Black History in the Upstate - February 2005

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* Information for this page obtained from Leroy Chapman Jr., Associate Editorial Page Editor for Greenville News Do you know of someone in the Upstate that you would like to nominate as a part of our local Black History list? If so please email us their name and contact information.

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February 7, 2005
Dr. William F. Gibson: He helped modernize civil rights

The late Dr. William F. Gibson, a Greenville dentist, was one of its most skilled warriors in the battle for civil rights and equal treatment. Between 1985 and 1995 Dr. Gibson was the national board chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. WJMZ salutes Dr. Gibson's legacy of leadership, as Gibson was instrumental in shifting the NAACP's focus to include matters of economic justice.

Gibson took over the nation's oldest civil rights organization at a time when became clear that racial inequity was defined by economics. No longer were African Americans being denied the right to the ballot nor were they being turned away in public places. By the 1970s and 1980s the biggest issues facing African Americans were inadequate education and economic opportunity.

Gibson shrewdly figured out that it was time to sit down with Wall Street and put corporate America's business practices under the microscope. As syndicated columnist DeWayne Wickham notes in a column he wrote about Gibson's life, the doctor was the first chairman to negotiate "fair share" agreements with major corporations. Those agreements opened up franchising, contracting and employment opportunities for thousands of African Americans. These agreements set the stage for something still critical to African American success: the idea that businesses that profit from African American consumers are, in turn, obligated to invest in those communities. Also under the leadership of Dr. Gibson, the NAACP began critiquing the television industry, as it found that African Americans were either missing on television or relegated to sidekick and stereotypical roles. It put Hollywood on notice that African Americans would not stand idly by and allow the power of television to be used to define them as one-dimensional stereotypes. To this day, the NAACP is still active in shining the spotlight of shame on those networks that trade in such images. It is also a force behind the new diversity apparent in Hollywood.

Gibson is also credited with setting the stage for the removal of the Confederate flag from the capitol dome in South Carolina and from the state flags and positions of sovereignty in other Southern states. WJMZ salutes the leadership of Dr. William Gibson, a civil rights hero who set the modern agenda.

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Listen weekdays during February at 7:45AM in the Tom Joyner Morning Show, and again at 12:50PM during the K. J. in the Midday Show, for McDonald's Black History Moments featuring interesting historical facts about African American history in the Upstate. McDonald's celebrates Black history 365 days a year by communicating the pride, achievement, heritage, and contributions of African Americans to American history. McDonald's, "I'm loving it."

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Read about Peabo Bryson

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