Oct 22, 2020
This episode features a conversation between Darrell Byers ’83 and Richard Barber ’16. Their conversation is wide-ranging, discussing civil rights, social justice, leadership and of course, the power and influence of being part of the Holy Cross “Club.”
Interview originally recorded on July 30, 2020. Due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic, all interviews in season 2 are recorded remotely.
---
Transcript
Darrell:
Be audacious. Never give up. Never give in. Speak out.
Richard:
Yeah.
Darrell:
Speak out the right way, but speak. Don't be afraid to fail. And I think that's what helped me during the years. You got to take chances and it's okay to fail. And you learn from your losses.
Richard:
Yeah.
Darrell:
But don't be afraid.
Maura:
Welcome to Mission-Driven, where we speak with alumni who are leveraging their Holy Cross education to make a meaningful difference in the world around them. I'm your host, Maura Sweeney from the class of 2007, director of alumni career development at Holy Cross. I'm delighted to welcome you to today's show.
This episode features a conversation with Darrell Byers from the class of 1983. Darrell works as the CEO of Interise, an organization focused on ending the racial wealth gap by building a stronger, more inclusive economy through the growth of established minority owned, small businesses. A native of Springfield, Massachusetts, Darrell speaks about how being active and giving back has been a huge part of his life and career.
Maura:
For the past 30 years, he has devoted his career to changing and transforming lives through mission-driven work in the nonprofit sector. Richard Barber from the class of 2016, speaks with Darrell on the day of the late Congressman, John Lewis' funeral. They speak about the incredible influence that the late Congressman had on Darrell's life and how his lessons continue to inspire him as a leader each day. Throughout the conversation, they also reference the power of the Holy Cross community and the impact that the Holy Cross club has had in his life. Fiercely competitive, Darrell leverages his faith and commitment to social justice and inclusivity to keep him working hard for meaningful change.
Richard:
My name is Richard Barber, class of 2016, economics major. And I have the honor and pleasure of interviewing Mr. Darrell Byers, class of 1983 and CEO of Interise and corporate in Boston, Massachusetts. How's your day going, Mr. Byers?
Darrell:
It's going pretty good. I'm Darrell Byers, as Richard said, the class of 1983, and I was a history major when I was at Holy Cross. But pleasure to be here with you, Richard.
Richard:
Why history?
Darrell:
Why history? It's interesting. My father was a student of history. He never went to college, but he really was into reading about history. Actually, he was an expert on the Bible, but he was really into historical things and always was educating me about history. From the history of Jim Crow, which he grew up in, or my grandfather who was breaking horses for a living, from riding the black rodeo, where he met my mother. My grandmother, I should say. So history, it's just always been a part of me. And even today, the books I read are mostly historical books.
Richard:
Ah, interesting.
Darrell:
That interest me.
Richard:
Yeah. So along the lines of your father and his history and your grandmother, where did you grow up? Tell us a little bit about your childhood.
Darrell:
Sure. I grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, 45 minutes from Lister, hour and a half from Boston. And Springfield is an old factory town, and it's a town that, for many years, struggled. If you look at it right now, it's still struggling, but it's on the comeback because MGM built a billion dollar casino, which I was against, I will say. But still, Springfield is my home. I'm very proud of Springfield. My parents were factory workers, but they always instilled in us to overachieve, me and my sister, the only kids in the family. But they always instilled in us that, we have to strive to do our best. And I was the first person in my family to graduate from a four year college.
Richard:
Oh, nice.
Darrell:
But there was always... It wasn't a question if I would go to college, there was a question, where I would go to college and I think I lucked out with the Holy Cross.
Richard:
Definitely. So tell me a little about your family. Who are you close within your family? Who do you talk the most with?
Darrell:
Well, my sister and I were five years apart, so that's just... She's older. Might as well be light years apart. I was very close to each of my parents, probably a little bit more to my mother. My mother left college actually, to get married. She moved from Houston, Texas.
Richard:
Oh wow.
Darrell:
My parents were born in Crowley, Louisiana. And my mother was going to college in Houston, Texas. My father moved up here to the Springfield area to find work. Found a job, my mother quit college to get a job. But I think why, maybe my mother and I really connected because my mother received her college degree at 60 years old.
Richard:
Oh, wow.
Darrell:
Yes. So, she had been going to college part-time for years and one day she kind of looked up and went, wow. I can graduate in a year or two if I keep up with it, so. And I was very proud to attend her college graduation from American International College. Seeing her up there with all the 21 and 22 year olds, and she stepped up proudly to get her diploma, but she was always an inspiration. And it was because of her I got to go to college, at Holy Cross. My father saw the cost of Holy Cross and said no way.
Richard:
Oh really?
Darrell:
Oh yeah. He was like, "Yeah. You can go to the Springfield community college." Or whatever. And my mother worked with a former college professor, was her manager at digital equipment corporation, and he said... The neighborhood I grew up in really wasn't the best, but he said, "If your son has a chance to go to a school like Holy Cross, then he should go to school like Holy Cross." Now my mother is very quiet and shy, and she came home that night and said, "He's going."
Richard:
Oh, man. With conviction, huh?
Darrell:
And that was the end of the conversation. My father knew he had lost, and his son was at the Holy Cross.
Richard:
Yeah. Nice, nice, nice. So I actually had the chance to read a letter that you wrote at the organization, and I want to just kind of highlight a couple of things here and there. It's kind of relevant to me, because you mentioned your parents growing up in a Jim Crow era and I just want to... Along the lines of them and then you growing up too, as well, it says here... I'm just going to quote it right here. "As a child, I knew what it was like to see an unarmed man shot by police. I knew what it was like to be put up against a police car and frisked because I fit the description. Quote, unquote. I remember watching riots of the late 60s and the early 70s." So could you expand a little bit more on your childhood in terms of... Well, one, what was this... If you don't mind sharing a little bit of story about the police frisking and then-
Darrell:
Sure. I grew up a Baptist and naturally, I remember I was baptized on Easter Sunday. And the night before, you choose when you're going to be baptized, in our church, growing up. Or better yet, my parents chose when I was going to be baptized. Me and my good friend were walking to the store and we're taking shortcuts, next you know... And I was 12, 13 years old. And a police car rolls up on us, and all of a sudden he gets out the car, it's up against the car, frisking us. And I'm 12, 13, my friend is 15 or 16. And next thing you know, we're being frisked, "What you doing here?" The whole thing. And you guys fit the description of something... Just after the robbery just happened at the drug drugstore.
Darrell:
And then weeks later, they catch the person and there's a picture, and the person's 25 years old, obviously a man and looked nothing like either one of us. The rise of the ‘60s and ‘70s, the arrests that went on in Springfield. And I remember the first one, just being at my aunt's house, was a short distance away from my house, and just hearing the sound, this awful sound of people, just not this normal sound of people coming together. And walking two houses down to the corner of the street and just see complete chaos. Police and people hurting each other and destroying things. It was just one of the most... I just stood there and watched this.
Darrell:
I mean, I was probably seven or eight years old, with my aunt yelling, "Get back here, get back here." What I remember, there was a couple of stores... And this is really relevant when you see what goes on with George Floyd now in this country, there's a couple of stores I used to love going to, and I remember signs on the store saying that they were destroyed. We'll be back. They never came back.
Richard:
Wow.
Darrell:
They never came back.
Richard:
What was going through your head when you were, not only when you were getting frisked, but when you're seeing a lot of these riots?
