40th Anniversary of the Integration of U.S Corporate Boards of Directors

May 18, 2011 - PRLog -- Reverend Leon H. Sullivan, a Baptist minister, African American civil rights leader and economic justice leader/activist joined the Board of Directors of the General Motors Corporation (GM) on March 1, 1971, and was the first African American to hold a Directors seat on a major U.S. Corporate Board.

May 21, 1971 marks the date of the first stockholder's meeting attended by Reverend Sullivan. At that meeting, he challenged GM to leave South Africa until apartheid ended. This set the stage for the integration of U.S. Corporate Boards and for the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Reverend Sullivan “was best known for creating the Sullivan Principles, a set of ethical guidelines later signed by officials from more than 125 US corporations working in South Africa." The principles were one of the first benchmarks used for corporate social responsibility (CSR), and are a methodology still in use today.

His work “illustrates the most fully developed instance of corporate reaction to shareholder pressure. It remains a successful example of corporate activism in support of social justice: U.S. companies responded to anti-apartheid pressure and shareholder' ultimate goal of eliminating apartheid was realized, eventually.”

Reverend Sullivan founded the very first Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) in 1964, in an abandoned jailhouse in Philadelphia. The OIC provided job and life skills training and matched its graduates up with the employment needs of Philadelphia businesses. The undertaking was a huge success, and the programs were replicated in cities across the United States. In 1969, OIC International was created to provide employment-training services on a global scale.

In addition to GM, Reverend Sullivan also served on the Board of Directors of Mellon Bank and the Boy Scouts of America.

Please join us on June 14th as we launch a series of webinars on the Reverend Leon H. Sullivan, corporate inclusiveness, diversity and economic justice. The webinars are free, although attendees can make a donation to the Sullivan Foundation. The events are being held with the support and assistance of the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation. (http://www.thesullivanfoundation.org/)

We will discuss Reverend Sullivan’s' background and personal history, the impact of the Principles on social ethics, the impact of the Principles on corporate behavior and the effect this effort has on succeeding generations.

Date: June 14, 2011. Time: 11 am.

Where: http://sullivan40th.eventbrite.com

Agenda:

1.   Introduction
2.   Opening prayer
3.   Background and personal history
4.   The impact of the Principles on social ethics
5.   The impact of the Principles on corporate behavior
6.   The impact Board Integration has had on succeeding generations
7.   Closing.

Schedule of future webinar events:

•   The Global Sullivan Principles and Diversity: Past, Present and Future. June 21st. 11 am.

•   The Impact of the Global Sullivan Principles on Africa: Past, Present and Future. June 28th. 11 am.

•   The Global Sullivan Principles and African American Businesses: Past, Present and Future. July 21st. 11 am.

•   The Global Sullivan Principles and HBCU's: Past, Present and Future. September 14th. 11 am.

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The Leon H. Sullivan Foundation empowers underprivileged people worldwide by promoting the principles of self-help and social responsibility.  These goals are the articulation of the vision of the Reverend Leon Howard Sullivan.

In order to fulfill our mission and in order to take the vision of Leon Sullivan to a higher level of effectiveness and expansion, the Foundation will support and create programs where such principles and ideals are implemented to improve the lives of the vulnerable.  Also, we endeavor to infuse a spirit of activism into economic development by promoting ethics and corporate social responsibility principles among businesses and governments alike.

The Leon H. Sullivan Foundation
1800 K. Street, NW, Suite 1021
Washington, DC 20006
Phone:   202.736.2239
Fax:   202.736.2226
Email:   info@thesullivanfoundation.org

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