Sunday marked 60 years since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
He died in 1972 at age 53, but his widow, Rachel Robinson, has remained active in projects that range from housing to mental illness. She is founder of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which has provided college scholarships to more than 1,200 minority students.
Robinson, 83, spoke with USA TODAY corporate management reporter Del Jones about the state of corporate diversity 60 years after her husband became diversity's best-known icon.
(Editors note: The interview took place prior to recent controversies surrounding radio personality Don Imus and the dropping of charges against members of the Duke University lacrosse team.)
Q: If Jackie could see today's workplace, would he be pleased by its diversity, or disappointed that more progress hasn't been made?
A: Jack was a strong and determined advocate for change, and he was not easily pleased by the progress he saw during his lifetime.
I can't speak for him except to say that he was committed to equal opportunity and justice and he was, even before he died, somewhat encouraged by the change but also very disappointed that more had not happened. I'm sure he would want to see a great deal more than we've accomplished.
Q: Haven't Richard Parsons at Time Warner and Kenneth Chennault at American Express shown that anyone can get to the top?
A: If you go for that nonsense, that it's all over because we have famous, wonderful people in high positions. It shows that it can be done, but it doesn't mean that everybody has the opportunity.
We have far too few CEOs, we have far too few baseball managers, so we have a long way to go.
Q: When a handful succeed, does it in some odd way make it more difficult for the many? Jackie must have heard similar comments that the world was perfect once a few other African-Americans had broken into baseball behind him.
A: Our young people don't buy that. They can get data through the Internet and will look at a company hard and carefully. They know who is on the board. They know who is running the company. They know how often people get promoted and what the salary gaps are.
There may be some who say they're satisfied that change has taken place, but for those who are up and coming, they don't have that attitude.
Q: Just about every company boasts about its diversity successes. Are they sincere, or is it public relations? Cynics might even say it's a lawyer-driven strategy so that companies can trot out their diversity efforts when they're
sued for discrimination.
A: Cynicism, apathy and complacency are emotional diseases I avoid. It's not fair nor is it helpful to generalize about all companies. We have roughly 30 corporations supporting our foundation.
I have met with CEOs, and there is a lot of difference from company to company. Are they for real?
At some, it's a token so the company can be recognized as being part of the 21st century. I've seen other companies that have worked on recruiting minorities and training. To some companies, it's sincere. It's competing in a global economy.
Q: Jackie heard his share of slurs while playing. Did he ever say he would have performed even better if fans had been tolerant?
A: There were individuals who would attack him verbally, and even come in with spikes high to hurt him. Or pitchers who threw at his head. Those things happened, and he had to cope.
When he came into the game, he knew that he could make it, he was confident. He had a very high self-esteem. It was very hard to attack that. His mother had done a good job in making him feel entitled to all the advantages that America offers, so he was prepared for what he had to tolerate. There were also fans rooting for him in big ways and waiting for him after games.
Q: The hostile environment didn't influence his performance?
A: It did not. His statistics testify to that fact. The hostile environment only challenged him to do better. He would say that he had to excel to show them that they were wrong. He knew he had to meet the challenge for our race.
Q: How about those now in the workplace? Does a hostile environment make them less productive?
A: The interaction between people in a workforce does have an impact on productivity. I've worked in places where I've been the only woman or the only black person in that setting. When you feel a part of the operation and respected by your colleagues, it does make a difference. It's just being human.
Q: New hires have to develop a strong presence to succeed, yet they must also worry about seeming arrogant. Jackie seemed to have an instinct for developing confidence without arrogance. What was his secret?
A: Jack was fundamentally a humble person, and he had a deep spiritual depth and a belief in God. He didn't have to be arrogant or egotistical or a show-off. When he was on the field, he was aggressive. The need to compete and the need to win brought out that aggression.
Off the field, he was a totally different person. What was appropriate and effective on the field was not what he used when he came off. I think people have to know how to use their various characteristics to support what they're doing.
Q: The Jackie Robinson Foundation relies on corporate funding to support college scholarships for minority students. From a shareholder's perspective, is that the best use of their finite resources?
A: The advantage they have from supporting our program is not only helping students grow and develop into healthy, productive members of society, but they are also seeing our students as a talent pool.
We bring them to New York once a year for a networking weekend. They get to know their corporate sponsors. The corporate sponsors have a chance to cultivate the students by bringing them in for internships and summer jobs. Many are hired. There is mutual benefit.
Q: Students who pass through the Jackie Robinson Foundation must get a lot of job offers. Once they are hired, do they complain that the personal attention stops?
A: No, we don't hear that. We more often hear that our students come in at an entry-level job, but they experience promotions. We have former students in leadership positions all over the country.
We don't make them believe that they should have special attention once they're on jobs. It's up to them to produce in order to be included.
Q: Diversity can create conflict. Nobody would know that better than Jackie.
Some fast-food restaurants seem to avoid conflict by hiring an all-African-American staff at one location and an all-white staff at another. Airlines often staff planes with flight attendants who are all young or all middle-aged. Isn't this reverse diversity in the name of harmony?
A: It cuts down on the differences that have to be dealt with. Some bring in people who speak the same language. I don't think that's a negative thing.
It may be in some cases a desirable thing. It's one mechanism used to reduce the problem in communication and in style and in understanding, and I don't see it as a negative thing unless it's developed to shut others out or close opportunities. It's a tactic to keep things harmonious within the organization, especially in small businesses.
Q: Can you foresee a time when diversity is so ingrained that it is no longer an issue?
A: Not in my lifetime.
Q: In another 60 years?
A: Maybe. A lot depends on the leadership we get in the country.
What kind of president we get, what kind of Congress we have, what kind of leadership we have at the state and local level has a lot to do with the progress we make.
There's always a tendency to retrench and go backwards instead of forward, so you have to factor in those influences to predict the future.
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ABOUT RACHEL ROBINSON
• Born Rachel Annetta Isum in Los Angeles. Met Jackie in 1941 at UCLA. Married in 1946. Author of Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait.
• Two grown children in their 50s. Fifteen grandchildren. Son David lives in Africa. Daughter Sharon, an author, is about to publish her fourth book.
• Career nurse, primarily for the mentally ill. Named assistant professor of nursing at Yale, 1965.
• Jackie played for Brooklyn Dodgers 1947-56. Inducted into Hall of Fame, 1962. Vice president of Chock Full o' Nuts. Co-founder and chairman Freedom National Bank of Harlem. Started Jackie Robinson Construction in 1970.
• Jackie died October 1972 at 53. Rachel started Jackie Robinson Development Corp. to provide housing for those of low and moderate income.
• Rachel created Jackie Robinson Foundation in 1973, her passion, which is currently providing scholarships to 266 minority students, 1,200 since 1973. Recipients have a 97% graduation rate.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2007-04-15-exec-advice-robinson_N.htm
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