions. I)uring this period,
a three-person steering committee met to discuss the Black
issue in the Corporation and decided to involve and draw support
from more Blacks within Xerox. The concern, tone and direction
was set for the future of CARI.
A series of meetings took place with the general membership.
The meetings were communication focused in nature and for the
finalization of input/issue surfacing that provided the Steering
Committee the opportunity to accurately represent them to top
management.
To gain visibility, each week the CARI Board of Directors
met in a luncheon cafeteria in the various buildings, i.e.,
Webster, Henrietta, etc. Additionally, the Board met at other
strategic locations in order to gain visibility in the community.
The first major step taken by the Steering Committee was to
write a letter of concern to Joseph C. Wilson and C. Peter
McCullough. The letter was signed by 55 Black professional
employees. Additional discussions were held to determine whether
or not Blacks would be interested in formalizing an organization.
The decision was made and the organization was formed with
the filing of a Certificate of Incorporation, on June 30, 1971
and were ratified at the first annual meeting held by the association
on July 17, 1971.
The officers were:
David Robinson, II Executive Director
Samuel V. White Vice-Executive Director
John Anderson Director of Employment and Career Development
Henry Joseph Director of Employee Relations
Carl C. Williams Director of Planning
Columbus Banks Treasurer
Dennis T. Scott Secretary
W. James Lee Director-at-Large
In launching its program, CARI was able to stipulate the interest
of the Black community by stating that: (1) Xerox was under-represented
in minorities in many organizations and in the Corporation
as a whole and it started with McCullough and his office. (2)
That non-minority managers had no incentive for pursuing their
affirmative action targets. (3) That upward mobility for Blacks
fell well below upward mobility for non-minorities in that
non-minorities move two steps up and one side-step (for development)
while Blacks move two steps sideways (for sake of movement
because they were already over-developed) and one step up for
promotion.
As a result of its efforts, CARI was able to develop an on-going
dialogue with Xerox management. Meetings between the CARI Board
of Directors and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Xerox Corporation and his designees comprised five sessions
conducted in the Boardroom on the 29th floor of Xerox Square.
All sessions were of the highest caliber and were positive
and effective, to the extent that a proclamation to management
directing accountability for affirmative action accomplishments
was issued in 1971. In addition, open requisitions were stamped "for
minorities only" for areas of white pockets whereby managers
were reluctant to hire Blacks.
The Forum: Gathering Information from the General Body
To ensure that a complete pulse of the Black Community was
received and understood, The CARI Board of Directors conducted
a Forum at the Webster Baptist Church one full day (during
regular business hours). It was an all day session and the
whole session was taped. Each person desiring to address the
board was given a period of time to present either a case or
his/her input into what business practices and experiences
were taking place centered around affirmative action, Xerox
and CARI. The Corporation granted all minorities (Blacks) the
opportunity for taking time (during the workday) to participate
in the Forum. A lot of significant information was gained from
the Black individuals of Xerox. The information was processed
and became the basis for various platforms and communications
to Senior Management.
Self Help
During the process of gaining accountability and implementing
various programs, (as a result of CARI's efforts), it became
evident that we (Blacks) could begin developing a process for
a self-help mechanism. CARI special general body Self Help
sessions were conducted whereby numerous workshops were conducted
based upon the interests of the facilitator and general body.
Many sessions were under-attended based upon the total population,
however, on a percentage basis, the sessions were well attended.
Assisting Black Representatives of Other Groups
Shortly after, the CARI board was recognized by the Corporation
and incorporated. Art Crawford (then Branch Manager, New York
City) came in from New York to visit with the CARI board and
gather some ideas that could be taken back and launched. The
significant part of the effort was that while CARI was instrumental
in gaining Corporate Management's acceptance for business policy
and practice changes (that were not readily published in some
cases), communications with other Blacks assisted mid- and
upper-management with enablers that supported the effort, kind
of like a tops-down, bottoms-up approach. Art then returned
to NYC and launched efforts that
resulted in the formation of the caucus group in the New York
Metropolitan area
A little time later, Richard Kier (West Coast representative)
flew (at his own expense) to New York City (Xerox Temporary
Headquarters while Stamford was being built) to address C.
Peter McCullough. He was reimbursed for his expenses and came
to Rochester, N.Y. to discuss West Coast issues with the CARI
board. Some time after that, the West Coast organized and was
recognized.
In the mid 1990's CARI changed its name to Rochester Black
Employees Association.
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