Darrell:
The riots, I was still too young to quite understand. I couldn't understand why people were hurting each other, causing this destruction. Why the police were hitting people, arresting people. I just couldn't understand where this anger came from. I was still trying to figure it all out, as opposed to when I was... First time I was put up against a car and frisked. I knew exactly what was going on at that age. I knew exactly what was going on. Even the last incident where I saw a person shot. We were playing four squares in front of our house. No one plays four squares anymore.
Richard:
It's a fun game. It's a fun game.
Darrell:
It's a fun game, so I'm probably dating myself. We were playing four squares, and there's this guy running at us. And we're looking, because all of a sudden, there's a cop behind him and the cop spins down and pulls out his gun and we all just hit the deck.
Richard:
Wow.
Darrell:
Ran to the sidewalk and hit the deck and we heard the gun go off. I still remember looking up and seeing the pain in his face, and then watching a car, police car roll up and they throw him in the car and take off. And I remember running to the house going, "Mom." And it was... Yeah, that face has always stayed with me. All these years later, it's always stayed with me.
Richard:
I can only imagine. I can really only imagine. Darrell, what would you take away now from those stories and those memories that you've had? They've always stuck with you, right? But what do you think... How do you think they've affected you over the years?
Darrell:
Well, what I always say is, first of all, I had a very happy childhood. I mean, all the kids and friends on the street, many of which I'm still in contact with. And I think I said this in the piece I wrote. I was speaking to a friend of ours, graduated from high school shortly after George Floyd. And I said, "God, did you think? Didn't you think there'd be more change? That racism would be over, or that we would stop going through this. You won't have to worry about black men being just shot anymore or killed by police. I thought we'd be further along than we are right now." And if you ever watched the movie, I Am Not Your Negro, with James Baldwin... Watch that movie, you got to watch that movie if you haven't yet. But I remember watching it going, we only moved an inch. We only moved an inch.
Richard:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Darrell:
John Lewis' funeral, he would say, "Look, we got problems, but we moved a lot further than that." Okay. So I try to. Yeah, he's one of my heroes, so yes, I try to.
Richard:
You did quote him in your article or in your letter here. You said, "I want to harness the anger I feel to make good trouble, as Congressman John Lewis states." And I thought that was a really interesting statement that was made there. Define good trouble.
Darrell:
Define good trouble? It's protesting. Non-violent protesting. I took my son to a protest about two months ago, three months ago, because he was having some feelings. Even though in this age of COVID, I was quite worried, but something I thought was important. That we couldn't lose this opportunity for our voice to be heard. And six years ago, this month actually, I had a chance to meet John Lewis.
Richard:
Oh wow.
Darrell:
I attend the Sun Valley's writer's conference every year.
Richard:
That's convenient.
Darrell:
And I got to know him. For three mornings, my wife and I walked with him across the lawn of the conference. He was like, "Darrell, come join." And then he was the keynote speaker and my son works this conference every year and he was signing his book and I asked my son, "You want to meet him?" He goes, "Yeah." About 150 people wanted to get books signed. He got to my son, only one he stood up for.
Richard:
Wow.
Darrell:
Yeah. I'm trying to take the picture, but I'm crying.
Richard:
That's emotional.
Darrell:
And the person next to me, professional photographer leans over and he goes, "I got it." And he gave it to me and three years ago, I'm in San Francisco, John Lewis is speaking again. After his speech, I yelled out, "Congressman Lewis." And he stopped, looked. And I said, "Would you autograph this picture for me?" And he's looking at the picture, he's looking at me. I go, "Sun Valley, Idaho." He points. "Yes. Give me my marker." And he autographs a picture of him and my son together. And that's in our living room.
Richard:
Man.
Darrell:
Yeah. So when he finished speaking a keynote, I think I was crying within five minutes of him being on stage. And by the time he finished, there was a thousand people just talked about the walk in Selma across the Pettus Bridge.
Richard:
I wish everyone could see the emotion on your face, it's almost tearing me up right now.
Darrell:
Yeah. The guy who took the picture told the story to someone, he said, at a dinner party, he started crying about taking that picture, so.
Richard:
Yeah, I can tell this just means a lot to you.
Darrell:
It does. It does. I think he remains an inspiration to my son. Sorry to hear that he passed. But I read his letter in the New York times this morning. I mean, he left us with a gift. Knowing that he was dying, he left us with a gift to continue to fight, to continue the struggle. And that is so Mr. John Lewis. That is so him.
Richard:
Definitely. And so, this letter here, I felt your conviction through this letter. Is there any way that viewers, if they want to check it out, is there any resource they can go to, to find it?
Darrell:
Oh, they can go to... If I may do a little plug, they may go to my company's website, Interise.org and they can dig around and find the letter. But there's been a great response to the letter. I'm on Facebook all the time, but I don't post anything important, but was just the comments I got back, the people who email me directly that I didn't know from all over the country. So it was nice to see that it touched a cord and that other people see it as a way to move forward. I mean, we've had enough.
Richard:
Yeah.
Darrell:
We've had enough, it's time.
Richard:
So on a more positive note, which, this was a beautiful, emotional note that I'm so glad we got to talk about, but I wanted to actually get a thought, a memory from you. What was your favorite childhood memory that you remember?
Darrell:
Playing wiffle ball.
Richard:
Wiffle ball. Why is that?
Darrell:
Oh man, we played wiffle ball. I mean, we used to get up in the morning and I mean, it'd be 7:30 in the morning. We couldn't get out the door fast enough, to play a game of wiffle ball on our street. And parents would watch, our brothers and sisters would watch. There were just a group of us, and that was just so much fun. Baseball was my first love, as far as sports.
Richard:
Okay.
Darrell:
It was just fun. And then of course, we would watch or listen to the Red Sox games on the radio. So yeah, it was all around baseball. I couldn't get enough baseball.
Richard:
So I take it you're a Red Sox fan.
Darrell:
I am a Red Sox fan.
Richard:
Nice, nice.
Darrell:
I am a Red Sox fan, as some of my fellow alums like to give me grief for, especially those New York Mets fans. And who do you root for, Richard?
Richard:
I'm a Cubs guy. So 2016 was a good year.
Darrell:
You know something? If it wasn't the Red Sox, I was hoping it would be the Cubs.
Richard:
Yeah. Did you play any organized baseball growing up?
Darrell:
I played a lot of organized baseball growing up.
Richard:
Nice, nice.
Darrell:
I played a lot of little league, what they called Babe Ruth league. And then I got to Holy Cross and I figured I might try playing baseball at Holy Cross, but they had 6:00 AM practices.
Richard:
Wasn't happening.
Darrell:
I can't catch a ball at 6:00 AM.
Richard:
It's not easy.
Darrell:
It's not easy, so no.
Richard:
Yeah. So describe to me... I want to go back to your youth days. Describe to me high school, Darrell Byers. What were you like?
Darrell:
I was actually fairly popular.
Richard:
Oh nice.
Darrell:
Okay. But I was fairly a nerd too. So I mean, I always got good, decent grades. I was involved in a lot of things. I was president of my junior achievement club. I sang in a church choir, I acted in church, youth activities going on. I bowled in two leagues. I was the president of the bowling league, a junior bowling league. I wrote an article on junior bowling. Every other week, worked at the bowling alley and my job, but church was, and still has remained very important to me and very influential in my life. Like I said, I grew up Baptist and my father was a Bible expert.
Richard:
Yes.
Darrell:
So it was like Sunday. Sunday, when the whole... Three hours, two and a half, three hours service, go home for a couple hours then come back for another hour and a half in the evening. So I think my parents was hoping that I'd become a minister. You turn 16 and they lose that hope. I was just always very active. I have a lot of friends, friends I remained in contact with, from the neighborhood and from high school. And once again, it was just very enjoyable. I was always very busy, very active. As my godmother used to say to me, "You need a personal assistant." So I think that was very... Helped get me ready for college.
