Kermit Eady (January 13, 1940 – February 4, 2019) was an American
social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
er, educator, motivational speaker,
activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...
, and the co-founder of The Black United Fund of New York.
Early life and education
Kermit was born in
St. Stephen, South Carolina
St. Stephen is a town in Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,697 at the 2010 census.
St. Stephen is included within the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metropolitan area.
History
The Keller Site and St. ...
. He was the youngest of nine children. He attended Saint Stephen's public school system. His family moved to
Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Spring ...
, New York City, where he attended
John Adams High School. His family attended Saint Mark A.M.E. Church in
East Elmhurst
East Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the northwest section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Jackson Heights and Corona, to the north and east by Bowery Bay, and to the west by Woodside and Ditmar ...
, Queens.
Eady received a B.A. degree from
Morgan State University
Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...
in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. He received a master's degree in social work from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
.
He was an assistant professor at
Medgar Evers College
Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was officially established in 1970 through cooperation between educato ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
, New York. He also served as director of admissions and recruitment for
Norfolk State University
Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership.
History
The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 a ...
Graduate School of Social Work.
Career
In 1979, Kermit Eady and Larry Barton founded the Black United Fund of New York (BUFNY), a non-profit organization for African-American and minority communities to development self-help, empowerment, development and financial resources, with $8,000 in capital. As president and CEO of BUFNY, Eady was able to attain workplace charitable solicitation through participation in corporate payroll deduction systems the
Combined Federal Campaign
The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the workplace giving program of the federal government of the United States. The program is authorized by executive order 12353 (as amended) of March 23, 1982, and is overseen by the United States Office of ...
(CFC). The CFC is a workplace-giving program that collects donations payroll deductions by the United States Federal government program authorized by President
Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1982. Through this program, BUFNY was able to obtain contributions from the
Freedom National Bank Freedom National Bank was an African-American owned bank in Harlem ( New York City) founded in 1964 and shut down in 1990. Freedom National served Harlem's Black community and was one of the largest Black owned banks in the U.S. Its main office wa ...
,
Bell Laboratories
Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984),
then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996)
and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007),
is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mul ...
, I.B.M. New York Telephone Company.
Under Eady's leadership, the CFC helped to grow BUFNY from the initially $8,000 to $15 million by 2013 and developed more than 400 affordable housing in New York City.
In 2003, BUFNY purchased a radio station that broadcast the BUFNY-produced show ''The Empowerment Hour'', which was hosted by Eady.
Controversy
In 2002, Attorney General of New York State
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008.
Spitzer was born in New York City, attended Pr ...
started an investigation of BUFNY, citing the non-profit's shift in focus to housing and land development without notifying its donors.
Spitzer named an interim board, which voted to remove Eady from his position as president in 2003, citing "a fundamental, profound, philosophical difference" in the way that Eady fundraised contributions.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eady, Kermit
American businesspeople
2019 deaths
1940 births
People from St. Stephen, South Carolina
People from Jamaica, Queens
John Adams High School (Queens) alumni
Morgan State University alumni
New York University alumni
Medgar Evers College faculty
Norfolk State University faculty