Indiana, or “the land of the Indians” became the 19th U.S. state Dec. 11, 1816. Despite discrimination, today the Hoosier state’s heritage is still represented by the lives of its proud Native American residents.

Indiana’s strength as an economic and cultural leader arises from its civil rights history and diversity, with Hoosier citizens who claim Hispanic, African, Asian and European heritage, and hail from every nation on Earth.

Over the years, this midwestern state has defied stereotypes. For example, although Indiana has typically voted Republican, it supported Democratic candidates Woodrow Wilson in 1912; Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936; and then Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. And in 2008, Democrat Barack Obama won the state over John McCain.

As represented by war memorials, particularly in its capital city, Indianapolis, Hoosiers have proudly served in the nation’s military. In 1861, when the union called for soldiers to fight the Civil War, so many Hoosiers volunteered for duty that thousands were turned away.

Yet along with its long tradition of military service, the state has also been represented by patriots of pacifism, in its historic Quaker churches and settlements, such as Plainfield.

Indiana has known shameful chapters, such as the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, which successfully comprised a shadow government during the 1920s. Yet, against the scandal, and aided by the press and judicial system, the Klan’s influence and its threat to Catholics, Jews, immigrants and African-American citizens was brought under control.

Indiana’s past also includes segregation. Crispus Attucks High School was constructed in Indianapolis for the education of African-American youth. Attucks’ graduates are known today for excellence and achievement in the business, medical, legal, and arts and entertainment fields.

Attucks graduate David Nathaniel Baker Jr., a famed jazz trombonist, was forced to learn another instrument after a car accident, and the denial of timely medical care from a white hospital. But Baker reinvented himself as a performer and composer, and today is the former chair of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Jazz Studies program.

Although the state long denied women the right to vote, generations of Catholic female students have been educated at Indiana’s historic St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, and one of Purdue University’s most famous professors remains none another than legendary pilot, Amelia Earhart.

Indiana’s diverse economy is reflected in its gross state product of $298 billion in 2012, with its pharmaceutical, manufacturing, agricultural, governmental and academic centers, as well as its proud lineup of numerous major sports teams and organizations, including the Indianapolis 500; Brickyard 400 motorsports; the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, the WNBA’s Indiana Fever.

Today, Indiana still faces challenges to ensure opportunity and civil rights for all, not only in the workplace, but in all spheres of life. Yet many believe the future for Indiana’s residents is brighter than ever, no matter their gender, sexual orientation, national origin, race, or religious views.

By Leslie L. Fuller

In 2016, the Hoosier State will celebrate its 200^th birthday. As Indiana draws nearer to this bicentennial celebration, how well is the state, as well as its capitol city of Indianapolis, performing in offering opportunity to all its diverse citizens?

As of the end of 2014, here’s a snapshot of some of the Hoosier State’s and Indy’s proudest moments, and a look at some sectors where gains are eroding.

JUDICIARY & ELECTED OFFICES:

As of 2014, the state office of Indiana Governor and the city office of Indianapolis mayor have been held exclusively by white men. In other elected positions and offices, there has been movement toward greater diversity.

On Indiana’s Supreme Court, Justice Robert D. Rucker, continues to serve as the second African-American on the state’s high court, as successor to Myra Selby, who made state history as both the first female and African-American. The Justice Rucker and his son, Judge Fanon A. Rucker of Ohio, are noted as the first African-American father and son to become Justice and Judge in American History.

The Gary-born Justice, appointed by then-Governor Frank O’Bannon in 1999, is the only Court of Appeals judge to ever be elevated to the Supreme Court. As the 105^th Justice for the state, Rucker has authored more than 450 majority opinions and issued over 100 dissents during his combined tenure on the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. His term expires in 2022.

 The November 2014 election brought historic change to some Indiana courts:

Sheryl Lynch made history as the first woman, and African-American, to be elected judge of the Marion County Circuit Court. Lynch served as that court’s presiding commissioner for more than ten years. Her judicial term expires Dec. 31, 2020.

Kimberly Bacon, an African-American, won election to the judgeship of the Indiana Small Claims Courts in Indiana. Her term expires Dec. 31, 2018.

On other elected offices, Myla Eldridge, the former deputy director and director of elections, a Democrat,become the first African-American to be voted Marion County Clerk.

