Voices From African Americans In The Field

We spoke with a board member, a professional and an academic about ethnic minorities in the field of parks and recreation. We asked for their experiences and insights regarding diversity issues such as minority retention, recruitment and mentors. Here's what they said.

John W. Rogers, Jr., age 38, was appointed to the board of the Chicago Park District in 1993 by Mayor Richard M. Daley. He is currently the president of Illinois' largest and most ethnically diverse park district system, which employs 5,215 people plus 3,000 seasonal workers, which operate its more than 550 park sites and countless programs.

Rogers is the founder of Ariel Capital Management, Inc., an institutional money management firm, specializing in equities. Since its inception in 1983, Ariel Capital has grown from 2 to 25 employees with approximately $1.6 billion in assets under management.

attention with interviews in a variety of business publications including Black Enterprise. Fortune. Barron's. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. In 1994 he was named one of "America's 50 Most Promising Leaders Age 40 and Under" by Time magazine.

He is a 1980 graduate of Princeton University (B.A. in Economics) when he was captain of the varsity basketball team, and he is a member of the 1976 Illinois Class A All State Hall of Fame Basketball Team. Rogers is a native of Chicago, where he resides on the city's Near North Side with his wife, Desiree, and their daughter Victoria.

IP&R: Aside from your appointment by Mayor Daley, why did you decide to serve as a board member of the Chicago Park District?

I've been involved in park district softball leagues over the years, but this was my first formal role in parks and recreation. I've always had an interest in sports all my life, but also I've been very involved in issues with kids and families in Chicago. I've been involved in the Chicago Urban League for 15 years as a board member, Family Focus—a program that helps parents be better parents—for 10 years, and various task forces throughout the city. Through my position with the park district, I've been able to meld my love of sports with my concern for kids, families and educational issues.

IP&R: Through your board service, do you think you've been able to make a difference in these areas?

I'd say I've made a modest difference, and we have a long way to go. We've streamlined our bureaucracy a lot and made the park district more user friendly. We do a better job of making our parks look good...keep the grass cut, trees planted, flowers planted. I'm really proud of that. An area we still need to improve is the programming in inner-city parks.

IP&R: IAPD statistics show that 4.68% of Illinois park and recreation board members are ethnic minorities. Why do you think this percentage is so low?

I think in Chicago we have really continued to improve in this area. Mayor Daley's initiatives and leadership have given myself and Forrest Claypool [the district's general superintendent] a clear mandate that diversity is important. Our board itself is mostly minority, with three African Americans and one Hispanic out of seven board members. Women are very well represented. It's a great success story. I do agree that the nonprofit community in general has not done a very good job of diversifying their boards and staff.

You have to have leadership to realize that this is important. I know that boards in certain cities are elected, some are appointed. It's different from place to place and throughout the country. People have to be proactive and believe in the long run diversity is very, very healthy. The best way to run an enterprise is to have as many perspectives as possible and as many walks of life possible.

I think we have a possible scenario there. Still, there is still a long way to go. Our inner-city parks are not as well utilized as those on the northwest and southwest sides where there is greater participation and greater parent involvement. In the inner city we need creative programming. I think it's about programming as well as you've got to have park supervisors who reach out to churches, schools, local community leaders to let them know that exciting things are going on in the parks.

IP&R: As a board member, how do you think the field can involve more minorities?

At the board level, you have to reach out. You have to go out and push people. People come to me all the time to ask if I know somebody or who would do a good job. I take [these requests] seriously and go out and find good people. I saw an old friend from college recently who I recommended for the board of Blackburn College in central Illinois. She's now chairman of the board, and I had forgotten about that. I try to find good people.

We have to recruit from our city colleges and other institutions in the state that have diverse student bodies to get young, dynamic supervisors into the system.

I think its important to have role models. That's a real important value in affirmative action, encouraging others to follow in those footsteps.

IP&R. What kind of educational programs should IAPD and IPRA offer its board members and professionals?

I think the thing we have been looking for and pushing [Chicago Park District staff] on is the ability to make our programs more exciting.

