By
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Hello
All:
From
approximately 1992 to 1999 I was an account executive and advocate
for the Black United Fund of New York – aka, BUFNY. I was so proud
to be part of an organization that helped Black people and
organizations achieve their goals and dreams through the underwriting
of their programs by providing the financial wherewithal necessary.
Monies came from the ongoing voluntary contributions via payroll
deductions from Black people all over New York, as well as parts of
New Jersey and Connecticut. Where federal funds and other so called
charitible organizations would routinely turn down Black led,
oriented or beneficiary programs, the Black United Fund of New York –
and by association, extrapolation of New Jersey, Philadelphia,
Chicago, and other areas, made BLACK PEOPLE THEIR PRIORITY. Their
motto was THE HELPING HAND THAT IS YOUR OWN.
Empowerment Strategies
We as a people have often said that if every Black person contributed a dollar a week into a mutual fund, we'd have enough money to do everything we needed to do - buy homes, build businesses, hospitals, schools, educate our children and help break the chain of poverty that seems to plague us as Black people.Well, in a sense, that is just what the Black United Fund of New York did - by having contributions as small as $1.50 per person per pay period, or welfare check, or social security check, that was automatically deducted and put into a mutual fund, and in turn used to rescue homes from auction, renovate abandoned homes and make them available for people who otherwise could not afford a decent place to live - especially in New York City where rents were insane - or help a business either grow or get started by underwriting the entrepreneur and keeping the interest rate low, and the terms reasonable. The same principle of $1.00 per person was proven through the methods that Kermit Eady applied and made work in what is considered the toughest city in the world, NY, is no small accomplishment.
In 2003, then New York Prosecutor (persecutor) Elliott Spitzer,
undertook to destroy this organization, and succeeded in doing so via
unfounded specious allegations of misappropriations of funds, and
violations of ersatz federal mandates – none of which were true,
none of which were ever proven, and all were motivated to prove that
he could destroy Black organizations. Why? You ask. Because the end
of Black leadership and independence in New York was at hand, and
Spitzer wanted to be on the side that was doing it – so he could go
after the prize of becoming governor. It was at the same time that they destroyed Clara Hale's Hale House that cared for crack addicted babies; and Dorothy Pittman Hughes who had begun to build and entrepreneurial businesses across the 125th Street Corridor - but got pushed out by Spitzer who was beginning to make threatening moves on the Black community through abuse of power.
Black
people lost big time when BUFNY was destroyed – not just in New York or the other cities, but
across the nation – across the diaspora, when they allowed Spitzer
and his negro henchmen to destroy The Black United Fund of New York.
Every time I hear someone say they are trying to get funding for a
program, a business, or an idea, I can't help but think, too bad
there's no BUFNY. Every time I hear someone talk about “crowd
funding,” I think about how interesting that that concept came
directly from BUFNY. Every time I hear something about FDNY's (Fire Dept. of NY) Vulcan
Society, of the Former Police & Transit Guardians, now known as
100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, I think of their interaction
with BUFNY.
Every time I walk along Adam Clayton Powell Blvd (at
134th St.) I remember the headquarters that Kermit Eady
renovated from a drug infested run down property, and transformed
into a veritable mecca for Black activists, entrepreneurs, future
home owners, renters, and college bound students. I remember the
incubators and training programs Kermit held in the basement to help
organize them and make their businesses or projects more effective.
I think of the times Kermit saved homes from auction, or met with
Black contractors to make sure the homes he was developing were state
of the art, modern, well kept, clean, and above all, affordable.
The
benefits from BUFNY are still tangible – and thus far, no Black
organization has come close to matching it without first selling
their souls or autonomy. Kermit was the anti-gentrification
developer. Once BUFNY was removed, Harlem fell prey to rampant
gentrification, with more and more homes going out of the hands of
the original Harlemites and into the hands of interlopers – who
have pushed many of Harlem's and Brooklyn's Black residents out of
the community. And the sad part is that you never said a mumbling
word. You never stood up for him. Elected officials ducked and ran,
hiding because of fear of Spitzer. People in high/low places let it
happen without so much as a picket or protest.
