Diversity and Racial Equality

My real wake-up call to racial inequality and the lack of diversity in my industry occurred on the very first day I opened the Clayco office in St. Louis. It was in a disadvantaged part of town and an 11-year-old African-American boy approached me asking for a job. When I told him that he should be in school, he replied that he needed to be taking care of his family, which not only made me sharply aware of the reality of inequality, but also sparked my lifelong engagement with these issues through Clayco and my personal efforts.