Board representation a ‘quiet push toward equality’

Marvin Perry has helped place Black people on corporate, nonprofit and civic boards for the past 36 years. He calls it a “quiet push toward equality.”

Perry sat on his first board after he graduated from college with two degrees in economics and landed his first job at a bank in Omaha, Nebraska.

He joined the Mid-City Business and Professional Association and was asked to sit on a public relations committee and then to lead it.

When people got involved in their community, good things happened.

Perry started the Black Board of Directors Project when he moved to Phoenix in 1983 to work for what is now Bank of America. He expected 40 people at the first meeting; 200 showed up.

Every year since, he’s recruited 25 people to learn how boards work and why they should participate.

They make connections with people they might otherwise not meet. Often, getting things done is about who you know, Perry said.

Members on municipal boards have steered contracts and grants to qualified Black people and organizations and recommended Black candidates for jobs. They provide different perspectives on budgeting, policy and new markets.

“It’s being present,” Perry said. “If you’re not present, those decisions are made differently.”

Recently, Perry has heard from more people who want to diversify their boards. Some ask for someone with legal, finance, business or medical backgrounds. More often, they want someone who is passionate about the community.

Perry is 75 and has helped place more than 1,000 people on boards, matching them with their interests in the arts, youth sports, business and education.

It is a matter of quietly lifting people up.

“Whatever your passion,” Perry tells them, “you can make a difference in your community.”

You just have to be present.