Openly gay city-county councillor Zach Adamson continues to serve. He married partner Christian Mosburg in Washington D.C. in 2013 when same-sex marriage was not yet legal in Indiana.

In the State House of Representatives, Indiana’s two Latina incumbents were re-elected: Democrats Mara Candelaria Reardon and Christina Hale.

In 2014, Ernest Malone, a veteran firefighter with the Indianapolis Fire Department, became the second African-American to become Chief of the IFD.

Richard A.J. “Rick” Hite continued to serve as chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

THE MEDIA:

Sadly, as newsrooms grew smaller in Indianapolis and around the Hoosier State, mirroring a national trend, some say they have noticeably become less diverse, with fewer women and minorities in management roles.

There are some notable exceptions. In 2010, Karen Ferguson Crotchfelt,, was appointed Publisher of the legacy print newspaper Indianapolis Star, succeeding Michael Kane, by the paper’s owner, media giant Gannett. During her tenure, the Star moved out of its longtime home at 307 N. Pennsylvania St. to rent office space at the Centre Mall, a switch that was promoted by “revenue-sapping competition from the Internet” according to Star reporter Jeff Swiatek. However, Leisa Richardson, an African-American journalist who was a Star editor, was demoted to a reporter, noted longtime journalist and pundit Amos Brown III. Brown also noted that well-respected minority journalist Angela Cain was recently laid off at WTHR Channel 13, where she served as Community Affairs Director.

“From the perspective of someone who has been in the business 40 years and in management for 37 years, my question is, who is following in my footsteps?” commented Brown, of WTLC-AM. “If someone had told me 30 years ago, that the only African-Americans in management would still be in black media, I’d say that they were crazy.” Brown recalled that during the 1980s, high-power African-American journalist Loretta Mouzon was on staff at Channel 13. She left, ultimately becoming a News Producer for Entertainment Tonight.

Terri Cope-Walton, RTV6’s news director, is one role Hoosier model for minority journalists. Cope-Walton was previously assistant news director at RTV6 and has been interim news director since Nov. 2012.

Brown also points out that African-American business woman Taja Graham is the General Sales Manager for WLHK, an Emmis Communications property. Graham, a Butler grad, started her radio career as an intern with WZPL in 1991.

SPORTS

In Sports, it’s a familiar story of minorities welcomed as athletes, but not as head coaches or other managerial roles. Indianapolis Recorder Sports Writer Danny Bridges says that the local picture mirrors a national trend. “Whether Indianapolis or nationally, the numbers are woeful,” he said.

However, there are some rays of sunshine. He points to Carl Daniels, Vice President of Player Relations at Pacers Sports & Entertainment, as one example of an African-American role model for those aspiring to leadership jobs in the world of sports. “His job is to be a liaison between the club and the players,” commented Bridges.

Avis Roper, senior director of communications for the Indianapolis Colts, also has a high-profile, prestigious post, Bridges said.

One of the finest examples of diversity in Indiana sports leadership is Kelly Krauskopf of the Indianapolis Fever, Bridges said, After the Fever won the 2012 WNBA championship, the ownership group promoted Krauskopf from general manager to president of the successful franchise. “She calls all the shots at the Fever, and they’ve done very well,” said Bridges. “She’s a smart cookie, a former player, she was instrumental in their television package with ESPN.”

And, Bridges said, Indianapolis shouldn’t forget Anthony Kevin “Tony” former head coach of the Colts from 2002 to 2008. Dungy made history as the first Black head coach to win the Super Bowl when his Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

Bridges points out that since the 2003 inception of the Rooney Rule, every NFL team with a coach or general manager opening to interview at least one minority candidate.

By Ebony Chappel

The city of Gary, Ind. has often been referred to as the land that time forgot. Other references include “ghost town,” and “the forgotten city.”

Despite the thoughts of outsiders, the life breath of Gary – it’s residents, and supporters believe that this town has something to offer and is a treasure just waiting to be unearthed from the overwhelming scourge of its past, blighted by white flight, economic instability, corruption, crime, and politics.

Former Mayor Richard Hatcher is one of those people who still believes in Gary. He, along with an impressive roster of advisory board members which includes; longtime NAACP supporter Julian Bond, comedian and activist Dick Gregory, and newspaper publisher Dorothy R. Leavell, are planning to construct a National Civil Rights Hall of Fame Museum in the city of Gary.

