The National Urban League, via the partnership with Advance America, punctuated its centennial celebration by announcing that it will train African American executives to sit on corporate boards of Fortune 500, NASDAQ- and NY Stock Exchanged-traded companies through the establishment of the Director Inclusion Initiative.
“We are happy to partner with Advance America to make this new director inclusion initiative a reality,” said Marc Morial, the president of the CEO NUL. “We’re going to help African Americans achieve corporate board certification so that they and we can work very hard to address the very serious issue of under representation in the board rooms in corporate America. This type of initiative is long overdue.”
But that’s not the figure that tells the entire story of the economy, Morial said. African Americans represent 25 percent of the customers in the movie industry. Boards of directors play a very important role in the strategic direction of Fortune 500 companies and that’s why this initiative is so important.
“Under the guidance of the National Urban League, this Director Inclusion Initiative will give African Americans a chance to serve on boards as directors. It’s a compelling opportunity,” said Billy Webster, chairman of the board of directors for Advance America. “The participants get the real-world training that’s necessary to round out their skill sets, and publicly-traded companies have immediate access to a cadre of pre-screened, certified, diverse candidates, who are ready and capable of serving on the boards of directors. They will bring a new perspective to the board’ they will stimulate creativity with their breadth of perspective that is essential for a global, diverse and completive environment.”
Blacks have long decried the horrid absence of blacks in positions where they can green light decisions that impact us, particularly as it relates to the movie industry. We will soon have those people in place, courtesy of the National Urban League. —terry shropshire