Richard:
What made you feel motivated to be so active?
Darrell:
I don't know. I just think I didn't like sitting still. I was always a curious kid. I liked reading. I enjoyed most of my classes in high school, not all of my classes in high school. My parents made sure I was active. So one, I think they wanted to make sure I was active, to make sure I wouldn't get in trouble. Remained in good trouble, as Mr. Lewis said. But I was always active. I have a tendency to overdo it. So I mean, my dad is even now... At one point, I think I was in... I was working at Harvard. I think I was on six boards.
Richard:
Oh, man. I don't know how you do it.
Darrell:
I didn't know how I did it either. And we moved to DC for work for Georgetown. Then I came back to become vice-president at Caritas Christi Hospital. And my wife said, "One board. You're allowed one board." But I think being in church as a youngster, my father became quite ill when I was in seventh or eighth grade. And I remember times where we really weren't sure next week, where the meal is coming from. Literally, we'd hear the doorbell ring, go downstairs and it's the church delivering a care package. So I think I've always wanted to give back, and the first board I was on.
Darrell:
And the first board I was on was for a safe haven. I was a founding board member or a safe haven for homeless women in Cambridge, Massachusetts. So being active and being involved in church and giving back and why I give back, yeah, I guess it stays with me and always been a part of it.
Richard:
Yeah. The next question I was going to ask is how do you feel, growing up in the church has affected your life, but I mean, I think that you have a giving, you've learned to have a giving heart there. Right. Is there anything else that you would ...
Darrell:
Yeah. Actually this really came to light about two months ago. And I carry it with me at work. And what I mean by that, professionally I've always carried it with me. And I think there are times in your professional life where you have to stop and go, "Why am I doing this?" So that's why I've always been involved with nonprofits, well not always, but for the last 30 years, 29 years. That's why I've been involved in nonprofits. Secondly, there are times where you're going to have to make judgment calls. And I think, I will literally stop and go, "What would Jesus do?" And I was at one of those points a couple of months ago. I remember my staff going to me, "Don't blow this decision." Yeah, you guys understand. This is a big deal for me.
Richard:
Could you go a little deeper? Would you mind sharing a little bit about that decision you had to make?
Darrell:
Sure. We're moving out our office. We've gone remote because with COVID. And there was another group coming into our office or thinking about leasing our office. And it was great. We get out of our lease five months early, saves us some money, probably saves jobs. And the CEO of the company that was considering it gave me a call. He said, "How are the landlords?" Let's just say they aren't the nicest people in the world.
Richard:
Ah. Okay.
Darrell:
At least I found them that. And I said, "Look." He left me a message. So I had a day or two to think about that. So that's what I mean, my senior staff was going to me, "Darrell, just tell him what he wants to hear. Just tell him what he wants to hear." I said, "I can't just do that." I just had to tell him where they were good and where they were bad.
Richard:
Okay. Okay.
Darrell:
So I was like, "Look, before I got here, four years ago, we were having trouble. And they let us pay late, made special arrangements, the whole thing. Now, when I call to get something done, they may not respond as quick. They may wash the windows before you came and took a look at it. But that's the first time they washed the windows in four years."
Richard:
Wow.
Darrell:
Oh, yeah. It was like that. But they ended up going somewhere else only because they got a place down the street that was newer and came fully furnished.
Richard:
Oh, nice.
Darrell:
And they were opening a brand new office. So they're like, "We don't have to buy furniture and everything. We can just move right in." You don't have to tear down a wall. Everything was all set up.
Richard:
Nice. Nice.
Darrell:
But I decided that I would tell him the truth. I'd tell him the truth. And by pointing out the good and the bad, I was just being honest.
Richard:
Yeah. I like that. So let's go into that a little bit later, actually, in terms of more career advice. I want to segue into your life at Holy Cross. So now that you're, high school Darrell Byers is now attending Holy Cross as a freshmen. Tell me a little bit about your early experience at Holy Cross.
Darrell:
You know, it's interesting. I went to Holy Cross sight unseen.
Richard:
Really?
Darrell:
Really.
Richard:
Wait. What does that mean?
Darrell:
So I never visited the campus of Holy Cross until my first day moving in.
Richard:
Really? So let's back up a little bit more. You talked a little bit about it with your parents, but why Holy Cross?
Darrell:
There was this person who graduated the year before me in high school, Jose Santos. And we sung in choir together. He goes off to Holy Cross and he comes back to visit in my high school. We always came together for the big Christmas concert, those of us singing in choir and all the old choir members would come back. And he came back. He's like, "Darrell, I'm telling you, this Holy Cross, you got to check out. You're going to love it. You're going to love it. You're going to love it." That's what he kept saying. So believe it or not the Naval Academy was my first choice.
Richard:
Oh, really?
Darrell:
Yes.
Richard:
Why the Naval Academy?
Darrell:
Oh, I was a geek. I was completely into math and engineering. I wanted to do nuclear subs. The whole thing.
Richard:
Oh, really?
Darrell:
I didn't get in.
Richard:
Oh, wow.
Darrell:
I didn't get in. So Holy Cross was my second choice.
Richard:
Ah, okay. Okay.
Darrell:
So, I got in and I literally walked into Holy Cross expecting to transfer to the Naval Academy.
Richard:
Really?
Darrell:
Yes.
Richard:
You had your heart still set on the Naval Academy.
Darrell:
I visited the Naval Academy two times and just fell in love with it.
Richard:
Man. Okay. Okay.
Darrell:
Okay. So I walked into Holy Cross thinking, "Okay, so I'll be here for a year and I'll transfer. No biggie." And it was sort of shocking to me at first. I mean, and I think the Naval Academy would have been the same thing because how many black students on campus compared to white students.
Richard:
Right.
Darrell:
And not only that, students with serious money. They're driving these fancy cars. I'm like, "Wow."
Richard:
How did that make you ... Sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off. But how did that make you look back at your childhood?
Darrell:
We always knew that we didn't have much. That we were low-income, poor if you will. And there are some people it's like walking into this ... Over the years and I went into more of my friends' homes and everything, I felt like I was walking into the cast of Dynasty, walking in there, walking to their house. And they didn't necessarily share the same life experiences that I had. But I think there was a tremendous effort, one, when I was there. The Corridor. I lived on the corridor the first two years.
Richard:
Wait. The Corridor? Where's that?
Darrell:
It's your choice, but all black males on the first floor of Healy. It was the Black Corridor. It was created intentionally.
Richard:
Ah, really?
Darrell:
Yes.
Richard:
Sorry, go ahead. Continue.
Darrell:
There were some kids, they're coming out of high school. They're coming from all black neighborhoods, all black schools, what have you, and this gave them a chance to adjust to what is Holy Cross, not only in color but status.
Richard:
Yeah. I see.
Darrell:
Economic status. So that gave you time to adjust. The high school I went to was mostly white. So it was an easier adjustment for me. It was still shocking to the system, but an easier adjustment for me. But it was a struggle for a lot of people.
Richard:
So how do you feel the black corridor hallway was helpful for you for your career at Holy Cross?
Darrell:
You had your safe zone.
Richard:
Ah, it's a safe zone. Okay.
Darrell:
Where you can go back and just be you.
Richard:
Yeah.
Darrell:
And just be who you grew up with. Now I was always a weird one because I played rock and roll. I played Commodores, Earth, Wind, and Fire. Prince had just come out with, I Want to be Your Lover. But there is some other stuff I play and even that's a reunion, the 50th anniversary reunion of the BSU. They're like, "You still play those records, man?" Someone texted me recently and said, "Hey, man, turn on the radio. That band you used to listen to came on."