Hatcher said the idea came about in the 1960s following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “I was not able to attend the funeral so a week or so afterwards I called Mrs. Coretta Scott-King and expressed my condolences,” said Hatcher. “As we were talking I told her what a powerful image the picture of the mules pulling the wagon in the funeral procession was. I asked her what happened to the wagon and she said, ‘Oh, it’s lost unfortunately.’ She said no one knew where it was. It was at that point that the idea came to have a place where we could house artifacts, documents, and other items related to the civil rights movement in this country. The idea was born in that moment and we’ve been working on it ever since.”

Hatcher said although there is a lot of enthusiasm and anticipation surrounding this endeavor, it has not been met without controversy. Attempts to acquire appropriate funding from a variety of state and federal governmental sources including the office of Housing and Urban Development has not happened under three different mayoral administrations. Mayors Rudolph M. Clay, Thomas V. Barnes and Scott L. King have all rejected different funding attempts.

“We would have been at a point to go forward and build were it not for the intersection of politics in the city of Gary,” said Hatcher. In 2001, the Gary City-County Council voted to give Hatcher a grant in the amount of $5 million to begin construction. However, then mayor Scott King vetoed the council’s decision and a court upheld his veto. “We have run into that kind of thing over the years with three mayors who were not in support. The good news is that the current mayor, Karen Freeman-Wilson has stated publicly that she supports the hall of fame.”

Despite the setbacks, Hatcher said the team is prepared to continue progressing toward making this idea a reality.

“We’ve been able to retain architects and engineers who have drawn the plans for the hall of fame and in addition we have been able to acquire a 10-acre site which is located on the southwest side of Gary off the I-94 expressway,” he said.

According to estimates, the cost to begin construction on the hall is $10 million. Hatcher said that the generous efforts by fundraising partners such as Bill Cosby and Harry Belafonte have helped jumpstart their efforts. Last October, Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. headlined a fundraising dinner at Gary’s Genesis Convention Center. In an interview with the Post-Tribune, Jackson said this museum “will be just another example of the former mayor’s extraordinary work.”

Dorothy Leavell, editor and publisher of the Crusader Newspaper Group, said that she considers serving on the board of director’s for the hall of fame a true pleasure and honor. “(Hatcher) sees this as a dream and guess what? He’s got me and others to buy into it. I’m with it and I think we ought to have it.”

Hatcher envisions the hall of fame as a state of the art space that rivals similar structures in Mississippi and Tennessee. In addition to traditional exhibits, the museum is planned to feature holographic technology, educational institutes, and training for budding entrepreneurs. It is also poised to bring much-needed tourist dollars to the city.

“We’ve had a very expensive study done to answer impact questions,” said Hatcher. “The study says that the hall of fame as we have proposed it would attract more than 500,000 visitors a year – the impact on Gary’s economy would be between $7 and $10 million annually. If that kind of money was coming in through tourism you can see that it would have a tremendous impact on the city.”

Construction of the National Civil Rights Hall of Fame is set to begin in later this year.

By Ebony Chappel

It’s a Hoosier state achievement worth revisiting: America’s first self-made female millionaire, a minority woman, rose to unparalleled business success right here in Indiana.

Sarah Breedlove Walker (1867-1919), who rose to fame as Madame C.J. Walker, made her fortune in classic entrepreneurial style by identifying and fulfilling an untapped market, a need for African-American beauty and hair care products.

She recruited a small army of sales agents, organized them into clubs, and established a mail order business. She emphasized political engagement and philanthropy, not just for herself, but for her sales staff.

Her Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company became an impressive and inspiring landmark, not unlike the famed Madame Walker Building of Indianapolis, which still presides over Indiana Avenue today.

Walker, whose parents had been enslaved on a Louisiana plantation, was the first generation in her American-American family to be born into freedom following the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

The arc of her life encompassed poverty, illiteracy, and a lack of opportunity, to wealth, education, and providing mighty opportunities for others. This is why, undoubtedly, the story of her life and business success will continue to be told and retold: although she was born on a plantation, she lived and worked in freedom, here in Indiana.

Below is a quick look at other key individuals and advancements, both in the state and the nation, which have led to diversity and equality in the business world and other arenas.

