Book description
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.
"A pacesetting book for emerging efforts to give
long overdue credit to the historically ignored, the historically
neglected, and the historically forgotten in the 1940s and 1950s, who
through their sacrifices helped quicken the death of Jim Crow America.
It reminds us how far we've come toward building an inclusive society
since these pioneers paved such transformative paths -- and how much
work is left to do."
-- John H. Stanfield II, author of Philanthropy and Jim Crow in
American Social Science
Stephanie Capparell is the author of
Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic
Explorer. She has worked at The Wall Street Journal since
1990 and is currently an editor for that paper's Marketplace page. She
holds degrees from Boston University and Columbia University. She
lives in New York City.