Now,
I'm not saying no one protested, or stood up for Kermit – there certainly were those who came to the fore, including CEMOTAP
and brother James McIntosh certainly did; several members of the
original board did, of course, we ,who were part of BUFNY did – but
those who had actually benefitted from all that BUFNY had done did not. Over
the past 25 years from 1979 to 2003 – just weeks before what was to
have been the triumphant celebration of their 25th
Anniversary, they seemed to have gone deaf, dumb, blind, and stupid. SMH
I
believe that lack of action hurt Kermit more than anything Spitzer's lies, or the fact that David Paterson did nothing to reinstate him,
which he could and should have done once he became governor - could have
done. I think
the fact that there appeared to be no fight or stance on the part of
those Black people who benefited the most from all he did, fostered
or sacrificed, was a major blow to Kermit's soul. They were living in homes that were the envy of Harlem - with state of the art technology already hardwired into the system; pay rent so cheap they could actually afford to send their children to college; and receiving the financial assistance necessary to do so - but no gratitude for the brother who made it come together.
I think he
probably would have continued to live in NYC had he felt he had the
support of Black New Yorkers in saving and reestablishing BUFNY. But
when he left, I could certainly not blame him.
Kermit
Eady made his transition this year in January, 2019, in what would
have been the 40th anniversary of the Black United Fund
of New York. We were all in such a state of shock at his transition
to the realm of Ancestor/Angel, because just a few days prior he and
I were at the beginning of writing a book about BUFNY, its history,
and how we can, as Black people, begin to apply the principles and
methodologies to reinstate it or something better to underwrite our
own autonomy and economic empowerment. I think it's was God's way of coming full circle.
Many
people are not aware of the viability of BUFNY, or were too young to
have heard of it – but so much of the good they did still exists in
Harlem, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens today. So I'm both paying
homage to Kermit Eady and BUFNY, and giving you a historical overview
and some perspective of who they/we were and what made this
organization so important and relevant. I'm culling and
extrapolating from archived information and documents, news clippings
about the importance and significance of our modern day Marcus Garvey
in the personage of the late Kermit Eady, and his devoted, if not
merry, band of supporters and co-workers.
The
following is an excerpt from an original brochure on The Black United
Fund of New York:
WHAT
IS WAS BLACK UNITED
FUND?
Every
ethnic group has a requirement to devise and/or secure the means to,
not just survive, but to prosper. There is something peculiarly
damaging about just "surviving” and depending on others. Life
throughout the Americas - especially the United States,-from the
infamous Days of The Passage - has confirmed this for the masses of
people of African descent.
The
1968 “Watts Insurrection” in Los Angeles, where Black people
again struggled to secure their rights as “free” people,
motivated the formation of THE BROTHERHOOD CRUSADE OF LOS ANGELES -
a new kind of organization that would institutionalize a self help
ethic empowerment movement within the Black community. Later,
in 1974, Walter Bremond and James Joseph founded The Black United
Fund, “a mechanism to organize the human and financial resources of
Black America...to support their own growth, development and
empowerment.
In
January, 1979, Kermit Eady established the Black United Fund of New
York. It was an independent, philanthropic organization with a
critical objective: Gain access to payroll deduction systems in the
public and private sectors throughout New York State, and to further
national support for the BUF Movement for Black empowerment.
BUF's
operating principles were self-help, mutual aid, and volunteerism,
within a new and practical philosophy of venture philanthropy.
WHY
IS AN INDEPENDEND FUND NEEDED? BUF of New York represented a
necessary and logical evolution of an independent philanthropic
organization. Its mission was to create a supporting economic
infrastructure to better support and ensure the long term survival
and development of the Black community, its people and institutions;
and in turn, society at large. With a source of independent funds,
the mission could be pursued by BUFNY based on its visions and
perspective of the development and growth needs of the Black
community.