1787– Congress establishes the land which includes present-day Indiana under the Northwest Ordinance, which states, “that there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory.”

1816- Indiana adapts its first constitution. It restricts the right to vote only to those white, male citizens over the age of 21 who had resided in Indiana for one year.

1816-1830 – Abraham Lincoln grows from a child to a man of 21 in what is now Spencer County, Ind. Born to parents who opposed slavery, Lincoln saw his father lose his wealth due to faulty land titles. He became a lawyer, and later the 16th president of the United States.

1850– Edward Ralph May, a Democrat, cast the only vote at the Indiana Constitutional Convention in favor of granting the vote to African-American men. It was defeated, 122-1.

1861– President Lincoln signed the Confiscation Act, which authorized judicial proceedings to confiscate and free slaves who were being used to support the Confederate military.

1863– As the Civil War continues to rage, Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in ten states at war with the north. It freed three million of an estimated four million people held in slavery.

1917– Indiana grants women presidential suffrage, and in 1920, Indiana ratified the 19th Amendment. However, Hoosier women could not vote at the state level until a special state election was held September 1921.

1935– An intrepid, smiling woman with close-cropped hair joins the staff of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Amelia Mary Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross for her achievement. She helped form the Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots, and at Purdue, helped inspire women to be fearless in their choice of careers. She was a member of the National Women’s Party and supported the Equal Rights Amendment. Earhart and her Lockheed Model 10 Electra flew into history in 1937, when she disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean during an attempt to fly around the world.

1964 – Civil Rights Act

The comprehensive legislation sought to end discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. Title II and Title IV of the law prohibit segregation or discrimination in places involved in interstate commerce. Title VII also banned discrimination by trade unions, schools, or employers.

1965 – Voting Rights Act and Executive Order 11246

In August of 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. The act, which was amended by Congress five times to extend its reach, sought to protect the vote of all United States citizens. The law outlawed literacy tests and other tactics used to suppress potential voters. In the same year, Johnson signed Executive Order 11246 which “prohibits federal contractors and federally assisted construction contractors and subcontractors, who do over $10,000 in government business in one year from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”

1968 – Fair Housing Act

Intended as a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act, which was also signed by President Johnson, sought to address the discrimination many Americans experienced in the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin and sex.

1979 – The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was established.

1984 – US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC) was founded. The nonprofit’s aim is to advocate for equal opportunities for Asian American (includes East, South and Southeast Asian and Pacific Islanders) businesses, professionals, and business organizations in both the corporate and government procurement market.

1987 – Intertribal Agriculture Council is founded. The council’s mission is to provide a unified effort to promote change in Indian Agriculture for the benefit of Indian People.

1988 – Congress passes the Civil Rights Restoration Act. The act expanded the reach of non-discrimination laws for private institutions that receive federal funds.

 1991 – President Bush signs the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The law introduced the option to seek damages for emotional distress and provided the right to a jury trial on claims of discrimination. The act aimed to deter instances of unlawful harassment.

1994– Employment Non-Discrimination Act (EDNA) was first introduced to the Senate. The legislation prohibited hiring and employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Since its founding, EDNA would be introduced in every Congress with the exception of the 109th body. EDNA finally passed the Senate on November 7, 2013 with bipartisan support. The final vote was 64-32.

1982-1985 – Katie Hall serves in the 1st District as a U.S. Representative, the first African-American woman elected to Congress from Indiana

 1997-2007– Julia May Carson, a Democrat, becomes the first woman and African-American to represent the 7th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

 2003 – The Supreme Court rules (5-4) that race can be used as a factor in considering university admission. This decision upheld University of Michigan’s Law School policy on affirmative action.

2009– President Barack Obama is sworn into office as the nation’s 44th president, the first African-American to serve in the United States’ highest office. A former civil rights attorney, Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He served three terms in the 13th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.

Obama gathered wide attention by delivering the 2004 keynote address to the Democratic National Convention, in a speech honoring diversity. “I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my two precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all who came before me, and that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.”

By Leslie L Fuller

“Almost every day we are reminded how difficult it is building consensus to solve problems in our large and diverse country. The framers of the Constitution envisioned Congress where the great variety of voices and opinions in America would get full airing as new laws are considered. When Congress is functioning as it should, it is a contentious place, where competing proposals are energetically debated.”– Lee Hamilton, director, Center on Congress

The dangers of a world at war, the sufferings of a nation tearing itself apart with racial and ethnic strife.

