The Real Pepsi Challenge: The Inspirational Story of Breaking the Color Barr

In America's long march toward racial equality, small acts of courage by men and women whose names we don't recall have contributed mightily to our nation's struggle to achieve its own ideals. This moving book details the story of one such little-noted chapter. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, as Jackie Robinson changed the face of baseball, a group of African-American businessmen -- twelve at its peak -- changed the face of American business by being among the first black Americans to work at professional jobs in Corporate America and to target black consumers as a distinct market. The corporation was Pepsi-Cola, led by the charismatic and socially progressive Walter Mack, a visionary business leader. Though Mack was a guarded idealist, his consent for a campaign aimed at black consumers was primarily motivated by the pursuit of profits -- and the campaign succeeded, boosting Pepsi's earnings and market share. But America succeeded as well, as longstanding stereotypes were chipped away and African- Americans were recognized as both talented employees and valued customers. It was a significant step in our becoming a more inclusive society. On one level, The Real Pepsi Challenge, whose author is an editor and writer for The Wall Street Journal, is a straightforward business book about the birth of niche marketing. But, as we quickly learn, it is a truly inspirational story, recalling a time when we as a nation first learned to see the strength of our diversity. It is far more than a history of marketing in America; it is a key chapter in the social history of our nation. Until these men came along, typical advertisements depicted African-Americans as one-dimensional characters: Aunt Jemimas and Uncle Bens. But thereafter, Pepsi-Cola took a different approach, portraying American blacks for what they were increasingly becoming -- accomplished middle-class citizens. While such portrayals seem commonplace to us today, they were revolutionary in their time, and the men who brought them into existence risked day-to-day professional indignities parallel to those that Jackie Robinson suffered for breaking baseball's color line. As they crossed the country in the course of their jobs, they faced the cruelty of American racial attitudes. Jim Crow laws often limited where they could eat and sleep while on the road, and they faced resistance even within their own company. Yet these men succeeded as businessmen, and all went on to success in other professions as well, including medicine, journalism, education, and international diplomacy. Happily, six of these pioneers lived to tell their stories to the author. Their voices, full of pride, good humor, and sharp recollection, enrich these pages and give voice to the continuing American saga.

About the Author :
Stephanie Capparell is the author of Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer. She has worked at The Wall Street Journal since 1990 and is currently an editor for that paper's Marketplace page. She holds degrees from Boston University and Columbia University. She lives in New York City.

Review :
"The Real Pepsi Challenge is an inspiring story about a small team of pioneers who rose above the prejudice of the times. Their resourcefulness, persistence, and creativity paved the way for the generations that followed." -- Ken Chenault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, American Express Company "A fascinating view of civil rights history from the halls of Corporate America.The ties among popular culture, marketing, and race relations come to life in this inspiring story." -- Juan Williams, author of Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965 and Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary; NPR senior correspondent and Fox News political analyst "When you go to work anywhere in Corporate America, you'd better understand that this is no longer the white America of the 1950s. You will fail if you approach it that way. And if you open your eyes and address the rest of our multicultural society, you will succeed. This book shows you why you'd better get on your multicultural game as evidenced by the amazing success of African-Americans who breached the color wall at Pepsi and what it meant for them, for Pepsi, and for America. It is an amazing and inspiring story. This is mandatory reading for those about to embark into the corporate world." -- Jim Cramer, markets commentator, thestreet.com, and host of CNBC's Mad Money with Jim Cramer "A well-written and well-researched story of unsung pioneers in the struggle for equality in the American workplace. A must-read for all executives looking for new ideas to diversify their organizations by learning from one of the most inspirational stories in business history." -- Patrick T. Harker, Dean, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania "A pacesetting book for emerging efforts to give long overdue credit to the historically ignored, the historically neglected, and the historically forgotten in the 1940s and 1950s, who through their sacrifices helped quicken the death of Jim Crow America. It reminds us how far we've come toward building an inclusive society since these pioneers paved such transformative paths -- and how much work is left to do." -- John H. Stanfield II, author of Philanthropy and Jim Crow in American Social Science