BUILD, BROTHER, BUILD

by Leon H. Sullivan ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 21, 1969

In Philadelphia, in the days before federal anti-poverty funds were available, Rev. Sullivan founded one of the first job training programs for ghetto Negroes. The Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) graduated Negroes to jobs in electronics, drafting, skilled metal work, and--with some coercion by the community of ""colored churches""--found them jobs at GE and IBM and even at the late-to-liberalize Bell Telephone. Here Rev. Sullivan tells his own life story, including his first encounter with racism, the trip North, help from Adam Clayton Powell, and large-scale community action in the '50's to combat delinquency and discrimination. Sullivan, whose OIC has prospered--there are now 74 chapters across the country--is a firm integrationist. However, he makes his peace with Black Power--not a slogan he would have invented but no different in his view from other ethnic power-plays. The book is both personal and practical--it ends with a twelve-point summary of how to start a local OIC.

Pub Date: April 21, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macrae Smith

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1969

Categories: NONFICTION