This Is Not a Textual Record. This Is Used As an Administrative Marker by the William J
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FOIA Number: 2012-0181-F FOIA MARKER This is not a textual record. This is used as an administrative marker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Staff. Collection/Record Group: Clinton Presidential Records Subgroup/Office of Origin: Records Management - SUBJECT FILE Series/Staff Member: Subject Files Subseries: OA/ID Number: 23338 Scan ID: 011716 Document Number: Folder Title: HU012 Stack: Row: Section: Shelf: Position: S 85 1 3 ID# 011716 THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET INCOMING DATE RECEIVED: APRIL 08, 1993 ro 1993 NAME OF CORRESPONDENT: THE REVEREND JESSE L. JACKSON SUBJECT: SUGGESTS THE PRESIDENT SEND A MESSAGE TO CORPORATE AMERICA & UNIVERSITIES THAT LEGAL APR j j jggo ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION LAWS HAS RETURNED TO THE WHITE HOUSE ACTION DISPOSITION ROUTE TO: ' ACT DATE TYPE C COMPLETED OFFICE/AGENCY (STAFF NAME) CODE YY/MM/DD RESP D YY/MM/DD BERNARD NUSSBAUM ORG 93 /04/09 ^ <l93-iy/nQ /)i ////,/^^ I JIEFERRALREFERRAL NOTENOTE:: y, , REFERRAL NOTE: ^ ^ WW REFERRAL NOTE: / / ~r~7" _/_/ /_/. REFERRAL NOTE: _/_/ /_/. REFERRAL NOTE: COMMENTS: ENCLOSES BALTIMORE ORIOLES 1993 MEDIA GUIDE ADDITIONAL CORRESPONDENTS: MEDIA:L INDIVIDUAL CODES; MI MAIL USER CODES: (A) (B) (C) ************************************************ •ACTION CODES: *DISPOSITION *OUTGOING * * * *CORRESPONDENCE: * *A-APPROPRIATE ACTION *A-ANSWERED *TYPE RESP=INITIALS * *C-COMMENT/RECOM *B-NON-SPEC-REFERRAL * OF SIGNER * *D-DRAFT RESPONSE *C-COMPLETED * CODE = A * •F-FURNISH FACT SHEET *S-SUSPENDED *COMPLETED = DATE OF * *I-INFO COPY/NO ACT NEC* * OUTGOING * *R-DIRECT REPLY W/COPY * * * •S-FOR-SIGNATURE * * * *X-INTERIM REPLY * * * *********************************************************************** REFER QUESTIONS AND ROUTING UPDATES TO CENTRAL REFERENCE (ROOM 75,OEOB) EXT-2590 KEEP THIS WORKSHEET ATTACHED TO THE ORIGINAL INCOMING LETTER AT ALL TIMES AND SEND COMPLETED RECORD TO RECORDS MANAGEMENT. SCANNED -'•M, ....... "''r'-.; • , ofc ^^-^^ -^r^.-^^'V^..:^ M . • • --'•,<.. 4y 'T^ w .A-e;yvJI[l>.!ja National Rainbow Coalition, Inc. Reverend Jesse L. Jackson President and Founder •U April 5, 1993 The Honorable Bill Clinton President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Clinton: Today you will throw out the traditional first pitch of the 1993 Major League Baseball (MLB) season for the Baltimore Orioles. Baseball is a great game which we all love. It is America's Pastime. You may be wondering why the Rainbow Commission for Fairness in Athletics (RCFA) is picketing and doing informational leafleting of the opening game of Baseball. Our presence raises two fundamental questions. Why focus on Major League Baseball (MLB)? Why Baltimore? We are very happy and willing to answer both. Why Baseball? In a certain sense, we did not choose baseball. Baseball, through the words of Marge Schott, chose us. The Rainbow Commission for Fairness in Athletics (RCFA) was formed at the beginning of December, 1992, shortly after Cincinnati Reds owner (Marge) sent the "Schott" heard around the world. We chose not to put the major focus on Marge Schott because we neither wanted to make her a martyr for the fans nor a scapegoat for the owners. Instead we choose to put our primary focus on institutional racism and sexism in MLB. We have researched MLB, and 46 years after Jackie Robinson "broke the color line" in this wonder game, this is what our preliminary research shows: 1. Thirty-one percent (31%) of all Major League Baseball players are Black (17%) or Hispanic (14%). 2. The Baseball Commissioner's job is open and there are Blacks, Latinos and women qualified to be commissioner. We do not know of any even being seriously considered. 3. There are only four (4) Black and two (2) Hispanic Managers (21%) out of 28 MLB teams: Hal McRae, Kansas City Royals; Cito Gaston, Toronto Blue Jays; Don Baylor, Colorado Rockies (hired for the 1993 season); Dusty Baker, San Francisco Giants (hired for the 1993 season); Felipe Alou, Montreal Expos; Tony Perez, Cincinnati Reds (hired for the 1993 season). This represents recent progress, but not equity. P.O. Box 27385 • Washington, D.C. 20005 • (202) 728-1180 Fax (202) 728-1192 4. Out of 28 MLB teams, only 21 of 534 (3.9%) executives and department heads are Black or Hispanic. 5. There is only one Black umpire in the National^ League and one Black umpire in the American League. This represents a decline of one from last year. 6. Only 8 percent of MLB's front office employees are Black or Hispanic. 