Accomplished journalist and Jacksonville resident Bryant Rollins continues climbing the craggy hill of success with his cultural diversity consulting firm, Mountaintop Ventures.
He’ll bring his message to over 2,000 Friday at the Chamber’s annual Martin Luther King Breakfast at the Prime Osborn Convention Center.
It’s appropriate that he’s this year’s speaker.
“The name [of the firm] comes from Martin Luther King’s speech the night before he was assassinated,” said Rollins. “‘I’ve been to the mountaintop. I’ve seen the promised land and I may not get there with you.’ When I set up Mountaintop in 1979, I wanted it to be a reflection of his values. My goal was to support all kinds of organizations — corporations, governments and communities — to bring to life the principles Dr. King espoused of a fully equitable society.”
There’s no doubt that the late King is Rollins’ hero. Before embarking on his career as a business consultant, Rollins was an editor/writer of foreign affairs for The New York Times in the 1970s, executive editor of the New York Amsterdam News (a publication geared towards African-Americans) and political columnist with The Boston Globe.
During the turbulent years of racial integration in this country, Rollins left his job as bureau chief of the State House bureau at The Boston Globe to support the civil rights movement.
Throughout his lifetime, he says, he has vowed to “keep the dream alive” by encouraging understanding, sensitivity and tolerance.
“There was this conflict between being a journalist and the notion of objective reporting,” he said. “I wanted to be more directly involved in social change.”
To this end, Rollins committed himself to work with the Boston Urban League.
Today, Rollins is concerned with more than racial harmony. Through his company, Mountaintop Ventures, Rollins and his wife/business partner Shirley Stetson paint a bigger picture of embracing cultural differences. They know from first-hand experience: Rollins is African-American and his wife, whose background is as an organizational psychologist, is Caucasian.
“Diversity consulting is that area of work in all kinds of organizations where we bring strategies to create environments that bring the most out of people by valuing their differences,” he explained. “One of the things we stress is that in the 1960s, people saw this as a black-white issue. Today, we’ve redefined diversity to be much more inclusive. We’re no longer talking about racial issues but also issues of sexual identity, gender, ability, religion and personal work style.”
Through workshops and seminars, Mountaintop facilitates discussion groups amongst a client’s employees regarding topics of diversity in a non-threatening atmosphere. The open format is used to direct individuals to discover their own motivation for embracing others’ differences.
Although the primary objective varies given the type of organization, the desired end result is often better work flow and efficiency. For businesses, it could be making workers more productive. Government agencies might want to enhance customer service. Non-profit groups could enlist their services to instruct them in how to better serve the community.
“We don’t believe it’s possible to motivate people or impose behavior,” he said. “People have to find their own motive. They find that in their own personal values. Being in a room with people and watching the barriers fall is rewarding. It’s my spiritual belief that I’m personally connected to everyone. I experience them facing themselves.”
Four years ago, Rollins and his wife relocated to Jacksonville from New England, seeking a warmer climate and business opportunities. The racial tension they uncovered when they situated here acted as a catalyst for them to get involved on a more personal level.
“That [Jacksonville Community Council Inc.] study paints a pretty clear picture of the challenges we face,” he said, referring to the portion of the recent study exploring race relations. “It’s clear that there’s a lot to be done. What we consistently find is a willingness to explore issues in a serious fashion and in depth. Here’s a real series of challenges that JCCI has presented on how to fix this.”
Inspired by the eagerness he found to correct any imbalance, Rollins enlisted the aid of his fellow Chamber members to organize a retreat revolving around inclusiveness and societal differences.
He has continued his community endeavors by co-chairing the steering committee for the study circles initiatives, a series of small group dialogues on race relations, headed up by the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission. He is also contemplating creating a multi-cultural institute similar to the Mayo Clinic in which resources nationwide can be employed to resolve racial issues.
Rollins is a graduate of Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts. He has taught at Columbia University and has authored three books.
Martin Luther King Breakfast,
Friday, Osborn Center.
Individual: $17.50
Corporate table: $200
Information and
reservations:
366-6695