By
sharing just a small portion of an approximately $55 to 60 Billion
statewide economy, through contributions, the Black Community can
help itself to offset the devastating impact of ongoing practices of
overt and covert discrimination; lack of access to, and ownership of,
capital and wealth generating resources; and a debilitating
dependency on outside resources
STRATEGIC
OBJECTIVES: BUFNY's Strategic Objective at its inception in 1979 was
to break the monopoly held by United Way within virtually every major
US corporation in order to establish an independent source of funds
through a broad base of employee workplace giving via payroll
deduction systems. Additional revenue streams were to be derived
from BUF CHEX (monthly contributions from checking accounts), direct
contributions, special events, board assessments, business
entrepreneurship, and ownership, or other wealth generating resources
and assets.
A
second objective was/is to provide financial and technical assistance
to support projects and programs, which provide needed services and
assistance in building a self-sufficient economic infrastructure
through housing and business development. The programmatic funding
(grant) areas are: Alternative Education; Health and Social Services;
Social Justice and Legal Services; Arts and Culture; Housing/Land
Development, and Economic Development. This was a significant
departure from the traditional “Health and human welfare only
services that garnered the overwhelming proportion of employee-based
workplace giving dominated by the United Way and its “partners.”
WHERE
DID BUFNY PARTICIPATE IN PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS? Through a combination
of organized petitioning efforts of employees, including letter
writing and legal action (NBUF vs U.S. Office of Personnel
Management, 1980) BUFNY participated in payroll deduction systems at
the following companies: AT&T (now known as Verizon), Bell
Atlantic, Lucent Technologies, IBM, City University of New York
(CUNY), NYCTA, MTA, City of New York {also called the Combined
Municipal Campaign}; State of New York (State Employee Federated
Appeal), U.S. Federal Government agencies
in New York State (Combined Federal Campaign), Queens and New York
City Public Library Systems, Health & Hospitals Corporation, New
York City Housing Authority, New York/New
Jersey Port Authority, Tri-Borough Bridge & Tunnel Authority,
Westchester County and Nassau County (both until 2003).
BUFNY
had gained access to Black Social Workers Day Care Center, Bronx
Lebanon and North General Hospitals, Carver Federal Savings Bank,
City of Mount Vernon, Consumers Union, Edwin Gould Children Services,
Greater Harlem Nursing Home, Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, and
Miracle Makers (adoption agency).
*There
is an ongoing effort to pursue open
or equitable access
to other major corporations and voluntary hospitals. To date,
executive management in the private sector has consistently denied
access to BUFNY participate (independent of United Way), including
those now headed by Black CEOs; however, voluntary contributions were
being received from employees that have designated BUFNY as their
charity of choice in campaigns such as Chase Bank, Microsoft, Pfizer,
and others -even some United Ways. (However, BUFNY never requested or
received any funding from United Way.) NOTE:
At the time the brochure was originally written, there was a major
battle going on in the Black community to try and block the Black
United Fund from having the right to have their own fundraising
campaigns specifically for the needs of Black people. There were
several so called Black leaders who were instrumental in trying to
block their existence as well. It is to be noted that, were it not
for Kermit Eady's pugnacious nature, they probably would have
succeeded – but his love for and dedication to Black people caused
him to go toe to toe and head to head against many we would consider
political leaders.
WHAT
CAN YOU DO TO HELP? A very significant challenge remains in the
public and private sectos to gain equal access to “voluntary
employee payroll deductions.” There appears to be a “fortified”
wall erected by corporate America that, together with the United Way,
is facilitating the monopolizing of a lucrative and cost effective
market - i.e., individual charitable giving at the workplace. There
are serious challenges that remain in the public sector that continue
to be under underutilized, and in many locations, totally untapped.