Kids these days have so many choices, people pulling at them, so many distractions. There's more pressure on supervisors to keep programs fresh and exciting. As a kid I've been to basketball camps that were very well organized and that made me want to come back every year, and others that weren't so good and I'd say, "geez, I'm not going back there." Kids recognize quality.

I think it's important just to reach out. You have to realize that it's the right thing to do. Not just do what's comfortable. Not just call on people you know for job opportunities or to bid for projects.

Take the time to look for someone. It's fair for us to look at people and be involved. Help create the sense that this is a welcoming place...more people will follow. People in Chicago know there is business opportunity [with the park district] and a job if you're qualified.

I'll share a recent example of reaching out. Forrest Claypool, myself and the head of purchasing talked to Operation Push, Rev. [Jesse] Jackson's group, about opportunities through die park district, and we were very well received. We came and talked to the minority community and ways that people can be involved. Five to six members of our staff got up and went to a 7:30 [a.m.] meeting. You need to reach out. It took a little work, some effort to be prepared, two of us commissioners were there, and that let die community know we cared.

Deborah Totten, CLP
Supervisor
Community & Inner City Services
Peoria Park District

Deborah Totten, CLP age 45, was a "park rat." Born in Chicago but raised in Peoria, she became involved in the Peoria Park District as a youth and since 1989 has been the supervisor of the district's Division of Community and Inner City Services, where she manages 5 full-time (all minorities) and up to 80 part-time employees.

Totten earned a bachelor's degree in Physical Education with a minor in Dancing from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. With just a thesis to go in her master's program, Totten decided to get to work in the field and started in 1976 as an outreach worker for the Peoria Friendship House, a recreation and social service program for kids.

Four years ago, she returned to SIUC and completed her master's thesis "Leisure Attitudes and Interests of African American Teens. " What she learned through the study Totten has applied to Peoria's "Exercise the Right Choice" tutor/mentor/ recreation program for African American high school students. A main goal of the program is encouraging students to pursue careers in the leisure field.

Earlier this month, Totten was inducted into Peoria's African American Hall of Fame.

I decided to get into recreation at the master's degree level. I wanted to have something else to fall back on. At the time, a lot of physical education teachers were hanging on to their jobs and others were getting cut.

I grew up with recreation, but I did not know a field existed until college. If I had known I probably would have gone directly into recreation.

At first it was real tough. I was working on college campus, still dancing, and finishing my masters degree. At that time I felt really lost.

I was die only minority in my graduating class. It got so tough working with my committee, that I quit. It was just overwhelming.

IP&R: "What did you learn from your master's thesis, "Leisure and recreation interests of Peoria's teens"?

They don't want anything programmed for them. They wanted to hang out at the mall at that time.

They don't want to sign up for it, or have things planned for them. A few kids were actually interested in joining gangs. Earlier studies from across the nation found similar results.

IP&R: How does Peoria's Exercise the Right Choice address programming for teens?

It's a mentoring program for high school youth at risk, preferably minorities, to pursue a degree in parks and recreation. Most are juniors, and currently we're at 10 students.

One graduated in December. She was wasn't in a regular high school setting. She's a 17-year-old with two children. She got into our program and attended an alternative school for mothers studying for GED. Right now she's at ICC (Illinois Central College), and taking her first semester of college classes. Ac this point she's going into recreation.

ICC has agreed to pick up two years of tuition. They are a cooperating college, trying to help our community, especially with minorities and youth at risk.

IP&R Have you found any barriers for minorities in the field, whether as a female or an ethnic minority?

I think with women the park district has not shown me any barriers. There are quite a few women on the staff. [The Peoria Park District is] always looking for minorities to be in the field. It's hard to find [minorities]; that's why they wanted this program [Exercise the Right Choice],

When I was in grad school, only 12 [ethnic minorities] in the country in the '70s had doctorate degrees. I thought that was really low, so I thought I should be one of those people.

Even when I went back to grad school [in 1992], there were only three others...all females. I was really surprised and happy about them.

Money. People just don't want to be in social service jobs because it doesn't make a lot of money. I think the minorities that do go into college are interested in making more money. They go into computers, engineering or sports, etcetera. Minority women do go into teaching.

By talking to students in high school. Talk to them about our field, before they get into college, because I didn't even know there was such a field. They don't know that that kind of field exists. They know engineers, computers, but not parks and recreation.

If you like working with people, this is a great field to go into. There's a wide variety of careers...in the park setting, gambling boats, tourism, private clubs, etcetera.

They have no idea how vast, and large, and what you can do with this kind of degree.

I have a colleague in the field, who I know from state and national levels. She felt that being a minority, being a female, it was like two stones she had to turn over, not just one. Some other co-workers didn't give her respect because she was a minority female. She had to work twice as hard.

It's hard to explain. You can sort of feel it in your heart. People will ask you, "How is it?", "Why do you feel that way?" But I can't seem to put it into words.

IP&R: How do you foster awareness for women and ethnic minorities with your own staff?

I try to treat my staff as individuals. I also tell them that we are a team. I don't do anything that they won't do themselves.

I try to make them feel that they are part of a team. I ask them for their advice all the time. I try to empower them to do their job. I'm here for them.

I don't have a lot of turnover. A lot of it is personality and having to work with a lot of different personalities.

I just think that women need to continue to be recognized as being counterparts of the men in the field. We have a lot of women in the field and we just need to be recognized. We know about sports and a lot of things.

Dan Hibbler, age 32, was born and raised in the city of Chicago. Athletics lead him to the field of parks and recreation. He now sees the field as a force for social change.

After earning a bachelor's degree in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management from Western Illinois University (1989) and a master's in Public Recreation Administration from Indiana University (1991). he "went private" as a convention manager for the Sheraton Hotels and Towers in Chicago.

Missing the public service aspect of the field, Hibbler took a job as executive director of the South Shore Culture Center (Chicago Park District) and later became the director of recreation for the Champaign Park District.

He was recruited and groomed for academia by several mentors and is currently a visiting lecturer in the Leisure Studies Department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is working on a doctorate in Leisure Administration and conducting several studies on the issue of human diversity in the field of parks and recreation.

I first got involved because I was interested in athletics. Over the years I developed an appreciation for cultural arts. I would now like to utilize the field of parks and recreation as a vehicle for social change.

I'm not interested in just a job, or a career, but having a purpose. I think my contribution is utilizing leisure services to promote racial harmony via education, research, programming and overall leadership and management, working with young people, letting them understand the value of leisure.

I was a little disgruntled with the public sector regarding issues of equity and compensation.

I thought I would fit better in the private sector. But I really missed working with the public.

A lot of African Americans in the field feel as though there are some serious equity issues. When I cite equity, I mean two areas: both from a participant standpoint and a practitioner or professional standpoint. For example, the situation with Meigs Field. I am very much supportive of building a new park and using Meigs as a regional attraction. However, die parks in the inner city, parks that primarily serve minorities, are old and dilapidated and much in need of a wide range of resources—resources for revamping and remodeling.

That type of philosophy transcends throughout the field. As director of recreation for the Champaign Park District, I constantly had to deal with the minority community feeling like they didn't get equity and overall resources, including staffing, programs and capital development. This is an issue that many professionals in the field have acknowledged.

From a professional standpoint, the study that I'm working on African Americans represent very few upper management and middle management positions. There are over 400 park districts and departments in the state, and there are less than 30 African American middle managers and directors. IAPD and IPRA have absolutely no data on African American involvement as it relates to upper and middle management. This is outside of the Chicago Park District...it's a very different story—there's a diverse population.

Qualified African Americans who are sharp and marketable, can go out of the field and get appropriate compensation and recognition. They don't have to take it in this field. We are losing African Americans to die private sector and such fields as business and law.

IP&R: Are these equity issues you cite— lack of compensation and hiring of middle and upper management—known by students making die decision -whether to go public or private?

"Whenever you talk about diversity in the field, particularly racial diversity, people get on edge. My views are not militant in any way, shape or form. I am a complete advocate of this field. I am disheartened when I hear African Americans say they don't want to get involved in the field. Therefore I am trying to bring this to the forefront, working with state and national associations to see what I can-do."

