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How One Pioneering Company Broke Color Barriers in 1940s American Business
Free Press
February 2008
On Sale: February 5, 2008
384 pages
ISBN: 0743265726
EAN: 9780743265720
Paperback
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Non-Fiction
In America's long march toward racial equality, small acts
of courage by men and women whose names we don't recall
have contributed mightily to our nation's struggle to
achieve its own ideals. This moving book details the story
of one such little-noted chapter. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, as Jackie Robinson
changed the face of baseball, a group of African-American
businessmen -- twelve at its peak -- changed the face of
American business by being among the first black Americans
to work at professional jobs in Corporate America and to
target black consumers as a distinct market. The corporation was Pepsi-Cola, led by the charismatic and
socially progressive Walter Mack, a visionary business
leader. Though Mack was a guarded idealist, his consent for
a campaign aimed at black consumers was primarily motivated
by the pursuit of profits -- and the campaign succeeded,
boosting Pepsi's earnings and market share. But America
succeeded as well, as longstanding stereotypes were chipped
away and African- Americans were recognized as both
talented employees and valued customers. It was a
significant step in our becoming a more inclusive society. On one level, The Real Pepsi Challenge, whose author is an
editor and writer for The Wall Street Journal, is a
straightforward business book about the birth of niche
marketing. But, as we quickly learn, it is a truly
inspirational story, recalling a time when we as a nation
first learned to see the strength of our diversity. It is
far more than a history of marketing in America; it is a
key chapter in the social history of our nation. Until these men came along, typical advertisements depicted
African-Americans as one-dimensional characters: Aunt
Jemimas and Uncle Bens. But thereafter, Pepsi-Cola took a
different approach, portraying American blacks for what
they were increasingly becoming -- accomplished middle-
class citizens. While such portrayals seem commonplace to
us today, they were revolutionary in their time, and the
men who brought them into existence risked day-to-day
professional indignities parallel to those that Jackie
Robinson suffered for breaking baseball's color line. As
they crossed the country in the course of their jobs, they
faced the cruelty of American racial attitudes. Jim Crow
laws often limited where they could eat and sleep while on
the road, and they faced resistance even within their own
company. Yet these men succeeded as businessmen, and all
went on to success in other professions as well, including
medicine, journalism, education, and international
diplomacy. Happily, six of these pioneers lived to tell their stories
to the author. Their voices, full of pride, good humor, and
sharp recollection, enrich these pages and give voice to
the continuing American saga.
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