There are questions to be addressed: Is it Anti-trust, or First and
Fifth Amendment violations, or both, that deny access? Who decides
who participates in those markets? What are the inherent rights of
public and private sector employees, corporations and public agencies
regarding payroll deductions for charitable and voluntary community
investment purposes?
BUFNY
was a New York State-chartered 501 [c] [3] organization that was
founded in 1979 by Kermit Eady, as a mechanism to organize the human
and financial resources of Black and minority communities to support
their growth, development and empowerment; and, in turn, society at
large. BUFNY's basic operating principles of self-help, mutual aid,
and volunteerism form the cornerstones of the Black United Fund
Movement. In the past 24 years, the fund has contributed over $15
million in grants, technical assistance and program services to
community programs and projects throughout New York State. BUFNY has
also developed over $40 million in affordable housing. Currently,
BUFNY owns and manages over 400 units of housing, and has developed
two high-end technical centers, providing copies, computers and
communications, in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan.
According
to Kermit Eady, at the time of Spitzer's allegations against the
organization, BUFNY had raise approximately over $111 Million dollars
in funds, developed over 400 hundred homes, helped start 30 Black
owned and run businesses, given out at least 1,000 scholarships, and
that was just for starters. There were so many more wonderful things
that Kermit had begun that were of major benefit to Black people –
his first, and probably his only love. Listed below are just some of them (and remember, this was in 2003, well ahead of his time. Just imagine what we would have had had BUFNY continued to be viable and flourish).
Among BUFNY'S MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ENDEAVORS WERE
The development of a
new kind of non-Profit
Non-Profit
Pioneering and Innovation
Housing
and Land Development via BUFNY : 400 homes in Manhattan, Brooklyn & the Bronx
Expansion
and Development of New Headquarters - with state of the art equipment, open to the community
Development
of Affordable Housing in Prime Territory rental rates were well below those of overpriced NYC rents
Saving
Black owned homes and Land in South Carolina from bogus Tax Auctions - paid all the taxes in full
Embracing
New Technology,
Technology
Ventures
Harvest
Tech Centers Harlem and Brooklyn
BUFNY II and King Davis Apts.
equipped with fiber optics projects from Verizon/Alcatel
Collaboration with CCNY
telecommunication project
Computer training facility at King Davis
Apts - so that residents could become computer literate
Business
Incubator Concept - so Black residents could start and succeed in their own businesses
Black
business generator - providing leads to opportunities for business ventures for African Americans
Business
PRI Partnerships
Harvest
Franchising
BUFNY
Credit Card with People’s Bank - Debit and Credit Card privileges
FED/EX and Harvest Tech Center
Commercial space usage and tenants rentals
Arts and culture
ventures
BUFNY
International Support (Haiti Support Project)
Organization
of Human, Financial and Cultural Resources
WCKL
Radio and Mass Communications: Kermit purchased the radio station to continuously broadcast info relevant to Black people. There are over archived 200 shows.
And that's only half the list of this visionary and his accomplishments.
We are in the midst of completing Kermit Eady's mission of writing a book about BUFNY it's trials and triumphs - in hopes that it will inspire and instruct Black people and organizations in the means by which we can empower ourselves and move forward in spite of what is happening politically or economically around us. I think he's smiling down on us as we attempt to go through millions of pages of information that has been garnered over 25 years of the existence of the Black United Fund of New York.
I just wanted to take some time out to pay honor to a brother who let nothing stand in his way of doing his best for Black people - as well as a salute to Jacqlyn Durant and Larry Barton, who were right there with him through it all from the inception and have remained so even after his transition. These are unsung heroes who made the impossible possible.
God Bless the memory and legacy of Kermit Eady and the Black United Fund of New York:
THE HELPING HAND THAT IS YOUR OWN.
NOW THAT YOU KNOW
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
STAY BLESSED
&
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria
