NAACP board names Bruce Gordon president

ATLANTA (AP) - Turning to a businessman to lead one of the nation's seminal civil rights groups, the NAACP's board of directors said Saturday that Bruce S. Gordon, a retired Verizon executive, will be its next president.

"Civil rights leaders throughout this country did what they did and died, so my generation has full responsibility to walk in the doors those brave people opened," Gordon said after his selection.

Gordon was selected by unanimous vote to succeed Kweisi Mfume, former U.S. representative and a candidate for Senate in Maryland who resigned abruptly in December. Several months later, a report surfaced that his personal relationships with NAACP staffers had contributed to widespread mismanagement at national headquarters. One staff member threatened to sue.

Described as a top-notch leader and consensus-builder, Gordon, 59, began his career in 1968 as a management trainee at Bell of Pennsylvania. For 35 years, amid massive upheaval in the telecommunications industry, he helped the company navigate the string of mergers that led it to become Verizon Communications Inc. When he retired in December 2003, he was chief of Verizon's biggest division - retail markets.

After contract negotiations, Gordon is expected to be confirmed as president at the association's convention in July.

It became clear last week that Gordon was the only presidential candidate under consideration, a choice that marked a striking change for the NAACP. Most presidents have been political or religious leaders, or prominent figures from the civil rights movement.

"He's not a minister or a politician, but this man's been doing it all along," said Eric Cevis, a vice president in Verizon's retail division who has known Gordon since 1986. "He has a social accountability that he's been preaching for years."

Cevis said Gordon pioneered diversity efforts at Verizon for blacks and other minorities, consistently pushing the company to improve its hiring and promotion practices.

Gordon was born in Camden, N.J., and raised with four siblings by parents who were both educators and civil right activists.

He serves on boards of several companies and other groups, including the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, Office Depot, Southern Co. and Tyco International Ltd. He was named one of Fortune magazine's 50 most powerful black executives in 2002 and executive of the year by Black Enterprise magazine in 1998.

Black Enterprise wrote that Gordon has "a track record too impressive to ignore."

"He was an outstanding corporate executive and a spectacular choice for the NAACP as it goes into next era of leadership," Earl "Butch" Graves, Jr., president of Black Enterprise Magazine, said in an interview before Gordon's selection. "It's a good fit in that I think the organization needs to be shaken up."

Graves said Gordon will appeal to younger blacks, many of whom question the relevance of the 96-year-old organization that had a broad impact during the civil rights movement but has lost prominence in recent years.

"They need to reach out to a younger, broader audience who will see the relevance of being associated with this very important civil rights organization," Graves said. "How they design that and how Bruce creates the architecture for that remains to be seen, but I think that's challenge number one."

Tony Lewis, president of Verizon's Washington, D.C., operation, said Gordon helped Verizon's culture evolve into one that was focused on customer happiness - and loyalty.

"He always said we had to make them trust the brand," Lewis said. Similarly, the NAACP "needs brand. They need to continue to grow with their market base."

NAACP Board Selects Bruce S. Gordon Next President, CEO; Senior Business Executive Committed to Broadening NAACP's Reach

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20050625/pl_usnw/naacp_board_selects_bruce_s__gordon_next_president__ceo__senior_business_executive_committed_to_broadening_naacp_s_reach104_xml

To: National Desk

Contact: NAACP Office of Communications, 410-580-5125

ATLANTA, June 25 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Board of Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) today selected Bruce S. Gordon as its next president and chief executive officer.

Gordon, 59, previously served as president of retail markets at Verizon Communications, starting out as a management trainee in 1968 and rising through the ranks over the course of his 35 years with the company. Gordon helped transform the company from a traditional telephone business into one of the world's most diverse and largest communications enterprises. During his last year with Verizon, Gordon managed its largest business unit, which employed 34,000 people, served 33 million telephone and Internet customers, and recorded more than $25 billion in sales. He retired in 2003.