For decades, these have been the preoccupations of the elder statesman from Indiana, the Honorable Lee Herbert Hamilton.

Hamilton, who served Indiana’s 9^th Congressional District for 34 years, specifically the period from January 1965 to January 1999, is one of just two surviving members of ‘the Democratic class of 1965’ a group of freshmen legislators. (The other is John Conyers.)

Hamilton, who today is the Director of the Center on Congress, based on the I.U. Bloomington campus, has explained that in the arena of civil rights, it’s impossible to separate the political from the personal. He points to his own school years, growing up in segregated Southern Indiana.

Before he was a Indiana congressman fighting for the passage of civil rights legislation, he was a basketball star at an all-white school.

“I grew up in Evansville, I grew up in a segregated city,” reflected Hamilton, who celebrates his 84^th birthday on April 20.

“We had no Blacks. I played basketball. I’m afraid I didn’t think very much about it. I just thought that was the way the world was. It’s not to my credit, I’m sure. But I was in high school, and of course, national affairs are not uppermost in your mind.”

Hamilton led the Evansville Central Bears in the IHSAA tournament. In 1946, the Bears made the State Semi-finals, in 1947, they made the State Quarter-finals; as a senior, he led them to the championship game. An All-State star as a senior, Hamilton received the Trestor Award for mental attitude.

However, it wasn’t until joining the DePauw Tigers college basketball team that he had an African-American teammate, said Hamilton, who graduated from DePauw University in 1952 and was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.

After graduating from the IU School of Law in Bloomington in 1956, he worked as a lawyer in private practice for the next 10 years in Columbus.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the companion acts which followed, should be considered “landmark legislation” among the most important historical events in American history, Hamilton said.

“I look upon it as a huge milestone in the history of the country, and the state. It’s a turning point, one of the revolutions that have occurred,” said Hamilton.

“They (civil rights acts) formed a base, they formed a platform from which the country began to wrestle much more seriously with the problem of inequality,” said Hamilton. “This was a hugely important time in American history.”

“The country had gone through, and was gone through a great bit of agony, anxiety over civil rights. It was tearing the country apart in many ways.”

During this important period in American history, “I was representing the 9^th Congressional district, in southern Indiana, with many rural voters, very few urban voters.”

“There was clearly opposition, there were people who didn’t like it,” said Hamilton. “I used to spend a lot of time shaking hands with people, and I would frequently be met with the comment, ‘oh, you support that civil rights legislation’ obviously, in a negative tone of voice.”

“The African American population was very limited in that part of the state, few in Jeffersonville and Albany, and it was a very tough (political) sale,” said Hamilton. “There was a great deal of reluctance to support the Civil Rights Movement in the area.

“I recognized that there were political risks. On the other hands, there were a lot of people that supported it. The racial aspect of the (civil rights legislation) was clear, was apparent.”

The outcome of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the other civil rights legislative acts which followed “has been terrific” Hamilton said.

He points to increased opportunities for African-Americans, Hispanics and other minority groups in the business, political, sports and entertainment worlds.

“Yes, we’re still struggling. But it’s given me a great deal of pleasure to see members of that community come into positions of leadership, in all kinds of fields.”

Civil Rights legislation has even changed the nation’s calendar, Hamilton remarked, pointing out the establishment of Dr. Martin Luther King Day, a federal holiday celebrated the third Monday in January.

“Today, you can’t find anyone against Martin Luther King, he’s a national hero. But back then, there was opposition. Incidentally, I would say to you that Dr. Martin Luther Ling is the only American with a national holiday named after him,” said Hamilton.

Although President Ronald Reagan signed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday into law in 1983, it was observed three years later, and met with some resistance in certain states. However, by 2000, it was observed in all 50 states.

The civil rights legislation, with workplace and other protections, as well as the passage of the Martin Luther King holiday, represents real national progress, said Hamilton.

“I remember its impact on the African-American community, they were encouraged by it, deeply encouraged,” said Hamilton. “In the African-American community, there was enormous focus on these bills and deep interest. It gave them confidence, a pathway into the future which I think was critically important.”

