Tag Archives: UNCF

Making the needle move: Corporate men behind the birth of the UNCF telethon

Part Two of a two-part series Left to Right: Byron Glore, Wayman Smith, and Victor Julian What contributed to the success of the history-making UNCF Lou Rawls telethon? Leadership, collaboration, team work, and a respect for the individual goals of participating partners. In part one of this series, we provided a look at what went

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Making the needle move: The birth of the UNCF telethon

Part one of a two-part series Left to Right: Mel Shaw, Lou Rawls, and James Alston During its heyday (1980 – 1993), the United Negro College Fund’s Lou Rawls Parade of Stars was the largest African American special event in the United States held on one day. It forever changed African American philanthropy and how

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UNCF telethon: a black history game changer

The UNCF telethon made black history, American history and fundraising history. The telethon actually began years earlier in Dallas, Texas. The first telethon was a live performance at the Fairmont Hotel with STAX recording artists Rufus Thomas and Johnny Taylor backed by the Dallas symphony.