"We are overjoyed that the NAACP Board of Directors has taken an important step in making Bruce Gordon our next President/CEO," said NAACP Chairman Julian Bond. "He will bring the passion and commitment to justice that distinguished his corporate career, where he not only served as president of Verizon's retail markets, but also proved to be an effective advocate for diversity within the company and the industry. We are pleased to welcome Bruce and his wife, Tawana, to the NAACP family."

Saturday's vote by the Board is the first of two steps toward confirming Gordon as President. The Board Executive Committee is now authorized to enter into contract negotiations with Gordon before a final vote during the Board meeting at the NAACP national convention in July.

"I am both humbled and energized to serve the NAACP and its members," said Gordon. "Led by my father to NAACP meetings since I could walk, I know first-hand the critical role the NAACP plays in fighting for justice and equality. And as a direct beneficiary of the NAACP's efforts to create opportunities for young African-Americans, I am eager to give something back to this noble institution, its dedicated members and the diverse nation it serves."

Gordon has been a life-long advocate for racial equality. His father was a founder of the Camden, N.J. NAACP branch and he aggressively used his position in corporate America to bring about real change and advancement for African-Americans. Gordon, for example, established a mentoring and networking program at Verizon to foster the advancement of African-American executives within the company. He is also a member of the Executive Leadership Council, a non-profit with similar aims for corporate America overall.

"Thanks to the dedication of leaders like W.E.B. DuBois, Thurgood Marshall and Julian Bond, the NAACP has diminished some of the most overt threats to equality," continued Gordon. "Today, however, we face subtler and more complex threats to equality in education, employment and other areas that are harder to recognize and just as hard to overcome. My goal as president will be to build on the legacy of this organization, to help it continue adapting to this new reality, and to extend its reach and influence to more of our youth, to more people of color, and to more leaders in the academic, business and political worlds."

Gordon has been honored numerous times for his achievements and efforts to foster corporate diversity. Among the most notable recognitions, Fortune Magazine named him as one of the "50 Most Powerful Black Executives" in July 2002 and, in 1998, Black Enterprise magazine named him "Executive of the Year."

Gordon was chosen from among a diverse and seasoned group of candidates by the Presidential Search Committee. Formed in December 2004, the committee included: Bond; Roslyn Brock, Vice- Chair, NAACP Board; Rupert Richardson, member, NAACP Board; former Republican Congressman Jack Kemp; Hugh B. Price, former president, the National Urban League and senior advisor to Piper Rudnick LLP; Alice Huffman, member, NAACP Board; Philip Murphy, Managing Director, Investment Management Division, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and member, NAACP SCF Trustee Board; Coleman Peterson, President/CEO Hollis Enterprises, LLC and member, NAACP SCF Trustee Board; and Nicholas Wiggins, NAACP Youth Board Member. Gordon is the latest in a line of business executives to lead the NAACP.

For the last seven months, NAACP has been led by interim president and CEO Dennis Courtland Hayes, the Association's longtime general counsel.

The NAACP, with more than 2000 units (adult branches and college chapters), has led the effort for social justice for nearly 100 years and through programmatic initiatives remains visible with adult branches, youth councils and college chapters in the United States, Japan, South Korea and Germany.

------

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

Mr. Gordon gave and raised more money for President Bush than many FReepers. There is hope for the NAACP after all...

3 records found in 0.5000 seconds.

Search Criteria:
Donor name: gordon
Donor occupation: verizon
Cycle(s) selected: 2006, 2004

Start another search

Sort by Name
Sort by Date
Sort by Amount

Total for this search: $3,323

Contributor	Occupation	Date	Amount	Recipient
GORDON, BRUCE MR NEW YORK,NY 10013	VERIZON/EXECUTIVE	6/26/2003	$2,000	Bush, George W
GORDON, BRUCE S NEW YORK,NY 10013	VERIZON SERVICES CORP	6/10/2004	$1,000	Obama, Barack
GORDON, BRUCE S NEW YORK,NY 10013	VERIZON SERVICES CORP./PRESIDENT	12/12/2003	$323	Verizon Communications

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.