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The Reverend Leon Howard Sullivan (October 16, 1922-April 24, 2001) was born in Charleston. Sullivan was an African-American preacher and social activist who led international efforts to promote nonviolent social and economic change. A graduate of Garnet High School and West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University) (1943), Sullivan received his theological training at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University. After serving under the Reverend Adam Clayton Powell in Harlem, Sullivan began his first pastorate at a church in South Orange, New Jersey. In 1950, he began a 38-year ministry at Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia. The church became one of the nation’s largest congregations.

In 1971, Sullivan was appointed to the board of directors of General Motors, the first African-American to serve there. In 1977, Sullivan initiated the original Sullivan Principles, a code of conduct for companies operating in South Africa. GM, as well as other multinational companies, adopted the Sullivan Principles. The Principles were among the most effective efforts to end the system of apartheid or racial separation. In November 1999, the United Nations adopted the ‘‘Global Sullivan Principles’’ as an international corporate code of conduct.

Convinced that the oppressed need a ‘‘hand up, not a handout,’’ Sullivan founded the Opportunities Industrialization Centers, which created jobs in about 70 U.S. cities and 15 African countries, the Philippines, and Poland. He was the founder of the biennial African-American Summit, a gathering of leaders from the U.S. and African nations.

Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Sullivan was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991 and received honorary degrees from more than 50 colleges and universities. In August 2000, the city of Charleston honored him by renaming a major thoroughfare Leon Sullivan Way. Sullivan died of leukemia in Scottsdale, Arizona,

This Article was written by Diana Sole Walko

Last Revised on October 16, 2019

Sources

Sullivan, Leon H. Alternatives to Despair. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1972.

Sullivan, Leon H. America is Theirs and Other Poems. New York: Sayle & Wimmer, 1948.

Sullivan, Leon H. Build, Brother, Build. Philadelphia: Macae Smith Co., 1969.

Sullivan, Leon H. Moving Mountains: The Principles and Purposes of Leon Sullivan. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1998.

Cite This Article

Sole Walko, Diana "Leon Sullivan." e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 16 October 2019. Web. 27 November 2024.

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The Sullivan Principles »

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The 1977 Sullivan Principles

1. Non-segregation of the races in all eating, comfort, and work facilities.
2. Equal and fair employment practices for all employees.
3. Equal pay for all employees doing equal or comparable work for the same period of time.
4. Initiation of and development of training programs that will prepare, in substantial numbers, blacks and other nonwhites for supervisory, administrative, clerical, and technical jobs.
5. Increasing the number of blacks and other nonwhites in management and supervisory positions.
6. Improving the quality of life for blacks and other nonwhites outside the work environment in such areas as housing, transportation, school, recreation, and health facilities.
7. Working to eliminate laws and customs that impede social, economic, and political justice. (Added in 1984)

The Global Sullivan Principles, adopted by the United Nations in 1999

The Principles:
As a company which endorses the Global Sullivan Principles we will respect the law, and as a responsible member of society we will apply these Principles with integrity consistent with the legitimate role of business. We will develop and implement company policies, procedures, training and internal reporting structures to ensure commitment to these principles throughout our organization. We believe the application of these Principles will achieve greater tolerance and better understanding among peoples, and advance the culture of peace.

Accordingly, we will:
Express our support for universal human rights and, particularly, those of our employees, the communities within which we operate, and parties with whom we do business.
Promote equal opportunity for our employees at all levels of the company with respect to issues such as color, race, gender, age, ethnicity or religious beliefs, and operate without unacceptable worker treatment such as the exploitation of children, physical punishment, female abuse, involuntary servitude, or other forms of abuse.
Respect our employees’ voluntary freedom of association.
Compensate our employees to enable them to meet at least their basic needs and provide the opportunity to improve their skill and capability in order to raise their social and economic opportunities.
Provide a safe and healthy workplace; protect human health and the environment; and promote sustainable development.
Promote fair competition including respect for intellectual and other property rights, and not offer, pay or accept bribes.
Work with governments and communities in which we do business to improve the quality of life in those communities – their educational, cultural, economic and social well-being – and seek to provide training and opportunities for workers from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Promote the application of these principles by those with whom we do business.

We will be transparent in our implementation of these principles and provide information which demonstrates publicly our commitment to them.

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