To celebrate the 2013 Law Day theme "Realizing the Dream: Equality for All" The Jacksonville Bar Association invited Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan to discuss his experiences with the American Dream and the promise of equality under the law.
The American Bar Association chose to recognize equality in the 2013 Law Day theme.
Khan was the keynote speaker Thursday at the association's Law Day Luncheon at the West Touchdown Club at EverBank Field, where he talked of the effect Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech had on his life.
"When I applied for immigration in 1971, immigration was based on a quota system. The civil rights movement changed that. It made immigration more merit based and not based on race," Khan said.
While participating in the immigration process, he said he discovered what real power was in America.
"Economic power is the real power in America," said Khan.
At the time Khan was immigrating to the U.S., civil rights leaders were pushing for larger companies to support minority businesses, he said.
He started his own business, Bumper Works, in 1978 designing and producing a one-piece bumper design, which consisted of a lightweight, continuous piece of metal with no seams to rust or corrode.
At the early stages of developing his business, larger companies were not supportive of minority-owned businesses, he said.
"For about a good 15 years after it started it was really looked upon as a free lunch, kind of a racial quota system that nobody bought into," said Khan.
Two years after he started Bumper Works, Khan purchased his former employer, Flex-N-Gate.
Under Khan's guidance Flex-N-Gate transitioned from an aftermarket parts producer to an original equipment manufacturer over the next 10 years.
"(The support of minority businesses) really took traction when the large companies realized it was really good business. A significant part of the business was minorities and they needed to start dealing with them," said Khan.
He said he experienced this in the auto industry.
"In Detroit, the car companies realized the more business they did with minorities the higher their sales were," said Khan.
This financial incentive led to large companies listening to pitches from minority companies after-hours.
"Business in the auto industry is done in a very status quo way. You could be on Oakland Hills Country Club or some of the more well-established power broker venues and minority companies really didn't have any access to that," said Khan.
The after-hours events with minority businesses let the larger companies know there were more ideas and money they could save with smaller companies that were minority owned, he said.
Khan said his company does 18 percent of its business with minority-owned businesses.
"It's not a gesture of good will. It's gesture of good business. They are the best companies out there and the most cost effective," said Khan.
He attributed his ability to have a successful business to the civil rights work carried out by King.
"I'm not sure what would have become of my dream if Dr. King had not paved the way 50 years ago," Khan told the Law Day Luncheon crowd.
President Dwight Eisenhower established the first Law Day in 1958.
In 1961, Congress issued a joint resolution designating May 1 as the official date for celebrating Law Day. Every president since then has issued a Law Day proclamation May 1 to celebrate the nation's commitment to the rule of law.
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