A Look at Indiana’s Lee H. Hamilton:

Hamilton is director of The Center on Congress at Indiana University in Bloomington.  He served as chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran, the Joint Economic Committee, and the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress.  As a member of the House Standards of Official Conduct Committee, Hamilton was a primary draftsman of several House ethics reforms.

Mr. Hamilton served on the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States.  He was appointed to the National War Powers Commission, and served as co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, a forward-looking, bi-partisan assessment of the situation in Iraq, created at the urging of Congress.  Hamilton served as vice-chair of the 9/11 Commission and co-chaired the 9/11 Public Discourse Project, established to monitor implementation of the Commission’s recommendations.  He was co-chair of the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America’s Future and also served as a member of the Commission on Federal Election Reform, the U.S. Commission on National Security in the 21st Century (the Hart-Rudman Commission), and the FBI Director’s Advisory Board.

He was viewed as a potential Democratic vice-presidential running mate in 1984, 1988, and 1992, due to his foreign policy credentials and Indiana’s potential to turn into a blue state due to economic concerns.

He is currently a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, the President’s Homeland Security Advisory Council, the CIA External Advisory Board, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Task Force on Preventing the Entry of Weapons of Mass Effect on American Soil.  He serves as co-chair of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future with General Brent Scowcroft; with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, he is co-chair of the National Advisory Committee to the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools.

Mr. Hamilton is the author of How Congress Works and Why You Should Care; Strengthening Congress; A Creative Tension – The Foreign Policy Roles of the President and Congress; and co-author of Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission and The Iraq Study Group Report.

In 2005, Hamilton received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards. He is widowed.

Bill Mays’ daughter speaks candidly about her father, discusses growth of multi-million dollar chemical company

By Sydney Wilson

You’ve been involved with Mays Chemical Co. since 1995.  What are some of those early lessons you learned from your dad that continue to resonate with you today?
He demanded excellence. He always said, “You need to have a minimum standard of excellence. Work towards and go beyond that.” In addition to striving for excellence, he stressed the importance of being assertive. He always wanted my sister and me to be polite, but also assertive. There was no whining to Bill Mays. No turning on the girl voice.

Bill Mays was the consummate businessman and philanthropist. What lesson do you want people to learn based on your father’s life?
My dad helped so many people and really invested his time, talent and treasure. If there is one lesson I hope people take from his life, it is the importance of giving back. I encourage other entrepreneurs and business leaders to invest in the development of others so we can make Indiana a better place – socially and economically.

Explain ways your father encouraged his employees to invest in the community. Why is doing so essential to the fabric of this state?
He required giving back. I always thought it was special how he required all senior managers to serve on boards in the community. He urged everyone to give to the United Way. If you didn’t give to the United Way on some level, you had to go in and explain to him why you did not choose to give. He was really an advocate for making sure the city thrived.
It’s important to not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk. Part of that walk is ensuring your employees demonstrate the core values of the company in everything they do. At Mays Chemical, it’s always been part of our moral fabric to give back in a variety of ways. From a self-fulfilling perspective we benefit, but more importantly, the community benefits.

You’ve served as president of Mays Chemical Co. for the past couple of years and the company continues to thrive internationally.  What are your plans to continue on this trajectory?
Since its inception nearly 35 years ago, Mays Chemical has committed itself to operating with integrity, exceptional expertise and the highest degree of excellence. Moving forward, we will continue to operate under those core values that have helped catapult Mays Chemical into the internationally-ranked leader it is today. Some short-term goals are to increase sales and expand business by penetrating industries which we haven’t tapped. We will also continue to look for great talent in the industry and remain committed to continuous training that only helps to further execute our goals.

You are an African-American woman leading a multi-million dollar company in an industry dominated by men. How do you deal with the pressure?
Both my parents instilled in my sister and me sheer determination to not only succeed, but to do so confidently and in a way that transcends racial and gender bias. All I have done and will continue to do is perform at the highest level possible. When you do that, even if the outcome isn’t always what you hoped for, you still win.  I just try my absolute best. It’s a message I instill in my employees and my children. I can’t allow myself to worry about being a minority racially or gender-wise because that can oftentimes be a heavy load to bear. Instead, I focus all my energy on performing at the highest level possible.