It's certainly something that is known and discussed among students. They do not want to go into the public sector. They want the high profile positions in sports management. This is true for all students. The difference being that the African American students are starting to hear rumblings that there are very few black directors. They are certainly going to factor that into their decision-making process.

Yes. African Americans have a difficult time breaking into a system that is predominately white. People naturally have a difficult time stepping out of their comfort zone. An all white board would have a difficult time hiring a black director in an all white community.

I feel, based on information from my study, African Americans are not being recognized in the field. They do not have a sense of identity. When they go to conference at state and national levels you see very few African Americans in the convention center. In order to recruit and retain, we need to recognize African Americans in the field and take progressive steps.

It's not just an issue of recruiting, but also of retention. Appreciate minorities who are currently in the field. This alone will attract young professionals by word of mouth. Give promotions where promotions are due. You rarely see minorities receiving awards. The field should show that blacks are making contributions. When people see other people getting recognition they believe they can get some too.

Go into high schools and recruit African Americans right out of school. Also, a lot of students who come to the university are on the fence about their major. We can recruit there. Work with "park rats" or "gym rats." As they're matriculating through high school and college, we can plant the seeds through summer jobs and internships to get them interested.

Also in the area of retention and mentoring, we can do a better job. African Americans feel as though they are not being mentored. Mentors will help. It has been an integral asset to me.

My first mentor on the practical side was Dr. Norman Merrifield [a former administrator for the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department]. Norm was one of those who kind of pushed me. He brought me into the field, gave me my first managerial job, and was very instrumental in helping me. I was a student at Indiana University, we met at a conference, and he encouraged me to apply for a position. I was hired and he has guided me in my career ever since.

Another mentor is Dr. Kim Shinew [assistant professor for the Department of Leisure Studies, University of Illinois], a wonderful person and an outstanding educator. She is a white female and she is mentoring me. She has really been a catalyst for me coming to academia. Kim has taken a personal interest in me and my career. From a moral and social standpoint, she recognizes that this is something that is greatly needed.

Also, Michael Ellis [dean of the College of Applied Life Studies, University of Illinois] and Bill McKinney [head of the Department of Leisure Studies, University of Illinois]. These two gentlemen have taken a proactive role in recruiting me. They urged me for two years to complete my Ph.D. because there are no African Americans on faculty at the University of Illinois' Department of Leisure Studies. For them, its not just rhetoric. By utilizing me here, they can recruit more African Americans to the field.

My point is that race is not essential to mentoring. It takes a person with a willingness to work with a young aspiring professional. I don't want to make this strictly a racial issue. It's an issue of equity and overall ethics.

IP&R- Did you receive some "flak" for leaving the professional and going into higher education?

Other practitioners thought I should stay on the applied side. There is some sort of dichotomy between practitioners and educators. It's like I'm sleeping with the enemy now.

I really feel I can be more effective in this setting. [The faculty at the University of Illinois] have made this such an inviting environment, a conducive environment for my success. I've never been in such a nurturing environment before. If this happened in other environments, people would stay in this field. African Americans would encourage their children to enter the field.

I am one of the strongest proponents of having African Americans in middle and upper management in parks and recreation. At the Champaign Park District, I worked in a predominately white community, under a very strong professional. Bob Toalson. I left it to take a full-time academic position. Frankly, I think I can be more effective to the field on a macro level by working with students and young professionals—by producing quality African American students and quality professionals of all races as an educator.

IP&R: How did the field get to this point of, as you cite, fewer than 30 African American professionals in middle or upper management?

It's a tragedy. When you look into our urban environments, there are so many kids—African-American kids, Hispanic kids—with no role models. I truly believe that leisure can solve a lot of social problems. We need to do something about it. The number one cause of death for young African American men is murder. We have a serious problem.

Much of your African American community are urban dwellers. They live in cities. African American youth need to have African American role models and mentors, people the kids can identify with.

All the leading research about at-risk youth has been conducted by white males. Having representation from that group would help to strengthen the research. If we were researching women in the field, we would need some views from women. We wouldn't want to have all men determining things about women. The same goes for research about African Americans.

Voices from African Americans in the field