Richard:
What would you say attested to your taste in music that's so different from the others?
Darrell:
Really, I think it was just, it was working at the bowling alley, believe it or not.
Richard:
Oh, there you go. The bowling alley
Darrell:
Working and living. I was bowling 20 games a day at some points of high school. And I worked there all the time. So you get to meet people and you start listening to music and you go, "That ain't bad." My parents always taught me to be open-minded. I mean, my father listened to Hank Williams, Sr. Country. So I was always a little open minded. So yeah. So I brought a new taste of music to the corridor. But there's one person who said to me at the reunion, he said, "I would've never made it without you, this person, this person."
Richard:
Oh man.
Darrell:
And he goes, "You guys helped me that first year because it was a struggle." Not academically he meant, but just as an adjustment. Some people adjusted quicker than others. Certainly, members of the football, basketball team.
Richard:
Listen, I hear what you're saying.
Darrell:
Okay. When you're going on football or basketball scholarship to Holy Cross, you're accepted a lot easier.
Richard:
Oh, a hundred percent.
Darrell:
Yeah. You saw that difference coming in as a football player?
Richard:
That is a given. That is a given.
Darrell:
That is a given. I played sports in high school. I knew what it was like to walk down the hallways and be like, "Yeah. Right." And have that. But when you're living with it 24/7, it's just interesting to watch that play out.
Richard:
Yeah. So that must have been really gratifying to hear at your reunion that someone really got a lot of value from just your presence. How so did you feel like you've helped that person? Would you be able to elaborate more on your experiences with other students at the time? And also talk a little bit about how you integrated with students that are a different from you, the white students, the students with a little bit more socioeconomic class.
Darrell:
Sure. I think, one, it gave this person a sounding board when they were struggling, whether it's with the culture of Holy Cross, just being away from home or struggling. I mean, he and I sang in choir together, which actually was a real, helped me with really adjusting to Holy Cross, just singing in the choir. And the choir traveled every year. And he and I were always roommates.
Richard:
Oh really?
Darrell:
Yeah. And we stayed with host families. It was always this, "Okay, we're going to call the names and the two people we be saying, you walk up. Darrell Byers and whatever." You could see the people's face like what? You got the two black guys. You know, it's funny because at the reunion he told the story where this one house, they basically told us not to leave the room.
Richard:
Wow. Really?
Darrell:
And I said, it was like late at night, I go, "Hey, come on, let's go check this out." Well it reminded me of that. Yeah. And I won't say it, because there were some who welcomed us with open arms. But I sung in choir. I worked in Kimball. I became a Kimball captain, then a Kimball supervisor. Kimball, there was 300 students there. Kimball was a great place to meet people.
Richard:
Yeah.
Darrell:
It was great. We were all work study students and we're all in the same boat. So it was a great way to meet people.
Richard:
Nice. Yeah. And so the people that you've met and that you've become friends with that were different from you, what would you say brought you guys together besides, I guess choir, you said was a big one? Is there anything else that would you say are able to gel with?
Darrell:
Yeah. I mean, I played rugby. I played choir. I was in the 1843 club which brought concerts.
Richard:
Ah. So in terms of the concerts, did you guys have anybody come on to campus to perform at all?
Darrell:
Oh yeah. I remember we had Hall & Oates.
Richard:
Oh, really? I've never heard of them. You're dating yourself.
Darrell:
Yeah, I am. Yeah Hall & Oates. They were big, believe me. They still sell out places. And then we had Southside Johnny, who I didn't know much about until they came. So those were both. But even then those two bands really appeal to one crowd.
Richard:
I see.
Darrell:
They really didn't appeal to the black students. That was mostly for the white students. So I participated in BSU. My girlfriend I dated was white. But there's one thing that the first day on campus ever, I met Father LeBran. He gave me the story of Father Healy and who he was. He was a graduate of Holy Cross.
Richard:
Really? Oh, wow.
Darrell:
Who was black.
Richard:
Yeah.
Darrell:
And I was like, "Wow." And he told me the history of the Jesuits and then marching in the civil rights movement. And there's some professors here, he said, who marched in the civil rights. I mean, it really just ... Because I had no experience with the Jesuits beforehand. So meeting Father LeBran that first day, him just sitting down and talking to a couple of us and it just really opened my eyes. And he was very clear about if you have a problem, come see me.
Richard:
Oh, wow.
Darrell:
Father Brooks was the president. I don't know if you've read the book Fraternity.
Richard:
I didn't. It's on the list again.
Darrell:
Okay. Read the book Fraternity. And the changes he made in the school which still can be felt today. And I used to be walking down on Easy Street, behind Healy or whatever, or on Hogan and I'd see Father Brooks go, "Good morning, Father. Good afternoon, Father." He would stop me and look at me and go, "How's it going? Everything okay?" I'll be like, looking around going, "Yeah, everything's fine." It wasn't until I read Fraternity where I understood he was asking me, "No, how are you doing as a black student? Is everything okay with you?"
Richard:
Wow.
Darrell:
And I read that. It just hit me instantly, he was checking on me to make sure I was okay. He didn't know who I was. But he wanted to make sure I was okay.
Richard:
How did that impact you? How much did that affect you to know that someone took the time to ask you that question?
Darrell:
The fact that it was the president of Holy Cross just stopped and asked you that question and what he meant by it. I mean, it floored me.
Richard:
Yeah.
Darrell:
It stayed with me for a couple of weeks. I mean, it was just like, "I should have said more." I should have said, "I'm loving it here," which I was, "But these are the issues we're having." Or the issues I'm having. I wish I had engaged more with him. Hi, I'm Darrell Byers, class of '83. His niece graduated the year after me. "I know your niece." Yeah. So it really floored me. And just reading that book, I mean, it was like ... The one thing you learn as you get older, but you get weepy. And there were tears when I read that. There were absolute tears, when I understood that.
Richard:
Man, man, that's powerful.
Darrell:
Did you have that kind of mentor at all at Holy Cross?
Richard:
Well, I think there's two sides to what I think. Faculty in terms of, I never felt uncomfortable talking to faculty. If I had to tell someone the black experience, I don't think any of my professors would or at least any of the faculty in general would turn me away or dismiss me. I just never, I think one thing is that I had, to be completely honest with you, I had a little bit more of a blinded college experience in meaning I didn't really open my eyes too much to see what was going on around me. Like you said, the athletes, I was a football player all four years, the athletes around, we had an easier time. We were just kind of quicker to be in the in-crowd. Right? And I stayed around my football teammates most of the time. If anything were to happen to me in terms of my color, I just kind of brush it off to the side and just move on. It was just easier for me, because I already had the, I guess, the social validation that a lot of students that are black didn't really get the chance to have, at least the ones that didn't play a sport.
Richard:
So, I look back and I think the unveiling kind of happens a little bit more. I think back to stories and situations where I probably should have handled a little bit better. But I'm also happy too that the veil was there because I could have been a lot more angry. You know?
Darrell:
Yeah. I can't speak for everyone, honestly, but oh, absolutely. I can say, yeah, there were times I probably should have jumped up, screamed, what have you and time to just let it, just let it flow. But it's almost like you're saying that I can't fight every battle.
Richard:
Yeah, exactly. So what were your goals while at Holy Cross? What would you want to see yourself, where did you see yourself after Holy Cross?
Darrell:
Actually, I saw myself going to law school.
Richard:
Ah, so that was the plan. Was it from freshman year on?
