Vernon Can Read!: A Memoir

everyone outside the magic circle into the category of the presumptively unqualified.

What I had done in my life was take away certain skills and knowledge from every job and outside activity and apply them in each new arena in which I played. Working in the law with Mr. Hollowell, fund-raising, making speeches, conducting negotiations, managing people and situations-these were things I had spent two decades doing. Why couldn't thos

Which raises the question: What constitutes merit? Who gets to decide what ingredients go into the mix to make up what is often a very subjective judgment of a person's capabilities? These questions were (and are) critical, given the role merit plays in maintaining the status quo. Peoplein power, in any field or society, have a vested interest in b

It is possible, and sometimes absolutely imperative, to work with people with whom you have fundamental disagreements. Very little would be accomplished in the world-in government, business, family, anywhere-if this

I didn't feel comfortable making the decision on my own, and as I've always done before and since, I decided to speak with people whose

"You can be one hell of a leader at the Urban

were not true.

The way my mother went about this also sent a message to me. School was a place where I went to learn, but it was also important as an institution. I came to see that it is a good idea to become involved with any institution or entity

Whether we want to or not, all blacks end up representing the entire race wherever we are, and given the racial landscape, the bad things we do are taken as more generally representative