Rainbow/PUSH and NASCAR.I WAS APPALLED BY YOUR ARTICLE "THE NEW FACE OF NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. " [April 2004]. It totally ignored the contributions of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson and Rainbow Sports to the ongoing diversity initiatives in NASCAR [aiming] to improve minority participation in motor sports. As director of Rainbow Sports, I provided the authors of the article with an extensive list of highlights of our accomplishments in motor sports, which were not included in the article. I would like to clear the record once and for all.Rainbow Sports has been working directly with NASCAR to seek sponsorships for minority teams and drivers since 1999. We arranged for five black-owned teams to make presentations to NASCAR. One of those teams, Miller Racing, subsequently received sponsorship from Dr Pepper. It was the first time in NASCAR history that there has been corporate sponsorship for a black team with a black driver. I was at the first of many meetings with Jack Kildoff, then the president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Dr Pepper, that led to the historic and unprecedented sponsorship. It took a year to close those negotiations, but it was the leadership of Jesse Jackson Noun 1. Jesse Jackson - United States civil rights leader who led a national campaign against racial discrimination and ran for presidential nomination (born in 1941) Jesse Louis Jackson, Jackson that made the deal happen. NASCAR does indeed have an internship geared toward minority athletes, and Rainbow Sports has been involved in that from the beginning. As a result of our efforts, Texaco started a minority internship program at North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. A&T. The Texaco sponsorship included the Rainbow Sports-negotiated purchase of two race cars for N.C. A&T, yet no mention of this was made in your article. The article does talk extensively about the contributions of Access Marketing and Communications in the NASCAR diversity effort, but again fails to recognize or acknowledge Jesse Jackson's role. The group was founded by the Radiate ra·di·ate v. 1. To spread out in all directions from a center. 2. To emit or be emitted as radiation. ra Group and Calhoun Enterprises, which is headed by Greg Calhoun, a member of the NASCAR Diversity Council and the board of Rainbow/PUSH. Calhoun acknowledges that the group's mission to identify and develop top minority drivers was initiated by Rev. Jackson, something he said he repeatedly told the writers of your article, but that contribution was not reflected in your piece. Bill Lester Bill Lester (born February 6, 1961) is the driver of the #15 Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He is the only African-American presently competing full-time in a NASCAR circuit. , the main focus of the article, has also benefitted from Rainbow/PUSH's efforts. When bounced by Dodge, Lester came to Rev. Jackson for help. I was there when Rev. Jackson called Toyota and appealed to the car company to put Lester in its truck series. Lester, too, has given that credit to Rev. Jackson, but again, that support was not reflected in your article. Rev. Jackson continues to try to raise sponsorship money for Lester. Willy T. Ribbs William "Willy" Theodore Ribbs, Jr. (born January 3, 1955 in San Jose, California) is an African-American racecar driver who competed in many forms of auto racing. After retiring, he became a sport shooter in the National Sporting Clays Association. chose to lambaste Rainbow/PUSH; BLACK ENTERPRISE furthered the one-sidedness of his comments without printing our responses. Willy received a Rainbow/PUSH award in 1999 for his contributions to motor sports. It was Jesse Jackson who helped secure sponsorship for him to become the first African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. to race at Indy. NASCAR knew what it was doing when it came to Rainbow/PUSH for help in addressing its diversity issues. Rev. Jackson and Rainbow Sports have responded by trying to establish a diversity agenda for motor sports. Progress, admittedly, has been slow, but what should be faulted is not the NASCAR-Rainbow/PUSH relationship, but the reluctance of sponsors to embrace and support diversity in motor sports by anteing up sponsorship dollars for minorities who can and will become the Tiger Woods or Serena Williams of racing. They are indeed on the horizon, and the sport will never be the same. Jesse Jackson has made sure of that, whether BE gives him credit or not. Charles S. Farrell Director, Rainbow Sports Rainbow/PUSH New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Bureau New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. |
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