Darrell:
Yeah. I mean, yeah. Freshman year, then it probably dwindled more sophomore year. Then by senior year, you graduate and I was like, "Wow, am I going to do this?" I really didn't know what I was going to do. And one of my classmates went back home to Springfield. And one of my classmates said, "Hey, I'm getting an apartment in West Chester. I need a roommate. You're interested?" I said, "Heck yeah." Outside of Manhattan.
Richard:
Oh, yeah.
Darrell:
In the White Plains. Yeah. So I picked up and moved to New York. And immediately bonded with some other Holy Cross alums there. One thing I will say about the Holy Cross alums, and I said this I was on a panel about Affirmative Action several years ago at the Holy Cross.
Richard:
Okay. Nice.
Darrell:
I've always felt this. When you graduate, you're part of the club.
Richard:
Oh wow. Yeah.
Darrell:
And I've met Holy cross alums who are just complete opposites.
Richard:
Really?
Darrell:
Ultra conservative. I'm more middle of the road. But ultra conservative. And they're like, "What can I do to help you?"
Richard:
Wow.
Darrell:
Literally I've been at functions, not at Holy Cross. I remember being at a function in West Chester at a country club because my friend's father was being honored. And I was talking to this priest. And we started singing Holy Cross songs. I was in choir. I know all the Holy Cross songs.
Richard:
Oh, yeah. You do. Yeah.
Darrell:
And this person walks up to me. "Did you go to Holy Cross?" I go, "I went there. Yeah." And we started talking. Next thing I know, two weeks later I'm interviewing Xerox.
Richard:
That's amazing.
Darrell:
It was that kind of thing. And from the time I've graduated to right now, I still run across people who are Holy Cross alums and they'll move heaven and earth for you.
Richard:
Wow. Wow. That's huge.
Darrell:
So if a Holy Cross alum calls me, I will try to do the same thing. Sometimes you have to call me multiple times. But it's ... Go back. It is a fraternity, sorority, what you have, it is a club.
Richard:
Oh, a hundred percent. I think it speaks a little bit more on Holy Cross's mission statement, men and women for and with others. Right? How is that mission statement influenced your life so far?
Darrell:
Well that mission statement, it means so much to me. There is a long part of it, but I remember there was one part that says, "What are our obligations to one another?"
Richard:
Yeah.
Darrell:
Responsibility to the world's poor and powerless. This, the Jesuit mission of social justice. And this excellence in education and the way education transformed lives. The great equalizer as far as I'm concerned. So it'd had tremendous influence on my life. So once I got involved in nonprofit work, 29 years ago,
Darrell:
it just struck me. At one point I was leaving. I was at WGBH and I was leaving and I had an offer to go back into the corporate world, the for-profit world. And I realized at that point, if I did that, I will always be selling widgets. I'd make a lot more money doing it. But going to Holy Cross and meeting people like Father LeBran or Professor Vannicelli, he was a history professor that I took. A unique experience in my life that Holy Cross gave me and I wanted to be able to give that. So that's why I've always been a nonprofit since then.
Richard:
Oh, that's amazing. So tell me... Sorry, I want to backtrack even more. So tell me a bit about your relationship with your professors, now that you mentioned that. I'm curious to see how you interact with them and how they are a huge impact in your life, so far at least.
Darrell:
Some professors were better than others. I would say there's definitely a couple of my professors who influenced me, and one was professor Vannicelli. When I took him it was his first year at Holy Cross.
Richard:
Oh, wow. So you guys are both figuring it out together, huh?
Darrell:
Yeah. Well, it was my second year, his first year. He was this amazing professor. His last class first semester, we gave him a standing... No one planned it, we gave him a standing ovation. The last class before the final. And when we had that big paper due and you go meet with him one-on-one and he was like... And he wanted to find out about you. But what drove you? So he was one. Professor Green. He was a history professor also. And he used to do Europe. And there was lots of Europe, I was lost on it. But he has this way of talking that just made you close your eyes. Believe me, it was a Friday, 3:30 class.
Richard:
Oh, man. We all know what's going on. Yeah.
Darrell:
Friday 3:30 class. But he just has this way of framing. If I remember correctly, he had a slight British accent. And I could listen to him talk all day. And my advisor, Professor Bradford, that's another one. And Clyde Packs, first philosophy class I took where he threw or kicked the trash can across the room. I was a freshman, my very first class. And he said, "Prove that I kicked or threw that trash can." I remember thinking, "Oh my God, I'm going to flunk out." But Holy Cross encouraged me. I remember the first class that I went to and they encourage you to stretch yourself, to try new things, to see where it goes. Taking a philosophy course was trying a new thing for me.
Darrell:
I ended up taking eight philosophy courses. Turned out I ended up loving philosophy course. And it taught me how to think differently, how to open my mind. I was speaking with someone the other day and we brought up Machiavelli, and political philosophy with professor Odell, 8:30 in the morning. But they challenged you. They challenged you. And that's what I've always appreciated about Holy Cross. They weren't going to let me slide.
Richard:
I understand.
Darrell:
But they were doing it to make me a better person overall. And that social justice, that education about giving back. And like I said, you look at my wedding picture, 125 people, 60, 70 Holy Cross related, them and their spouses.
Richard:
Oh, amazing.
Darrell:
Yeah. And I think in the end, that speaks volumes of what Holy Cross meant to me. I made lifelong friends there who what we... I probably speak with one every day, text, phone call, social media, what have you.
Richard:
Wow. That's amazing. So fast forwarding on to graduation. And we talked a little bit about this before, but you didn't really know what you wanted to do with yourself yet. You had the offer to move out to the White Plains area. And you leaned a little bit on the Holy Cross community, to get your career started. Now, when did you figure out where you wanted to go? Did you ever have a straight path that you wanted to go down?
Darrell:
No. Yeah. I was going from hey, this job sounds fun, let's do this job. And then I had my own business for four years.
Richard:
Oh, nice. What was that?
Darrell:
Selling filtration products. And so I was selling the nuclear plants, plating pants, Coors, Anheuser Busch, Miller beer.
Richard:
Oh, really?
Darrell:
Yeah. And my largest client was the New York City transit authority, as I sold them the air filters for two years. And then the economy went down and business went down. So I took a part-time job at WGBH public television. And you're calling people and go, "You gave 50 bucks last year, how about a hundred bucks?" I's not these telemarketing sweatshops, because everyone was like, "Oh, GBH. Oh, okay. Yeah."
Darrell:
And then you start, you realize what this money starts going to. So a full-time job opened up there and I went for it, corporate fundraising, and got it. And then found out I was good at it. But you watch the pledge drives on PBS and they got the companies back there answering the phones. They don't do this anymore, but I was the person in charge of getting those companies to pay, to make a donation for them.
Richard:
Oh, really?
Darrell:
They call these companies and go, "Yeah. You pay me three to $12,000 if you get to bring in employees and they answer our phones." What? They'll pay you to answer the phones? And you sold them on a mission. And you got to believe in that mission, which I did. Any place I worked at, I believed in the mission. And they would come in, they would have such a great time. And they would grow. Some would start off at 10,000. There was some that started off with 10,000, handed them to someone else who's also going to give a hundred thousand for a corporate sponsorship.
Darrell:
And they handed to someone else. And there was a couple and they were giving 1.5 or $2 million to the organization. So watching that power and how it can affect change and transform lives resonated with me. So after I left GBH, I went to the Harvard graduate school of education, because they felt that they could change the world of education for underserved communities in this country. And I could've went to the business school. So what? Another million dollars to the business school. But the Ed school wanted to change education in this country.
