Corporate Blind-Eye to King Holiday

By Leif Utne
Published on January 1, 2001

Corporate Blind-Eye to King Holiday

According to a study last year, fewer than 25 percent of
corporations give their workers the day off on Martin Luther King,
Jr.’s birthday. When asked why, corporate executives give a litany
of excuses. ‘They claim they need to stay open to be competitive,’
writes Earl Ofari Hutchinson on the AlterNet news
service. ‘They say that people need to shop on that day. Or they
insist that no one has ever complained to them about not
celebrating the day.’ Whatever their excuse, says Hutchinson,
corporate America’s blind-eye to the King holiday is
undeserved.

This is especially true, Hutchinson argues, when you consider that
corporate America has benefited disproportionately from the gains
of the civil rights movement. ‘The movement smashed the barriers of
legal segregation in employment and education. This opened the
corporate door for talented, and educated minorities and women,
made diversity a watchword at many firms, and vastly increased the
income and earnings of blacks, minorities, and women.’ Growing
minority income has opened up vast new consumer markets and
fattened many corporate wallets.

Hutchinson blames corporate America’s cold shoulder to Dr. King on
both ‘the misguided belief by many Americans’ that the civil rights
movement was simply ‘by and for blacks,’ and the continuing legacy
of deep-seated corporate racism in hiring and promotions. ‘If many
corporations continue to downplay or flat-out deny racial
discrimination in their operations,’ Hutchinson concludes, ‘then
it’s no surprise that they snub the civil rights movement, and it’s
most prominent symbol, Dr. King.’
–Leif
Utne
Go there>>

UTNE
UTNE
In-depth coverage of eye-opening issues that affect your life.