Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 12 May 2000 — Page 3

FRIDAY, MAY 12. 2000

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

PAGE A3

foundation in business, coupled with a strong appreciation for the chal lenges organizations face in creating value in the new economy. “He also understands the importance of building relationships with clients, which in turn allows the firm to marshal the right resources in responding to the client’s needs,” Viets said. , ir “Arthur Andersen’s single purpose is to help our clients and our people realize their aspirations. Derrick is uniquely qualified to make this purpose a reality in the Indiana marketplace,” he said. v “It's a challenging position,” said Burks, who is attending more dinners and civic events to become more visible in the community. Li. Burks wants to try to build on the company’s success by providing quality service to accommodate traditional clieots and attract new ones. In his former role he used to deal -with assigned clients and their specific needs. :r “Ultimately I'm doing the same thing, but now it’s a different game,” he said. n: Accountable for leading the firm’s strategic direction .and developing and overseeing client activities in the Indiana marketplace, one of Burks’ focuses is to accelerate the ^office’s growth and development as a leading service .provider for the new economy. -'!■ Arthur Andersen is a global professional services organization with more than 75,000 employees in 80 countries. United by one-firm operating structure, the corporation helps organizations create, measure and manage value within the context of the new economy. Burks and his partners oversee an Indianapolis office

BURKS Continued from A1 with 150 professionals representing a range of business expertise related to assurance, tax services, business consulting, e-business, outsourcing and others. A part of the firm’s one-firm operating structure, the office works to bring worldwide resources to Indiana companies and organizations. a . Burks said that his visibility is good for business and the Black community. , He has seen a lack of Black accounting students in the nation’s talent pool and says business and accounting schools must figure out a way to attract more Black and minority students. “A lot of times there is a misconception about the accounting field,” said Burks. “People see accounting as taking inventory, but it’s so much more. There is so many things an accountant can do outside of the traditional things.” Becoming the first African American to be named a managing partner by Arthur Andersen wasn’t in the Indianapolis native’s plans. In fact as a National Honor Society member while at Shortridge High School, Burks future was in doubt. As a freshman in high school he had already lost both of his parents. “I didn’t see anyway that I would be able to come up with the financing,” to go to college, he said. Determined to fulfill his mother’s dream, his older brother, Pearson, paid for Burks and his twin Dairell’s tuition to Kentucky State. “When your brother, who has his own family, is paying for your tuition you realize that you have to push really hard,” he said. The rest is history, as Burks received financial assistance

and transferred to Indiana University. He has been with the company since his 1978 graduation from IU and became a partner in 1991. Burks has experience in business and accounting issues related to mergers and acquisitions, including due diligence and integration, public and private offerings and SEC regulations. He has served clients such as Simon Property Group, Indiana Energy, Emmis Communications, Thomson Consumer Electronics and United Way of Central Indiana. Burks is also one of few Black managing partners in the history of the Big Five accounting firms. The nationally recognized “Big Five" consist of Emst A Young, Deloitte and Touche, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG. The term “Big Five” is a worldwide specification that carries status and implies that the firm is global in nature and able to provide high-level services to larger, public companies. “I’m proud that I’m that person, but in the firm it’s not about whether you’re African American or not," he said. “It’s about helping create value in the new economy. Your race doesn’t matter. If you can perform, you can be accepted. I’m proud to know that’s the way it is in Indiana." He has served on the board of directors for the Chi Idren’ s Museum of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Civic Theatre and the Indianapolis Speech and Hearing Center. He is a member of the Circle City Classic Organizing Committee, the United Way Minority Key Club, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and a former commissioner of the State Board of Accountancy. He and his wife Celeste have three daughters Channing, Clersten and Courtney.

OrtUr NownTtR

BLACK MANKIND

Wbi 'b !(ie ongin ol'He Whi

Maikfor (nfofmmt Id Mtr. <d JW-S77-OWI Or Mite

UcU» ym mm. Mm. # nk * vi* *tt Hob duck nfdb Ik Mar MUm|

TULSA Continued from A1

middle-class African Americans seeking economic independence. • Elsewhere in Tulsa, there was a Ku Klux Klan chapter with more :than 3,000 members. The Klan, which had all but disappeared within 15 years of its founding in 1865, enjoyed a revival in 1915 thanks to the success of D.W. Griffith’s epic motion picture “Birth of a Nation.” Based on the best-selling book, The Klansman, “Birth of a Nation” was seen as a ■ recruitment film by thousands of whites, many of whom returned from World War I armed and unemployed. As told by eyewitnesses in “The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story,” on a typical Monday ^morning on May 30, 1921, a 19-year-old Black man named Dick Rowland stumbled while getting into an elevator in downtown Tulsa and accidentally bumped the white, female elevator operator. The young woman’s startled cries - and people’s assumptions that she had been assaulted - touched off a series of events that would result in the obliteration of a community. Spurred on by the Tulsa Tribune, which printed an exaggerated, untrue account of the incident along with a blatant call for a lynching, hordes of white men surrounded the courthouse where Rowland was locked up. As a small group of African Americans approached the courthous.e, determined to protect Rowland, a shot rang out and pandemonium ensued. The next day, a marauding mob bf white men, some 500 of whom had been named “special deputies” by the police department, went house to house in Greenwood, killing or rounding up every AfricanAmerican man, woman and child. The homes were stripped of valuables and then burned to the ground. At least 1,200 homes were destroyed and another 320 were looted. Hundreds of African Americans were incarcerated. More than 4,000 African Americans were left homeless and some 1,000 were destitute, still living in tents throughout ROSE BENEDICT * Happy Mother’s Day to my Granny

the ensuing harsh winter. According to Red Cross estimates, at least 300 African Americans died that day. The entire 35-square block community of Greenwood in Tulsa was reduced to nibble. The official death toll was 36. Charges against Dick Rowland were dismissed. No one knows what happened to him or the elevator operator. Back in the news more than 75 years later, an Oklahoma statecommission has recently recommended that surviving victims be compensated with reparations and that a public memorial be erected. The state legislature iscurrently reviewing the commission’s proposal. “The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story,” written for Cinemax, directed and produced by Michael Wilkerson and narrated by John Vernon, chronicles the Oklahoma events, using the personal recol lections of survivors and witnesses, comments from historians and recently discovered photos. Documents of the time, including newspaper accounts and writings of eyewitnesses are read by a troupe of noted actors led by Tulsa native Alfre Woodard.

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER USPS 262-660 Published weekly by: The George P. Stewart Printing Co., Inc., P.O. Box 18499, 2901 N. Tacoma Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46218. Entered as Second Class Matter under Act ol March 7,1870. Periodicals paid at Indianapolis, IN. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Indiarmpolia Recorder, P.O. Box 18499,2901 N. Tacoma Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46218. Subscription price by mail or cathrier: $39 per year; $29 for 6 mos.,75 cents per copy. National advertising representative: Amalgamated Publishers Inc., 45 W. 45th St.. New York. NY 10036. The National Newspaper Publishers Association, Central Indiana Publishers Association, Hoosier State Press Association. SUBSCRIBERS BY MAIL: We are not responsible for replacing issues missed due to change of address or late renewals. Please allow two weeks when placing a new subscription or change of address order. Call (317) 924-5143.

I Lave Ton! Jada

&

“brdcbil MAYS ' SUftuf. ‘tllatfar*. ta mu^ama CMotfdt Sk>eate*t ArancUna.

Jada

W J Making Mends, Mating a DUknoce

(317)634-6102 * www.bigsistersiiidiaiia.coyi

Big Sisters