wax, our high school business teacher told myself and misch i will gilliam in front of the class the two of us would never succeed at anything. we were passing notes back and forth. i went into the navy afterwards. i got out of the navy and my friend said how about your buddy michelle? he said don't you know? i said, no. vietnam is flaring up. they said, that's michelle fill toipz day at the mommas and poppas, your buddy is a superstar. she found mr. wax on my 50th birthday and brought him down there. we told him what he said and we never listened to him. don't listen to people. no matter what your race, color, creed, religion is or how much money you have or don't have, you can make it if you believe in yourself and you're prepared to overcome rejection. and as long as you know it's coming, it's not going to hurt you as much. >> what have you learned, and i'm always in awe of people who with k. run any number times of businesses as well. can you run in the hair care lane. you can run in the tequila lane. what you have learned about being mall uable in that way in a business environm

rights movement," with works by individuals-- including leading figures such as romare bearden and sam gilliamd so-called "collectives" formed in the 1960s and after, by artists seeking a greater voice in society. curator valerie mercer: >> the civil rights movement and the black power movement emboldened a lot of the african american artists. most of the mainstream art museums did not provide many opportunities to african american artists during the '60s and '70s. they were also very uncomfortable dealing with racial, social and political issues, so they avoided that work. now things are changing, fortunately. >> brown: several local artists attended the opening, including allie mcghee, who told me of his encounters with the national guard 50 years ago. >> i had people drive up, because i was out past curfew, and have a young man who's like 17, 18, scared to death, stick a bayonet in your ribcage. you don't forget stuff like this. >> brown: for this exhibition, mcghee contributed a painting from 1968, titled "black attack," and a later abstract work, titled "apartheid." since then, his art ha

gilliam's remarks. the fellows we've had over the last few years that i've been here have been outstanding. the kellogg company has been outstanding. these folks are just an integral part of our work over the summer, and, you know, i can't imagine life without them. all right. i want to acknowledge some soof the folks on the podium -- on the stage. some of you are wondering who are these folks on the end. you know who a.g. holder is. you know who overseer reynolds is now. i want to introduce mr. james g. virginia who is a member of the legal committee of the naacp board of directors. [ applause ] i want to acknowledge michael curry, a member of the national board of directors of the naacp and member of the legal committee, former president of the boston branch of the naacp. and next to michael, mr. gary bledsoe, president of the texas state conference of the naacp and vice chair of the legal committee of the board of directors. okay. one thing i learned very quickly in joining the naacp is that the naac