7. In all of the power positions of the 28 MLB teams combined — Owner, President, General Manager, Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, Chief Scout, Director of Player Personnel, Director of Media Relations, and Play-by-Play announcers — we have been made aware of only 1 Black Chief Scout, 1 Black Chief Financial Officer and 1 Black Director of Media Relations. The second question is, "Why Baltimore?" The Baltimore Orioles organization is no exception to this racist and sexist pattern and profile of MLB. Baltimore refused to respond to a simple, reasonable and basic RCFA questionnaire asking them for the number of people who worked for their organization and in what positions; the number of business vendors and concessionaires doing business with them; and how many of these are minorities and women? Baltimore, like all the other MLB teams who also refused to respond to these simple and basic questions, know that if they do give out this information to us it will be self incriminating. But the RCFA found out the information on Baltimore anyway. Baltimore's detailed employment record (excluding their minor league operations) is attached to this letter. It shows that only 22 of 176 jobs and positions (9%) in a 60 percent Black city (plus other minorities) are held by minorities — 17 Black, 3 Asians and 2 Hispanics. At the same time, of the 47 Baltimore players that they took to spring training (roster and non-roster), 8 were Black and 8 were Hispanic, 34 percent. The non-playing positions and business opportunities look like this: * Minority and female vendors are denied business development opportunities by the Orioles. In a 60 percent African American city, where Orioles Park at Camden Yards has been and is currently subsidized by Black people through the votes of their legislators and city council members, and the signature of their mayor, and by black dollars (through subsidies and appropriations), less than 2 percent of their concessionaires and vendors are minority. * The Baltimore Orioles organization has insulted Hispanics and embarrassed the people of Baltimore in the process. After Marge Schott's statements, Fred Ulhman, Sr., Scout and Special Assistant to the General Manager of the Baltimore Orioles, made racist statements about Mexicans, and unlike Al Campanis and the Los Angeles Dodgers — and despite the protests of La Raza and other Hispanic groups — the Orioles refuse to fire him. * There are 10 Orioles' broadcasters on radio and television — zero minorities or women. * There are 12 Board members, 1 is Black, 1 is female; there are 16 front office power positions — 2 African American, 2 female; and there are 10 front office administrative positions — all Whites, including 2 females. * There are 129 front office support positions — 112 (87%) white. * There are 13 Managers, Coaches and Scouts — 10 are white. If this is true of such a highly visible privately-owned, but publicly subsidized, baseball organization like the Baltimore Orioles, image what is true of the employment and business practices of the private corporations all across America who are not highly visible and who are not ordinarily subject to such public exposure! The RCFA offered to collaborate with MLB and each team on a 10- point affirmative action plan to change this situation in MLB. Rather than collaborate with us, they clammed-up and rejected working together on a plan. Baseball's pledge last week to become "the premier equal opportunity industry in America" rang hollow because the report it offered sets forth a series of good principles and good intentions, which everyone agrees with, but contains an unacceptable over-all and no team-by-team plan to correct the problems to which it alludes; sets forth no specific goals or a timetable in which to solve them, thus, their goals are unmeasurable; and is deceptive by counting women as minorities. Affirmative action was designed (correctly) to eliminate historic negative action against both minorities and women. Baseball's report of good intentions makes no distinction and lumps minorities and women together, which is deceptive. Affirmative action plans have specific goals and timetables and, contrary to what Baseball's consultant says, goals and timetables are not quotas. In fact, the only quotas we are aware of is Baseball's quota of zero in virtually every power position we listed above. In a strangely ironic way. Marge Schott, like the Montgomery bus driver and Bull Connor, was needed to help white Americans see that having six minority managers in baseball did not mean that the waters were calm. Breaking the color line is about much more than just getting players on the field and having managers with the same skin color. MLB's report does address some of the concerns the RCFA raised with the owners, and their expression of good intentions is welcome. However, as with every other dimension of their business operation, good intentions are not enough. They operate from a measurable plan and timetable, whether their concern is profits, marketing corporate boxes, growth in attendance at games, player development, marketing of team and player paraphernalia, or negotiating television and radio contracts. Why no measurable plan with regard to equal opportunity and fairness in employment? In the use of vendors? In licensing products for the sports market? Why the exception to a measurable plan for justice? Why not collaborate with the community to develop such a plan? Baseball remains silent and refuses to answer any of these questions.