the editor talks with you

Imagine for a minute that you have flaming red hair, bright green eyes, fair skin and freckles. That’s quite an attractive package with one catch. Those with your coloration are discriminated against. You were the oddball in high school with blonde, blue-eyed classmates. You tried to join the Air Force but they sent you to the Navy which wanted nothing to do with you either. The captain of your ship dropped you off in Alaska until the war was over and they could discharge you. On the GI Bill, you earned a degree in hotel management. All your classmates were quickly hired. You weren’t. Same problem. You had the wrong skin, hair and eyes.

That’s the story of James Harold “Bud” Ward, Jr. Bud did not have red hair or green eyes. His eyes and skin were brown. Despite discrimination, in 1945 he became a pioneer as the 1st American of his race to become a senior vice president of Marriott, the largest US hotel chain. Bud worked for Marriott almost 20 years. He played a key role in expanding the hotel division including the Courtyard by Marriott Hotels. He died July 31 at 94. His story is one of grit in overcoming obstacles during an era of racial segregation. “He broke down barriers to rise to the highest levels of corporate management,” his son Sterling wrote in a tribute. “He embodied the best of his generation.”

He was born in New England in 1925, the only black student in his class. He was drafted into the Navy during World War II but hoped to join the Tuskegee Airmen. After the war he attended Howard University on the GI Bill, then transferred to Cornell where he became the first African American to graduate from the Ivy League university’s hotel administration program. Most of his Cornell classmates were quickly hired. He was not. Fortune Magazine wrote in a profile, “it was an era when some hotel doors still carried signs that read, ‘No Negroes. No Jews. No Dogs.’” He worked at “colored” motels in Miami. He was rejected by the University of Miami business school due to his race.

He started a consulting marketing firm before Marriott hired him to evaluate their minority hiring and employee relations. 70% of their 14,000 employees were black cooks, maids or janitors. Marriott heeded his recommendations and promoted him to senior vice president. After he retired, he founded an information technology company whose clients included the Defense Department, the White House, Verizon and AT&T. His son Sterling said: “He was thrilled to be an entrepreneur. The civil rights struggle was a 2-pronged thing. Marching and nonviolent protesting in the streets were critical. But it was important to have somebody on the inside of corporations to advise top officers. He saw this as his role.” Marriott ranks among the leaders in nondiscrimination in hiring and promotions.

As a white child in South Carolina, I recall segregated schools, segregated movie theaters, even segregated water fountains. As a young reporter, my editor assigned me to cover the lunch counter sit-ins in the 1960s. Many of you may not be old enough to remember those times. Be thankful they are behind us and today’s Bud Wards compete on a more level playing field.

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