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“You are like a balloon.
It’s not your color that makes you rise or fall, but what’s inside of
you.” - The Rev. Leon H. Sullivan
Early Life
Leon Howard Sullivan was born in
Charleston, West Virginia. He was born on October 16, 1922. Leon lived
with his mother and his grandmother. They were very poor. Leon’s
grandmother washed clothes for other people. Leon delivered the clean
clothes.
Leon was a very smart
boy. He was also very good at sports. Leon and his friends wanted a
football. They did not have any money to buy one. They made one out of
newspaper. They stuffed it with grass and other junk.
Leon was African
American. In those days there were “whites only” rules. Leon could only
walk on one side of the street. He could not buy a soda at some stores.
There were places he could not go. Leon knew this was wrong. He decided to
spend his life trying to change things.
Education
Leon was interested in religion. When he was only 17 he became a Baptist
minister. Soon after that he went to college. He went to West Virginia
State College. Leon was very good at sports. He was a good basketball
player. His nickname was “Goose.” The college gave him a scholarship. He
would play basketball and football for the school.
Leon hurt his knee.
He could not play on the college teams any more. He lost his scholarship.
Leon did not give up. He got an evening job. He worked at a steel mill.
That paid his college bills.
New York City
Leon met a man named Adam Clayton Powell. Rev. Powell offered Leon a job
in New York City. In 1943 Leon finished college. Then he moved to New
York.
Rev. Powell was the
pastor of a church. The church was called the Abyssinian Baptist Church. It
was in Harlem. This is a part of New York City. Leon worked as Rev.
Powell’s assistant. Rev. Powell knew that Leon was very smart. He urged
him to do more. Leon did. He studied theology at Union Theological
Seminary. He studied sociology at Columbia University. When he finished
school, Leon was ready for his own church. He became the pastor of the
First Baptist Church in South Orange, New Jersey.
A Move to
Philadelphia
In 1950 Leon took a new job. He and his wife Grace moved to North
Philadelphia. Leon became the pastor of Zion Baptist Church on Venango
Street. The church had about 500 members. Many of them had no jobs. Some
young people were in trouble. The church was in a very poor area.
Leon looked for ways
to help his people. In Philadelphia there were many companies. Some of
them would not hire African Americans. Leon decided to change this. He
joined with over 400 black pastors. They told their members to stop buying
from these companies. They told them, “Don’t buy where you can’t work.”
To refuse to buy
things from someone is called a boycott. Many people boycotted the
companies. The boycotts hurt the companies. They agreed to hire African
Americans. About 3000 jobs opened up.
The OIC
Soon Leon learned that jobs were not enough. Many of his church members
could not take good jobs. They did not know how to do them. They needed to
be taught.
Leon started working.
He collected money from companies and agencies. He collected pennies from
children. He asked everyone to help. The Philadelphia City Council gave
him a building. Another group paid for teachers. Leon started a training
center. It was called the Opportunities Industrialization Center. [OIC]
People could learn electronics, power sewing, drafting, cabinet making,
and restaurant work. Many people trained there. In 5 years, 7 more centers
were opened. These centers taught commercial cooking, welding, department
store sales work, dry cleaning, and laundry work.
The program was a big
success. 6000 people were trained. 5000 found jobs.
The United States
Government liked the program. They gave money to open more centers. OIC
branches opened in 75 cities.
The Lion of Zion
Rev. Leon Sullivan was a pastor. He worked at Zion Baptist church. He
preached sermons. He taught the Bible. This was not enough. He wanted
more. He wanted a good life for people who didn’t have much. He was very
patient. He did not shout. But he never gave up. He was brave. He asked
hard questions. He stood up for justice. People called him “The Lion of
Zion.”
Investing in Business
Leon had another idea. African Americans should help
each other. He decided to start an investment company. People could buy
shares in this company. When there were profits, the shareholders would
benefit.
Leon called the
company Zion Investment Associates. His church members could buy shares.
No one had much money. Leon made it easy to invest. He asked for 10
dollars a week for three years. He called this the 10-36 plan.
