Do the Black Americans who sit on the boards of directors of major corporations practice sufficient crony capitalism among other Blacks that our community should give a damn if they are kicked off their board positions?

Although Blacks accounted for about 11 percent of the population in 1964 and about 12 percent in 1995, the percent of seats held by Blacks on Fortune 500-level boards during the period rose from zero to about 3.6 percent. Of the approximately 350 current Black board members, most came from outside corporate ladders�law firms, universities or Black-owned businesses. Blacks who have long corporate board tenures, such as lawyer Vernon Jordan, businessman Earl Graves, Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert and Georgetown Professor Donald McHenry, have little demonstrative evidence of actively promoting the interests of Black communities in their board functions.

Possibly because of Black corporate board members� lack of visibility among the masses of Blacks, a move to bounce a Black man from the board of a giant government contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp., has received little community comment. There is an effort by mostly White-run investment institutions to unseat Frank Savage from Lockheed Martin�s board of directors because of his relationship with Enron. A firm that analyzes proxy statements for its clients has recommended Lockheed investors withhold their vote for Frank Savage because his role at Enron raises a "significant question as to his ability to be an effective director." Savage helped oversee Enron�s finances, and since the company�s bankruptcy last year, he and other directors have been the targets of dozens of lawsuits filed by angry investors and employees. An investigative report issued earlier this year faulted Enron�s board for failing to supervise managers and to ask about its off-the-books partnerships.

A member of a company�s board of directors has substantial clout within that organization. Their responsibilities include setting the strategic direction of the company and appointing senior management and approving key corporate policies. Even though companies such as Coca Cola, Texaco, NBC and Verizon had Blacks on their boards, there�s concern of them being asleep at the switch while wholesale discrimination was occurring against Blacks at company lower levels.

Savage has been successful in business, but is not exactly a household name among Blacks. He runs Savage Holdings LLC investments and is chairman of Alliance Capital Management International, a $321 billion investment management subsidiary of The Equitable Companies Incorporated. Announcing Savage�s 1999 appointment to Enron�s board, chairman and CEO Kenneth L. Lay said: "Frank has a distinguished 33-year career in international banking, corporate finance and global investment management. His expertise will be an asset."

Savage�s record includes activity in the Black community, as chairman of Howard University�s Board of Trustees. On the corporate side, he�s been senior vice-president of The Equitable Life Assurance Society and chairman of Equitable Capital Management Corporation, a $35 billion Equitable Life investment management subsidiary, which merged with Alliance Capital in July 1993. His early career was in the Middle East and Africa with the International Division of Citicorp. After a period as a principal in TAW International Leasing, he spent several years as an investment officer with Equitable Life. Savage serves on the boards of Lockheed Martin, QUAL-COMM Incorporated, Council on Foreign Relations, and Johns Hopkins University.