Richard:
So it was the mission. I guess the next question I was going to ask you is, what made you such a good fund raiser? From what I'm hearing from you, I would say the company or the organization's mission was really important to you, right?
Darrell:
It has to be. And that's why people give, because of the mission stuff. You got to feel it, you got to breathe it. My father used to say to me, "What's the largest amount of..." At the end of Harvard and he goes, "What's the largest amount of money you ever got?" I go, "$5 million." He went, "Someone gave you $5 million? What did they get for that?" "Nothing." "Someone gave you $5 million for nothing?" "Dad, they to want to change education." I go, "Dad, it's like you giving 50 bucks to your church every week, because you believe in it." And he goes, "Okay." He never quite understood my job. He never quite understood my job, but he knew I liked it. I'd go visit my parents. I would make appointments in Springfield, but I would study for it. You can tell it just meant a lot to-
Richard:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so fundraising, advancement, development, what makes you so passionate about this part of a company's or organization's business? Because you've been in different industries, in terms of-
Darrell:
Oh, yeah.
Richard:
... right?
Darrell:
Yeah.
Richard:
So fundraising itself, what about that drew you in and kept you in?
Darrell:
Oh, I'm probably one of the most competitive people you ever met.
Richard:
Oh, really? Oh, man.
Darrell:
I hate to lose.
Richard:
You hate to lose.
Darrell:
I'm not one of these people who stomp around and all that. But if I fail on something, it rips my heart out.
Richard:
Really? Yeah. Would you say it's a big driver why you've always achieved a lot? I mean, you've-
Darrell:
Absolutely. You're playing a pickup... I was going to say a pickup basketball game, but I'm horrible at basketball. But you're playing football with friends or you're shooting pool with friends or golf. I'm not that good at golf, but I love it. I love golf. I love, love golf. But it's that competitive spirit.
Richard:
So how does fundraising and the competitive attitude, how does that mix? Are you looking at other companies or industries and what they're raising?
Darrell:
Sure. Sure. I'm always comparing myself. As I said, when I was at WGBH, for example. The group of people I worked, best place I ever worked. And there was this one woman and still a good friend. She would make more calls than me every month. So it became this... She didn't even though we were... Until I left, she didn't even though we had this competition. Every year, every month it came, I'm going to beat her on the amount of appointments. And she's always the best. Nope, I'm going to beat her. Probably eight out of 12 months she'd beat me. And I'd be like, "Man." But it was a great incentive. But we were a team so we always helped each other. Right now with COVID and everything, it's a daunting time and we haven't laid off anyone at my office.
Richard:
That's amazing.
Darrell:
And I'm watching everyone lay off people. And I'm going to wait till the last minute before I do it. My goal is not to be able to do it. So I'm close enough to a couple of things, if they just come in across the wire I don't want to have to. But the pain of laying someone off is something, people's families, what have you, bills. I don't want to go there. And believe me, you get pressure from your board who's going, "Okay, Darrell. Look at the numbers every week, Darrell. Are you sure?" I said, "Well, you doubted me back in January when I did this. Yes, we had this big event. You said, 'You haven't done anything like this. You need to cancel the event 10 weeks out.' I said, 'Nope.' It was a home run, better than anything I could ever have hoped."
Richard:
Wow. That's amazing.
Darrell:
So I'm going to raise this money, or one of my staff members will. You can't do it all yourself. I got a great staff. But we're going to raise this money and we're going to hold on to all our employees, because everyone's getting anxious.
Richard:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). And what gives you such a solid mindset, in terms of keeping your employees safe?
Darrell:
Oh, that's a good question. It's funny, there's been some-
Richard:
Are you implying that all my other questions weren't good?
Darrell:
No. This one I got think about. Employees, and some of them might disagree. If I have 25 employees, 23 would follow me into a fire, two would push me into the fire. But I think I always try to protect my employees, my staff, my colleagues. And there've been times where some employees really didn't quite understand why I make a decision and they're mad at me, whatever. And then I leave and go to the next place. And they called me a couple months later and went, "I just got it. You were protecting us. I had no idea what you were protecting us from." And your employees are your most valuable resource. You can't say yes to everything. You can't give everyone a 20% raise. You can't hold on to anyone and everyone, if the times dictate that. But they're the most valuable resource.
Richard:
When and how did you discover that?
Darrell:
I think I discovered... I always go back. I think I discovered that at GBH. GBH is everything.
Richard:
Having a thing.
Darrell:
And just to this day, almost everyone I worked with at GBH, almost everyone, says it's the best place they worked. It was 1200 people there and we always felt like there was a hundred people there because we felt like family. And we all went to each other's weddings, baptisms of our kids, funerals of our parents, friends and spouses. And even to this day, we get together three... The department I worked in get together three or four times a year. It's family. And culture change and what you can do and what you can't change through change over the year in business. Certainly some of the things we did at WGBH that you don't do now and things like that. But it's still, what I understand, still a great place to work. And they can lay off 20 people out of 1200 and it felt like someone ripped their heart out. The whole company would feel that. So I think I've always remembered that.
Richard:
How do you foster that kind of environment with the company that you're leading now? And then just in general.
Darrell:
First of all, you point to the mission. There's a way you onboard people, which we were just talking about that, how we got to do a better job at that now at my current company. We have to do a better job onboarding people. Communication. And there's something I continue to learn which is, just as you think you're communicating enough, you're not even close to where you need to be. But also that you're not afraid to take a stand, sometime the unpopular one. Like I told my staff when I became CEO, "Look, there's sometimes I'll ask for your opinion, there's sometimes I won't. But sometimes I ask for your opinion, you say this. Everyone will agree and I'll agree the complete opposite and we'll go with my way. Because I am in charge and we all get paid differently and we all have a different title. But I want to hear your voice when appropriate."
Richard:
Yeah, I hear. Okay. Is that something you've learned the hard way along your path, your leadership path?
Darrell:
Yeah. It's something I constantly learn. Sometimes I seek too much input and it slows the process down and sometimes I don't seek enough input. It's always about balancing it. And no one's perfect. I don't pretend to be perfect. And I live up to my... My bad. My staff will hear me say that. But I always try to make the conversation respectful. I can say this, probably only four or five times in my entire professional career I was just really lost my temper. But everyone does. But there's there's only four or five times. But once again, I got to be honest with you, I did it this morning.
Darrell:
And I have a meeting with the person tomorrow morning, the first thing I say is, "I'm sorry. And you were wrong, but my reaction was inappropriate. I don't want you to feel that you can't... And you should have been more appropriate in your delivery too. But let's move on from there." You celebrate your wins, you learn from your losses. And that's the way I think if everyone moved forward in life, remember where they came from. That spiritual influence and is that there for them? What's going on in this country now, it could go a long way.
Richard:
I hear. So along the lines more of leadership skills, what leadership skills would you say is the most difficult for you to have developed?
Darrell:
The ability to listen.
Richard:
Oh, wow. Okay.
Darrell:
Yeah. That's something as a fund raiser you have to do well too. As I say, people love talking about themselves. So you get a donor, you're in front of a donor, and you're having lunch or coffee with a donor and they're just telling you things. And they'll give you the whole key how to get their support. What about the mission that drives them? What about this employee that drives them? Where are they going with this idea? There's someone at GBH who used to say, "I try to be this. I'm not successful at this all the time, but someone comes in with a new idea, try to think of three reasons why that's a good idea."
Richard:
Really?
Darrell:
If you get three reasons, you got it. You got to go for it.
Richard:
Is that on the spot?
