Blacks In Government (BIG) was conceived by a group of Department of Health Education and Welfare Black federal employees at the Parklawn Building in Rockville, Maryland, who believed that Blacks should unite in order to obtain and secure the rights and privileges of full citizenship participation. Organized in 1975, BIG was incorporated as a nonprofit organization within the District of Columbia. Nonetheless, Blacks In Government was organized in 1975 and incorporated as a non-profit organization under the District of Columbia jurisdiction in 1976.
On December 4, 1975, the first official meeting of Blacks In Government was held at the Parklawn Building in Rockville, Maryland. Of the 400 or more Black government employees of HEW/HSA, only five individuals attended: Ms. Doris Bing, Mr. Garfield Crawford, Mr. James J. “Pat” Daugherty, Ms. Shirlene Gray, and Mr. Calvin McDaniels. Those five individuals are now known affectionately as the “First Five”.
Subsequent meetings brought others to the organization: Elaine Bailey, John Coffee, Fleetwood Roberts, Rubye S. Fields, Samuel S. Taylor, Lonis C. Ballard, Siegal E. Young, Ramona McCarthy Hawkins and Rhonda Thomas joined with three of the first five to found the organization once known as “Parklawn BIG”. Thus, according to our records, our official list of founders seems to exclude Ms. Bing and Mr. McDaniels. It is unknown if this was an error, or if they decided to opt out of the initial efforts to establish the organization.
BIG has been a national response to the need for African Americans in public service to organize around issues of mutual concern and use their collective strength to confront workplace and community issues. Of major concern was the talk of an impending RIF, or reduction in force, wherein certain federal government jobs were to be abolished or contracted out to the private sector (A-76). Cafeteria workers, office maintenance/cleaning, lawn care workers, elevator operators, to name a few, historically held by African American employees, were slated to be abolished as federal jobs, eliminating gainful employment for a segment of the federal workforce that was already underrepresented.
BIG members are diverse in their backgrounds, interests, and occupations. They are executives, managers, supervisors, administrative assistants, secretaries, police officers, city managers, council members, state legislators, military personnel, as well as many rank and file government workers. The goal of the organization was, as it remains today, to function as an employee support group, an advocacy group, and a resource group for Black civil servants. Additionally, BIG goals are to promote equity in all aspects of American life, excellence in Public Service, and opportunity for all Americans.
Nationally, BIG represents the interests of Black government workers in the Congress, at the White House, with the national media, and through coalitions with other national organizations. BIG has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Employment Opportunities and expressed our conscience and convictions concerning the need for affirmative action to close the under-representation gap in various job classifications. BIG has met with the U.S. President at the White House, along with Department heads and White House officials to protest the disproportionate impact of the RIF (Reduction-in-Force) in government agencies on Black employment, and presented its position on equal employment opportunities, performance appraisals, and employee rights and protections.
BIG’s goals are to promote EQUITY in all aspects of American life, EXCELLENCE in public service, and OPPORTUNITY for all Americans.