Zion Investment
Associates built an apartment building. It was called Zion Gardens. The
apartments were not too expensive to rent. They built a shopping center.
It was called Progress Plaza. African Americans owned all of the stores.
They worked in the stores. This was the first shopping center in the
United States owned and operated by African Americans.
Zion Investment Associates started
the Progress Garment Manufacturing Company. In 1988 they started Progress
Aerospace Enterprises. The government gave money to help with this
project. It trained people with no jobs to be aerospace technicians.
General Electric ordered work from the company. They trusted that the work
would be good.
All of these projects
helped the people of North Philadelphia. Leon’s church helped in other
ways. They started a day care center. They set up a community center. They
helped people get loans and find jobs. They started a home for older
people. Leon’s church was much bigger now. He had started with about 500
members. Now there were around 6000.
General Motors
There were many big companies in the United States. They all had a group
of leaders. They were called the Board of Directors. Not one company had
an African American on their board. In 1971 General Motors called Leon.
They invited him to join their Board of Directors. He agreed.
General Motors did
business in many countries. One of them was South Africa. South Africa had
a policy called apartheid. This meant that only white South Africans had
rights. Only white South Africans could vote. Black South Africans had no
rights. They were treated badly.
Leon decided to
change this. In 1977 he met with some business leaders. They wrote down
their thoughts. They wrote down ways for businesses to act fairly. This
list was soon called the Sullivan Principles. The Sullivan Principles said
that American companies in South Africa should not follow South African
ways. They should treat black South Africans fairly. Black South Africans
should get equal pay. They should have a fair chance to get a better job.
They should work in good conditions. Leon asked General Motors to sign the
Principles. He asked other companies, too.
The government in
South Africa was not happy with Leon. They thought he was a troublemaker.
Some companies signed the Principles. This helped. But it was not enough.
Leon remembered what he had done in Philadelphia. Maybe a boycott would
help.
Leon asked General
Motors to stop doing business with South Africa. He asked the American
government to do the same. He asked universities, clubs, and businesses.
He said that no one should buy from a company that did business in South
Africa. Very slowly things started to change.
Equal Rights for
the World
In 1982 Leon started a new group. It was the International Foundation for
Education and Self-Help. Leon wanted Africans and African Americans to
help each other. They could meet. They could talk about their problems.
They could plan ways to help each other.
In 1988 Leon retired
from his job at Zion Baptist Church. He had worked there for 38 years. He
had many friends. He had helped a lot of people. Now it was time to focus
on Africa.
The End of
Apartheid
More and more people and groups were listening. They were avoiding South
Africa. The pressure on the country was great. At last, in 1989, South
Africa gave up apartheid. Soon they held an election. Both whites and
blacks could vote. A black South African became president. His name was
Nelson Mandela.
In 1991 the
Federation had its first conference. It was held in Africa. It was called
the African and African-American Summit. People talked. They planned ways
to help each other. At each conference since then, more has been done.
The Global
Sullivan Principles
The Sullivan Principles were about South Africa. But there was injustice
all over the world. Leon updated his Principles. Now they were called the
Global Sullivan Principles. Leon wanted companies to support justice in
every country.
The new Principles
had 8 parts. Companies should care about the countries where they do
business. They should protect human rights. They should provide schools.
People should have healthy place to live. They should be offered good
jobs. Companies should urge their partners to do the same thing.
184 American
companies have signed the Principles. Each year they must send in a
report. They must tell what they have done.
Personal and Later
Life
Leon’s wife was named Grace. She also was brave and strong. President
Jimmy Carter met her. He called her “Amazing Grace.” Leon and Grace had
three children. Their names are Julie, Hope, and Howard.
Leon wrote a book
about his life. It is called “Moving Mountains.”
Leon was given many
awards and honors. There is a list of them in the Level 2 Biography.
Leon became sick. He
had leukemia. He died on April 25, 2001. He was 78 years old.
The Foundation is
still at work. It has many programs. There is the Schools for Africa
program. This builds schools and trains teachers. There are Investment
funds and training programs. Leon’s work goes on. |