A better empowerment idea - Advertorial

THE Ford story is alive and well and working today in the continuing centennial of Black designers, workers and executives who are part of Ford. They forge the idea and the automobiles that have become integral to the American Dream. To help understand Ford's transcendent meaning on the 100th anniversary of Ford Motor Company, here are five defining images:

* George Washington Carver, the dreamer and scientist who worked with Henry Ford in the beginning and who was a frequent visitor in his home.

* Madame C. J. Walker, representing the tens of thousands of African-Americans who lived by and for the Ford automobile.

* Berry Gordy Jr. and other celebrities and non-celebrities, including the Black Ford family, who worked on the assembly lines, in the plants and offices. They climbed ladders of dreams using the wherewithal provided in part by Ford salaries and contributions.

* The tens of thousands of Black students who attended colleges because of the human environments Ford families created and the scholarships and wages Ford provided.

* Black car designers, Black suppliers, Black executives and Black dealers and professionals who have been empowered by the continuing centennial of a corporation that has more Black dealers than any other car company and that invests more than $3.1 billion annually in the African-American community.

EXCLUSIVE FORD ALUMNI CLUB INCLUDES WHO'S WHO OF BLACK AMERICA

AMONG the who's who of Black America who worked at Ford were future celebrities like novelist FRANK YERBY; MALCOLM X, who worked on the Lincoln Mercury assembly line; track star JESSE OWENS, who worked in the personnel office during World War II; and heavyweight boxing champion JOE LOUIS. In 1939, when Louis posed for a publicity picture with a Ford employee, he was told that his old job was waiting for him at River Rouge any time he cared to return. Louis replied that if he decided to come back he wanted an easier job than his old one of lifting heavy frames.

Another River Rouge graduate was COLEMAN YOUNG, the first Black mayor of Detroit, who was generally favorable in his appraisal of Henry Ford. Whatever Ford's motives, Young said, "the bottom line" for Black America was that the Ford Motor Company seemed to be "much friendlier" than other major employers. Young helped organize the union campaign at Ford and noted that Ford agreed to "the most liberal" UAW contract.

Still another Ford graduate is Motown mogul BERRY GORDY JR., who earned $86.40 a week fastening upholstery and chrome strips to frames being pulled down the assembly line.

More Black Dealers Than Any Other Automaker

One of the first Ford dealers was Albert A. French, who was a direct factory dealer in Baltimore in the early 1930s. According to the Negro Year Book, 1931-32, "His sales and service building is located in 'auto row,' and has the latest mechanical equipment and devices in the service department. Mr. French is reported to have been identified in various capacities with the Ford interests for about 16 years." Today, Ford has more Black dealers than any other automobile company.

WALTER DOUGLAS (above) and JACKIE ELGAR (below, right) are two of the more than 370 Black Ford automobile dealers--the largest number of dealers used by a major automobile manufacturer. Another Ford dealer CARL STATHAM (below) is pictured with scholarship recipient Sabrina Dixon. Education is a major emphasis at Ford, which awards a record number of scholarships and prizes every year.