Posted on 12/07/2005 3:39:04 AM PST by Roy Tucker
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson said Tuesday that Wall Street has "a long way to go" in establishing parity for minorities. Jackson said access to capital is the final stage after the ending of legal slavery and segregation and the winning of the right to vote "in our struggle to make this a more perfect union". In an interview before a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York called "Diversity on Wall Street: the quest for equity and parity," Jackson said: "Wall Street is the ultimate mountain to be climbed." Jackson cited the U.S. mutual fund industry as an example. He claimed that in an industry that manages about $7 trillion, "all the blacks and browns combined manage $5 billion". He said that some state pension funds represent populations that are up to 30 percent black and yet have no black fund managers. "We have these barriers to overcome," said Jackson. "The ultimate mountain to be climbed is access to capital, industry and technology. "The difficulty today is that while excellence and effort matters, inheritance and access matters more. The schemes to recycle in an incestuous way these monies is a cycle that must be broken." On investment banking, Jackson said: "Look at the big deals and you'll see we are basically locked out." Inspiration A recent survey by the Securities Industry Association showed an improving picture for minorities in the U.S. finance industry. The survey of 48 firms showed "people of color" now hold nearly a quarter of senior-level positions in the industry and over a third of mid-level jobs. And Jackson agreed that high-profile role models like Merrill Lynch (down $0.24 to $67.28, Research) chief executive Stanley O'Neal could be a source of inspiration.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
The book Shakedown about Jackson was really illuminating. He has literally blackmailed every single major corporation in the country; there were only two corporations that didn't give in to his blackmail.
He's also intimidated every major state into putting his cronies on the boards that control state pensions, etc. So when I read about the financial problems of California, for example, I have to wonder if it's because Jackson's cronies have the experience to make such major decisions.
Who were those two corporations? I would like to give them an ATTABOY.
One was WorldCom (was that the name of the now defunct corporation?) and the other was a phone corporation but I've forgotten the name (MCI?).
The author started writing the biography because he was a fan of Jackson's and all that changed as he started researching Jesse. It's an excellent book.
I'm looking at the flyleaf of the book.
In Shakedown you'll learn how Jackson lied about the assassination of MLK, Jr.; how Jesse was affiliated with one of Chicago's most notorious street gangs, learned politics from card carrying Communists, raided corporate America in the name of the poor but really to enrich himself and his cronies, his corrupt mixture of official diplomacy and unofficial business with African dictators, the inspiring story of a CEO who stood up to Jackson's bullying and won.
Jackson is a money making monster machine.
I want about three-fiddy!
/Jackson
Jesse follows the Willie Sutton approach. He goes where the money is and then tries to mau-mau the companies into paying his foundations so that he'll leave them alone.
Here is some information from a review of a book called "In the Black" by Gregory Bell on Black Americans on Wall Street. They have been successful there well before Jesse Jackson ever espied an opportunity. Capitalism properly practiced is colorblind.
Here, for the first time, is the fascinating history of the African American experience on Wall Street as told by Gregory Bell, the son of the Travers Bell, who founded the first black-owned member firm of the New York Stock Exchange.
A successful finance professional in his own right with close ties to leading figures in both the black financial and civil rights communities, Gregory Bell tells the stories of the pioneers who broke down the ancient social and political barriers to African American participation in the nation's financial industry. We learn about McGhee and Company, and Patterson and Company, two early black owned firms. Learn about how Merrill Lynch hired three black brokers in 1965.
With the help of profiles of many important black leaders. Includes profiles of E. Stanley O'Neal, COO and President of Merrill Lynch, and Russell Goings, founder of First Harlem Securities and cofounder of First Harlem Securities. On Wall Street, you are remembered only for your last price, trade, or quarterly report. History is not dwelled on; today's young leaders probably wouldn't know JP Morgan, Muriel Siebert, or EF Hutton if they tripped over them. Not would many even know the names Hornblower, First Harlem, Bache, Hutton, or Shearson. But, as of this writing, with African Americans leading both Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse First Boston, it is nice to read a concise history of African Americans on Wall Street.
Did you know that in the 1960's, Merrill Lynch, with 2500 fixed commission brokers, hired only 3 African American brokers? If not for this book, who would know of Thorvald McGregor (MercerHicks) and Lawrence Lewis (Abraham & Co) , the first two African American Registered Reps in 1949? Or Abraham Cowing (FL Salomon); Howard Law grad Norman McGhee (McGhee and Company, the first black NASD securities firm); Philip Jenkins and Earle Fisher (Baruch Brothers) who started Special Markets; Lilla St John (Oppenheimer), the first black female broker in 1953; June Middleton (Cohen Simonson); Attorney Wylie H. Whisonant (Bache); Clarence B. Jones (Carter, Berlind, Sanford Weill, & Arthur Levitt);or Joseph L Searles (the first black full member of the NYSE in 1970)? The author, Gregory Bell, is the son of the Travers Bell, who founded the first black-owned member firm of the New York Stock Exchange, so he had deep access to the inside story of the black history of Wall Street. Although there were a couple of paragraphs that I might not have agreed with (the notion that African Americans did not invest in equities in the 1950's because they were more concerned with basic civil rights than investing), the book remains an excellent, informative read.
It is especially interesting when discussing the trials of how companies were founded (For example, Daniels and Bell hatched their business plan after seeing The Wiz on Broadway, spent a year trying to get financing, and finally scored some needed fund after Myron Kandell wrote a story on their efforts and Nixon's SEC Chief William Casey pushed through an exemption to some rules for them and influenced his friends to invest in the firm), as well as when discussing the effect of Municipal policies to require that a percentage of their Public Finance business be done with minority owned vendors.
He has been quiet for a while, but must be running low on money.
Yup. Jesse would starve on Wall Streeet.
He's been doing this for 9 years, so it must be a lucrative gig.. Hit all the banks and securities firms at bonus time when they're flush so they'll throw him a bone to go away.
Jesse Jackson calls for change on Wall Street
----Americans calls for Jesse Jackson to STFU and crawl back into the hole you slithered out of.
This is such a Fifties view of Wall Street, completely wrong-headed. I suspect Wall Street in the last 30 years has lifted more smart, poor people into fantastic wealth than any other industry of all races, creeds and colors.
That'll work.
Jesse wants change?
I'll chip in two nickels and a penny. That's more than his opinions are even worth.
From the title, I expected a picture of the rhymemaster with a tin can - like Eddie Murphy in "Trading Places".
The headline gives me an image of Jesse with hat in hand begging for change!
Egads, every time that jerk takes a poo he has to relate it to slavery and the media is all over it.
Wall Street sees one color, and one color only. And that color is green...
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