Darrell:
Yeah. On the spot. And you may just go away and take a minute. If you can get to two reasons why this is a good idea, you should be continuing that conversation. If it's three reasons, you have to. You can continue the conversation and you're going to do it. It just may be in a different shape than when you first heard it, but you're going to do it. If it's only one good reason... You got no good reasons, no. Sorry, we're not doing it. One good reason, you got to sit there and ponder that for a while. But there may be no good reasons, but you go, "Let me think on that." And you come back to them later and go, "Look, we're not going to do this and let me tell you why." And this guy was one of the stalwarts of GBH that really helped get it up to we're the number one PBS station in the country. So he's retired since, but he said that back in 1990 wherever. It just always struck with me.
Richard:
Really? So now that's your method of-
Darrell:
Yeah.
Richard:
... yeah.
Darrell:
Absolutely. And I've been in rooms where other people are going, "No, no, no. Darrell, why would we do this?" I go, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Wait a minute here. It does this, it fulfills our mission, it helps us take care of the people we're trying to take care of and to help us get more funds in the door." We completely pitted it there in COVID overnight, literally over a weekend. And one of my staff... And that's another thing, don't always take the credit. You don't always have to take the correct. And one of my staff members came up with one of these ideas and she came to me Monday. She might have called me Sunday night, because we do that. And I was like, "Brilliant."
Darrell:
You hear it and I just, "Brilliant. We're doing it." And some people said, "This takes away from our mission." No, it doesn't. This helps. The COVID is going to... 50% of all small businesses could close because of COVID. Up to 70% of black owned businesses closed because of COVID. It's our duty. It's our moral obligation. Something else that's in that Holy Cross mission statement. It's our moral obligation to help black and brown owned business, because of what they provide to the community. And I got to tell you, some people are so like, "No, no. Taking this away from what we really do." I'm like, "Agree to disagree." [Laughs] I got to tell you, corporations and foundations are going, "Wow. Okay." And I believe these two programs she developed are the two program that will be funded so we don't have to lay off any people.
Richard:
Wow. Wow. That's amazing.
Darrell:
And we've already tested one, home run.
Richard:
Really?
Darrell:
Home run.
Richard:
Man.
Darrell:
People who are taking this week-long course, Crisis Management, how to take care of yourself, what you do as a CEO, take care of yourself, knowing your staff, take care of yourself. How to access capital during COVID, during a crisis. I just spoke to someone last night, "changed my life. We pivoted and we're doing better than we've ever done before."
Richard:
Man. So along those lines what prompts you to make sure that you make a decision by yourself and not take anybody else's opinions?
Darrell:
Good question. Another good question. I'm trying to be more reflective, more intentional when people give me ideas. I think now sometimes I might wait too long to pull the trigger, but I'm trying to take into consideration the history of my company, what they've been through before I got there but now I've been there over a year so I'm becoming much more intentional and much more direct about... We're doing it. You're just going to be mad at me.
Darrell:
And then we're changing the culture by working remotely.
Richard:
Yeah.
Darrell:
George Floyd's murder unleashed a lot of stuff in our organization-
Richard:
Oh really?
Darrell:
About how we deal with race. Inclusivity. So we're working with someone to help us do that in order to find that a lot of that's just the way we communicate. I'm very direct. And the other person would be like, "Darrell you could really soften that message a little bit." I was, "No, no." They're like, "Darrell just read that email you went and sent out." Okay. "Couldn't you have sent this instead?"
Richard:
Yeah. Do you think that's an absolutely necessary trait to have to be in the leadership position? As a CEO, do you think that's a very important trait to have to be direct?
Darrell:
I think it's important for you to... The worst thing that can happen to you in your relationship with your employees, you sit down for their review and they have no idea. And to sit hearing this first time, "What do you mean? I've never heard this before." Some people, in one ear and out the other but I found throughout my career when a person says that it's usually the truth that me or another manager really hasn't communicated with them enough about their performance. I was vice-president out in San Francisco and one of the staff members came to me and said, "I don't think my manager cares about me." I go, "Your manager thinks you're one of the best employees in this 200 person..." And she went, "What?" And I remember during my meeting, I said, "Would you tell her what a good job she's doing? She's actually one of the best I've ever seen and her job." He goes, "Oh, I thought I did." "No you haven't!"
Richard:
Man, it's interesting.
Darrell:
Yeah and he was sitting there like wow. So the next time we met, he was like, "I got to tell you what a good... let me point out to you..." I said, "You could tell her that at least once a quarter." So then he ended up promoting her a year later, giving her people to manage. And it was all about her communicating to me and I was like, oh, that's just weird. So it's one thing about work, it's all lifelong learning.
Richard:
Yeah. So along those lines, when you first landed your management role, your first management role, what do you wish you'd known?
Darrell:
I know this more as CEO.
Richard:
Oh yeah, please, please.
Darrell:
It's lonely at the top.
Richard:
Yeah. In what way? I hear that a lot, but could you expand a little bit on that?
Darrell:
Sure. Whether to lay off people or not, whether to let someone go or not, or whether to take this direction with your company. And you sit there and go, wow, someone's got to make that decision, oh, that's me that's got to make it. And I realize the decisions I make now have an effect on people lives not only the people that we take care of, that we work with, that we train, but also with the staff. CNN finance used to do this... the top 10, most stressful nonprofit jobs, number seven was fundraising.
Richard:
So I just want to segue into this a little bit more. What would you say makes you such a good networker, because when I met you, when I met you at Dean Millner's dinner or her, her brunch we, we connected instantly and I honestly had a great time talking to you. And how have you developed the skills and the safer networking and if so, how did you do it?
Darrell:
And that's a good question because people used to meet my mother who was quiet. She was voted the shyest in her graduating class from high school. And she remained that way to basically pass away. And so people are like, "Where do you get that from?" Then? I met meet my father. And I don't know someone... I don't think there's any school you can point to. I think one is, once again, I approach people the open mind. I think there was a time I remember at Holy Cross. And I remember someone, another African-American student came to me Senior year. and went, "You know, I never understood." I go, "what?" He goes, "I understand why you're here, man." He goes, "you're a bridge."
Darrell:
"You're a bridge between the black and white students."
Richard:
You saw yourself that way?
Darrell:
No, not until he said it. yeah. I still remember when I was at WGBH and we used to talk about racial relations there and there was someone who was from the Latinx community and we have this unit devoted to... I can't remember what was called... Latino program. And she was saying, I tell them, if you sit down in the back room, only deal with people from the Latinx community, then you're not going to learn everything what's going on in the rest of the world. And that's always been me and my approach.
Darrell:
If you don't open your mind to accepting other people and just trying to hear where they come from. You may still disagree. You may decide I never want to speak to this person again, but let's have the conversation. Think about those days at Holy cross, where you're up until 4am, arguing, not arguing, but have a discussion, religion, politics, what have you... And those skills, because the one thing about Holy Cross , everyone is smart and they bring out the best in you. Yeah. Your classmates. And they say something and you're like, "I got to look that up."
Darrell:
Yeah. So I felt I was challenged every day in a good way. Intellectually. So I'm coming from the Springfield public school system and there's some of the kids who've been some of the best prep schools in the world. And they're saying stuff and you're like what? Okay. You have to go and do your research. So professor Branson made us get a subscription to the New York times. I was known as a person. I would sit in the hallway and read the Times. I would also steal the guy two doors around for me, down for me. I would steal their Boston globe.
Darrell:
I'd literally sit in the hallway and read. And I figured I had to up my game so I could have these discussions, but what was great about it is there are other kids there, classmates there who wanted to know about me and where I came from. They were open-minded. They wanted to learn and I really respected that.
