100+ most influential black Americans and organization leaders: government, entertainment and association leaders top 1997 list

An entertainment mogul, a major association president and three major officials of the Clinton administration are among the persons added to the new and surprising list of EBONY'S 100 Most Influential Black Americans.

Listed for the first time are producer-director Quincy Jones and Margaret Dixon, president of the American Association of Retired Persons. The Clinton administration officials are Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater; Alexis Herman, a major player in the Clinton White House who was nominated for secretary of labor; and Franklin Raines, director of the Office of management and Budget.

Several people already on the list moved up, including Kenneth I. Chenault, who is now president, chief operating officer and vice chairman of American Express and is in line to become one of the first African-Americans to head a Fortune 500 company.

The list also includes several newly elected congresspersons. Representative Julia Carson of Indiana, Illinois' Danny Davis, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan, California's Juanita Millender-McDonald, Elijah Cummings of Maryland and Delegate Donna Christian-Green of the Virgin Islands are listed for the first time.

The accent on the new generation of leaders, which started last year with Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., continues this year with the addition of Harold Ford Jr., who succeeded his father, retired Congressman Harold Ford Sr., and Dexter King, president and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc.

Among the new organization heads are Beverly L. Malone, president of the American Nurses Association; National Restaurant Association Chief Herman Cain; and Henry Ponder, president of the National Association for Equal Opportunity Higher Education.

The 1997 list, like the preceding lists, was compiled by the editors of EBONY in consultation with national power brokers and national opinion leaders.

Being featured on the list does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of any particular individual or ideology.

Two criteria guided the experts and editors who made the final recommendations:

1. Does the individual transcend his or her position and command widespread national influence?

2. Does the individual affect in a decisive way the lives, thinking and actions of large, segments of the Black population, either by his or her position in a key group or by his or her personal reach and influence?

Three criteria were used in judging nominees for the 100 list of Organization Leaders:

1. The nominee must be the chief executive officer of an independent organization that commands widespread influence in Black America.

2. The organization must be a broad-based national group with a mass membership, a national headquarters and a full-time staff.

3. The nominee and his or her organization must transcend a particular field, occupation or specialty and must have an ongoing program affecting the vital interests of African-Americans.