As we witness the racial divide with the Zimmerman trial and the Paula Dean fiasco, it makes me reflect on two other trials (O.J. Simpson and Rodney King) during which race was at a pivotal point of deliberation, and blacks and whites viewed the situation from totally different perspectives. Just as some whites and Fox News could neither believe nor accept the election of Barack Obama as the first African American President (even though he won by a landslide in 2008), they welcomed and accepted George Bush in 2000, even though he lost the popular vote and won by a Republican-stacked Supreme Court that declared him the winner. After President Obama won, the tea party hollered throughout the country that they wanted to take the country back. Back where? The tea party followed up with racial slurs and demeaning pictures of President Obama, our President and Commander in Chief of this great nation. A couple of weeks ago, I received an email showing past discrimination by AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph) at the highest and most disgusting level. While I realize discrimination existed then as it does now, I was still shocked and amazed how AT&T overtly went after a Black man with reckless abandon - not just once, but three times - and destroyed this man’s career. I didn’t want to believe this could be true, so I did some research and reviewed the facts. Damn! It is true! Then I asked myself if such behavior by a major corporation could happen today and, if so, how many blacks and minorities witness similar fates? We have just one life to live and I believe it is a crime for any corporation or individual to try to destroy one’s life. Here are the letters. You decide whether or not this is discrimination rather than Equal Justice and opportunity for all. Respectfully, Larry Brown 404 29-Truth To AT&T’s people to complain mb0098@att and Randall.Stephenson@att After reading this you can also call AT&T at (210) 821-4105 @the end of the recording press 6 for executive office. May 9, 2013 Dear Mr. AT&T Rethink possible! We have corresponded several times in the past few years and I have provided you with unquestionable evidence that I was denied equal opportunity for advancement within the Bell System which, in turn, caused me to miss out on a potentially brilliant career with one of the most prestigious companies in America. I missed out on this opportunity, not because I did not have the skills and the ability to do the job, but because management decided the opportunity would not be mine. My record shows with documented evidence that I did a great job that ranked second to none, especially in the marketing department where revenue production and customer satisfaction were paramount. I believed then, as I believe now, that one reason stood behind management’s denial of my promotion to management. In the words of our late President Lyndon Johnson, “The Negro today has been denied … fair employment because of just one reason, he hasn’t a white skin.” I ask just one simple question of you and other AT&T executives and, in doing so; request that you be as honest as humanly possible because my life’s work rests on your answer. Do you think your sons and daughters would have been denied promotions within Southern Bell if their sales skills ratings were more than satisfactory; were more than 200 percent above revenue objective; had won two of the four AT&T system’s solutions contests; had received numerous letters of appreciation from large-scale customers, as well as from several Vice Presidents and Marketing Managers for jobs well done; had passed all their training classes with satisfactory and more than satisfactory ratings; had won all of their competitive cases; and they were going to be highlighted in Southern Bell’s Compete Magazine as one of Marketing’s upcoming stars until management decided to also deny them that opportunity? I accomplished these things during my tenure with the Bell system, in spite of the fact that, according to my manager, I was less than satisfactory in sales skills (a zero rating), less than satisfactory in job knowledge (a zero rating), and less than satisfactory in job planning and paperwork (a zero rating). These subjective ratings were not based on my performance, but nevertheless served as the reason for my manager’s denial of a promotion to me. Do you honestly believe your sons and daughters would have been rated in the same way and denied promotions if they accomplished what I did during my tenure within the Bell system? The accomplishments and ratings iterated in the preceding paragraph are well documented and, if you have not received them in previous correspondence, I would be happy to provide them for you. I would like to point out one additional fact before closing. Mr. Phil Jacobs, who recently served as Executive Vice President at AT&T and, prior to that, as President of Bell South, stated in his letter to me that I never worked under him and he therefore had no knowledge of the things that happened to me. On the contrary, Mr. Jacobs was my District Marketing Manager. In the attached documents you will see clearly that Mr. Jacobs was not only mistaken, but was the architect of denying me promotions within Southern Bell and AT&T, and denying me a requested transfer back to C & P Telephone in Washington, D. C. from whence I had come. The denial of the transfer was especially egregious and doubly painful: I would receive no promotions and, furthermore, I would be terminated with no recourse to return to my former position in Washington, D.C. The most important tool that I have on my side is the sword of truth. All that I have stated and the evidence that I have provided – as ugly as it is – is documented truth. No person, regardless of race, should have to endure what I went through at Southern Bell. I submit to you that it should not matter one little bit that these acts of discrimination occurred more than 30 years ago; it also should not make a difference that those who committed these acts no longer work for the company or are no longer on this earth. The right to equal treatment, equal justice, and the pursuit of happiness has been an American trade mark for more than 230 years and there is no statute of limitations on justice. Mr. Bonham, wrong is wrong and right is right, and I am asking you and the other executives of AT&T to right this wrong. I have provided to you a preponderance of evidence that clearly shows that I was treated differently than my white counterparts and denied an equal opportunity to advance within Southern Bell and be promoted to AT&T. I hope you and others at AT&T will right this wrong that has been on my heart for all these years. Hoping you will Rethink Possible, May 24, 2013 Dear Mr. AT&T Rethink Possible! I haven’t received any response from you regarding my letter dated May 9, 2013. In that letter, I had provided information about Southern Bell’s record of discriminatory acts against me that ended my career within the Bell System and changed my life for the negative. I omitted one additional fact that should be considered. The discriminatory acts against me were being inflicted shortly after AT&T had been found guilty of racial discrimination and had been mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to sign consent decrees in 1973 and 1974 that were intended to force them to end their discriminatory practices in the hiring and promoting of minorities and women. Regarding the discrimination I suffered, either Southern Bell was not in AT&T’s information loop or refused to abide by that decree. As part of the FCC’s decision, “AT&T – the nation’s largest employer – signed a landmark consent decree to eliminate discriminatory recruiting, hiring and promotions practices against women and minorities. The company also provided approximately $30 million in immediate pay increases for 36,000 women and minorities whose advancement in the Bell System had been hampered by discrimination.” (eeoc.gov) As a follow- up to the 1973 consent decree with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, AT&T agreed to a second settlement in 1974, based on the agency’s pleadings before the FCC. The second settlement provided for $30 million in back pay and wage increases for 25,000 female and minority management employees. I hope you will consider the above, in addition to the facts presented in my May 9, 2013 letter to you. Specifically, I am asking you to consider that I was discriminated against at Southern Bell; Mr. Phil Jacobs, previous Vice President of AT&T, denied me the opportunity to be promoted to management within AT&T, as well as the opportunity to be transferred back to C&P Telephone Company in Washington, D. C.; and last, but not least, these discriminatory acts took place just three years after AT&T told the U. S. government it would stop discriminating. Mr. Bonham, I ask you again to consider all of these factors and make your decision on the right side of fairness and justice. I ask that you change this stage of my life for the positive and make me whole. If I don’t hear from you in a timely manner, then I will assume you believe discriminating against minorities, in general, and this minority, in particular, is just part of business. Hoping you will Rethink Possible,
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 04:15:27 +0000
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