Richard:
So being a black CEO, do you feel like, have you faced any of these negative connotations personally? Do you ever feel like you've had imposter syndrome at all?
Darrell:
There's some. I would call it more of an unconscious bias. Even with some staff, I would say definitely with some in the external part who I met. But I will also add, I think, because of our mission, who we help, who we work with, to grow businesses, to grow community, to end the racial wealth gap in this country. They're happy to see that there's a person of color in the driver's seat of this organization and a former business owner because the racial inequality gap is real. So take Boston. For example, I read this from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston earlier this year, the average family, the average wealth of a white family in Boston is $247,000 a year. The average family, the average wealth of a black or Latino family in Boston wealth is $8,000.
Richard:
Wow, man, that's huge.
Darrell:
That's what gets me up for work every day. And I wonder what that number is in New York and Seattle and Chicago and Texas, and the wealth gap between a white person that born in a black person that born in today's ten to one... Ten to one. In creating your own business and growing that business is one of the ways to help end that wealth gap.
Richard:
We don't have time to get, I guess, the tack all of these questions that I have, I have a ton more, but a really important question that I've been waiting to ask you is if you could go back in time and talk to the 21 year old Darrell Byers, what would you tell him? And what do you think his response to that would be?
Darrell:
Couple of things, be more, be more thoughtful when you're looking ahead and not that you have to have an exact plan, but like I said, I graduated from Holy Cross I didn't have a plan. Speak out more. And you and I both had that conversation where there are some things we let slide and some things you spoke up. I there's some things I wish I looked back on and I wish I spoke up a little bit more. And something else: try new things. Don't be afraid to try new things. I tried a lot of new things at Holy Cross. There's a couple things I passed that guys should have been more open to trying. I especially think there was this thing, black guys aren't supposed to do this.
Darrell:
I remember hearing all time all the time. Black guys aren't supposed to ski. Black guys aren't supposed to play golf. On my social media, I belong to the black golfer's association. Man we are out there in force and we are out there in force. And of course I wish I started golfing when I was 18 instead of when I was 25, 24. But don't be afraid to try new things. Don't be afraid to welcome different people into your world, into your orbit. And there's a whole out, there's a whole lot out there for us to learn. And then we're seeing now what goes on in this country, shut the door to learning and you don't let other people in. In a very short time we see what can happen. So, be part of the solution. Make good trouble.
Richard:
That's that's advice I'll take to the grave right now. I guess. I think it's something I need to hear myself. Well, I think it's time to head into the speed round actually. What's your favorite book?
Darrell:
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.
Richard:
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Okay. Why, why that one?
Darrell:
It will change your life.
Richard:
Really?
Darrell:
This is this, this is the person who opened the lynching museum down in Alabama and he was at the writer's conference that I go to every year in Idaho and someone said, read his book. I couldn't put it down. And what he does, just like the innocence project where he does mostly black people on a death row for kids who committed a crime, usually in self-defense when they were 14 and they get like a life sentence. Now having a one-on-one conversation with him was just amazing.
Richard:
Best restaurant in Worcester.
Darrell:
Coney Island.
Richard:
How often you go there.
Darrell:
I went there a lot. It was in competition with Miss Woo's. But yeah. I love hot dogs, man. Walk by someplace, smell a hot dog, I got to get a hot dog.
Richard:
Along those lines. I don't know if it's hot dogs or not. What's your favorite food?
Darrell:
What's my favorite food. When I got married my wife noticed I love chicken any kind of way. Yeah. She actually called her mother and said, "okay, this guy just loves chicken you got to give me some more recipes." And my wife is a tremendous cook. Yeah. Introduced me to a lot of new foods. I would say it's chicken.
Richard:
Man. Okay. It's great match-up then, Huh? You and your wife. Cool cool. What, what's your favorite decade you've lived in?
Darrell:
Eighties. The eighties. First of all, I just loved the music. I still put on like 80's Channel on satellite radio man, and I just, yeah. From R&B to new wave, I was very into new wave at the time. My favorite band of all time, U2 came out... I've seen them 16 times in concert. And it was the decade of greed and excess, yes. I was talking to a friend the other day, but sort of the eighties, we sort of dropped the ball vis a vis black culture. We let too many things happen without interjecting, but I still enjoyed the 80s.
Richard:
So favorite class at HC?
Darrell:
Professor Vannicelli, I can't remember the name of the history class, but oh man, this guy was... Maurizio Vannicelli.
Richard:
He was the one that got the standing ovation at the end.
Darrell:
Yeah and he passed away unfortunately of a heart attack in his late thirties. Like '86, '87.
Richard:
He was really young.
Darrell:
Yeah. Really young and then it turns out I ended up working with his brother who was a professor at UMass Boston.
Richard:
Oh really?
Darrell:
Yeah. Just random. But he, he was simply amazing.
Richard:
Yeah, man. That's amazing. So moving on, what's your favorite memory at Holy Cross?
Darrell:
God... That's a good one. I so enjoy going to the football games back then.
Richard:
The football game back then. Were they winning a lot?
Darrell:
They're winning a lot. I know you don't know it's like they have the stands packed every Saturday.
Richard:
Rub it in. Rub it in. Go ahead.
Darrell:
And I went back to the BSU 50th anniversary celebration. I'm sitting there and going, this is sad.
Richard:
I'm embarrassed for my generation. Don't worry. And what's, what's the best part about being an HC alumni.
Darrell:
Is that Club. I always feel that I'm part of something that giving back. And I said my very best friends in the whole world were the friends I made at Holy cross. and I can call them, they can call me. They know my kid. I know their kids. I know their parents, they knew my parents. And the experience really has meant so much.
Darrell:
Yeah. I'll yeah. If I hit the lottery, Holy cross will benefit from it. So yeah.
Richard:
So Mr. Byers, what would, is there anything that, that we didn't mention that you would like to talk a little bit more about from your early life, to your experience at Holy Cross, your experience here right now. Is there anything that you would want to make known at least to people my age or younger or even anyone that's in your position?
Darrell:
Yeah. You know, the first thing I would say is be audacious never did up. Wow. Never given speak out. Yeah. Speak out the right way, but speak out and don't be, don't be afraid to fail.
Darrell:
And I think that's what helped me during the years. You've got to take the chances and it's okay to fail. You learn from your losses. Yeah. But don't, don't be afraid of it from the first, entering Holy Cross I wasn't a good writer. You should take a writing course. I'm writing 20 papers a semester. I'm taking political philosophy. What the heck was I...? But I, I got through, and it helped me be stronger. It helped me be a better person. And it helped me in times of troubles and challenges. Yeah. And that's what those four years did for me. It wasn't always easy, wasn't always pretty, but you know, some of the best four years of my life. Oh, for sure.
Richard:
All right. Darrell, well, thanks so much for, for taking this time to talk with me.
Darrell:
Thank you. It's been a pleasure having this conversation with you.
Maura:
That's our show. I hope you enjoyed hearing about just one of the
many ways that Holy Cross alumni have been inspired by the mission
to be men and women, for and with other. A special thanks to
today's guest and everyone at Holy Cross who has contributed to
making this podcast a reality.
If you or someone you know would like to be featured on this podcast, please send us an email at alumnicareers@holycross.edu. If you like what you hear, then please leave us a review.
This podcast is brought to you by the office of the alumni relations at the College of the Holy Cross. You can subscribe for future episodes, wherever you find your podcasts. I'm your host, Maura Sweeney and this is Mission-Driven. In the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, now go forth and set the world on fire.
---
Theme music composed by Scott Holmes, courtesy of freemusicarchive.org.