The concept of “The 100” began in 1963 in New York City when a group of concerned African American men began to meet to explore ways of improving conditions in their community. These visionaries included business people and industry leaders such as David Dinkins, Robert Mangum, Dr. William Hayling, Nathaniel Goldston III, Livingston Wingate, Andrew Hatcher, and Jackie Robinson. On October 2, 1986, representatives from 100 Black Men Chapters converged in Washington, DC, for a final meeting to establish a national organization. During previous meetings, they determined the structure, governance, and model to provide the most effective physical and financial resources to support the communities and Chapters. At the final gathering, the organization’s name – 100 Black Men of America, Inc. – was unveiled, and attendees elected four accomplished, professional men from within their ranks to serve as its first founding officers.
The concept of “The 100” began in 1963 in New York City when a group of concerned African American men began to meet to explore ways of improving conditions in their community. These visionaries included business people and industry leaders such as David Dinkins, Robert Mangum, Dr. William Hayling, Nathaniel Goldston III, Livingston Wingate, Andrew Hatcher, and Jackie Robinson. On October 2, 1986, representatives from 100 Black Men Chapters converged in Washington, DC, for a final meeting to establish a national organization. During previous meetings, they determined the structure, governance, and model to provide the most effective physical and financial resources to support the communities and Chapters. At the final gathering, the organization’s name – 100 Black Men of America, Inc. – was unveiled, and attendees elected four accomplished, professional men from within their ranks to serve as its first founding officers.
The 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis was formed in 1983 by Jessie C. Swanigan and Fredrick B. Wright as a mechanism through which prominent black men in St. Louis metropolitan area could leverage their collective talent, ability, and energy toward achieving meaningful gains for the black community. The organization is dedicated to providing mentoring development. On a national level, there are over 121 chapters and over 15,000 members across the United States, England, and the Bahamas. The St. Louis chapter was one of 5 founding chapters of the national organization “100 Black Men America.” The 100 is a diverse, non-partisan collection of men at the top of their game in various industries. Our membership includes business owners, executives, professionals, educators, politicians, and religious leaders. Despite our membership’s diversity, we share three things: a commitment to brotherhood and communities and taking positive, goal-directed action. Since our founding, we have continued to catalyze community empowerment while providing a much-needed support system.
Since then, Jesse has contributed so much to the growth of the 100; we took some time to talk to Jesse and felt he would be a great member to highlight.
100 Quarterly: How did you get involved with the 100?
You must always return to the original idea of the hundred black men of America organization. Coming out of New York, they wanted to mentor young black men. They wanted to have a group of black men to lobby for bills and regulations, and they wanted to have a group of men that could work within the community. So that idea carried over to what we wanted to start in St. Louis. So we set up committees to set up how we go about mentoring young black men. And it was so important to me because a single mother raised me, and there were questions I had that I got no answer to because there were no black men around that I could confide in or talk to. So that motivated me to become involved in an organization like 100 black men.
They were five chapters that established 100 black men of America Inc. Dr. William Hayleigh was a member of the New York chapter. He moved to New Jersey in California and found chapters there as well. So then he had the idea of having a national organization. So he called the meeting of the three branches, and we all met in Las Vegas. That was the start of 100 black men of America Inc. So imagine a group of 50 or 60 men coming together with all of their egos, trying to establish something. Dr. Hayleigh had a way of bringing people together and leading. So he became the first President of 100 black men of America Inc. I became the first treasurer because of my background in accounting and organizing.
100 Quarterly: What does leadership mean to you?
Leadership means being able to organize, listen, and delegate. Organize based on shared ideas and principles and then appoint individuals to take on those ideas and run with them. Then you must be able to listen to them and not micromanage them. And most importantly, you must be able to delegate. Most leaders need help delegating. But from my perspective, when you entrust, you’ll find out that though you had the original idea, delegating your ideas to someone will often surprise you with what they come up with that you hadn’t even thought of.
100 Quarterly: How have you seen the 100 evolve over the years?
When I and the other founding members organized, This looked like we had yet to learn what the organization would look like or what the organization was going to become. We just marveled at how the organization mushroomed. Starting, I produce the first five conferences. In those days, the chapters sponsored the conferences. I remember the first contribution we got was at our conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was for $1500. I gave each of the chapters $300. And now we’re operating at about a $5 million budget; we own a building in Atlanta for a national headquarters, Etc.. so to me, with all of that growth, the thing that I enjoy the most when I come to the conferences and get to travel around the country, is to see our youth interactions and to see what we have done to provide scholarships for the youth. I remember some years ago; we invited all the presidents from the HBCUs. We said to them; we have the youth; you have the scholarships, so let’s work together. And I’m amazed at how this continues to this day. Each year at the conference, it’s essential to me to see the youth on stage, the talent they bring forth, and the relationships they build together that can go on through the rest of their lives. When we started, we were mentoring black men, but as we continue to grow, we now mentor young women.
100 Quarterly: What would you like to see from the 100 in the next 10 to 15 years?
We’ve grown to 98 chapters now, so the organization will continue to grow and be focused on our communities, to work with our young men and women to carry on the work we started. I’ve seen this in the last month after the death of our chairman, how our vice chairman stepped in and picked up the pieces, pulled things together, and continued to move us forward. So we kept all ground. That’s great! That’s what I want to see. I like the organization not to remain stagnant but to continue to grow step-by-step.
