The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Jacoby Dickens
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| Repository: | The HistoryMakers |
| 1900 S. Michigan Avenue |
| Chicago, Illinois 60616 |
| (312) 674-1900 |
| info@thehistorymakers.com |
| http://www.thehistorymakers.com |
| Interviewer: | Julieanna Richardson |
| Videographer: | Paul Bieschke |
| Title: | Video Oral History Interview with Jacoby Dickens |
| Dates: | December 15, 1999 |
| Abstract: | (ABSTRACT) |
| Quantity: | 6 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials. |
| Identification: | A1999.004 |
| Language: | The interviews and records are in English |
An innovative and successful entrepreneur, Jacoby Dickens was born in Panama City, Florida, in 1932. Though Jacoby's father had to leave school at an early age to work on the family farm, he emphasized the importance of education. Early in his childhood, Dickens' family moved to Chicago's South Side, where he attended school.
After graduation from high school, Dickens went into business as a real estate developer in the same South Side neighborhoods where he was raised. There he was able to purchase, renovate and lease apartment buildings in key areas of the city during the peak of the Northern Migration. At the height of this enterprise, Dickens managed more than 100 apartments. By the time he sold his real estate holdings in 1971, Dickens had acquired enough capital to purchase several bowling alleys in Chicago. While running two bowling alleys, Dickens was invited to join the board of Seaway National Bank, one of the largest African American-owned financial institutions in the country. Dickens joined Seaway National in 1979 as vice chairman and chairman in 1983.
As chairman, Dickens created firm ties between Seaway and its surrounding community. Dickens believes the bank shares responsibility for the financial health of the community, an urban neighborhood of moderate and low-income residents. As such, the institution has tailored itself to fit the economic circumstances of its surrounding neighborhoods, promoting the growth of new businesses through loans, outreach and community development programs.
Dickens has distinguished himself as much for his philanthropic efforts as for his entrepreneurial successes. In addition to the community outreach programs developed through Seaway, Dickens has designed a loan and scholarship program at DePaul University named in his honor. As a director of Chicago State University, Dickens has donated more than $1 million to the institution. On December 7, 1995, the Chicago State University Physical Education and Athletics Building was renamed the Jacoby D. Dickens Physical Education and Athletics Center in honor of the esteemed benefactor.
Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®
This life oral history interview with Jacoby Dickens was conducted by Julieanna Richardson on 1999-12-15 in Seaway National Bank, 645 E. 87th Street, Chicago, Ill. and is recorded on 6 30-minute Betacam SP videocassettes. Access copies exist on Betacam SP, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1. The interview contains information on (COMPLETE ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW). Accompanying materials in the collection include Jacoby Dickens's correspondence with The HistoryMakers® related to the interview; a copy of the signed release form and the production report; the biographical information used by the interviewer to prepare for the interview (DETAILS); paper copies of the interview transcripts, 3 1/2" floppy disks with electronic copies of the transcripts; selected quotes for video clips; photocopies of photographs captured on video; XML files with metadata created in editing and cataloguing the interview for The HistoryMakers Digital Video Library; and paper copies of these XML files.
Restrictions on Access
Access to paper records is restricted. Other restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis.
Restrictions on Use
All use of materials must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers® and appropriate credit must be given. All use credits must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers®. Copyright is held by The HistoryMakers®.
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| This record series is indexed under the following controlled access terms. |
| Contributors: |
| | Bieschke, Paul |
| | Dickens, Jacoby, 1931- |
| | Richardson, Julieanna |
| Persons: |
| | (PERSONS) |
| Corporate Bodies: |
| | (CORPORATE BODIES) |
| Family Names: |
| | Dickens |
| Places: |
| | (PLACES) |
| Subjects: |
| | (SUBJECTS) |
| Document Types: |
| | Video oral history interview |
| Titles: |
| | The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Jacoby Dickens |
Accompanying materials: Accompanying materials are filed in (NUMBER) folders in a half-Hollinger box and shelved at The HistoryMakers® Archives and Collection Library by accession number, separately from the videos.
Betacam, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1 access copies are held for in-house use at The HistoryMakers®; Betacam SP, VHS and DVD playback hardware is provided for in-house viewing of the access copies; MPEG-1 copies are searchable and viewable via a digital video database.
The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Jacoby Dickens, December 15, 1999. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.
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Video Oral History Interview with Jacoby Dickens, Tape 1, December 15, 1999, TRT: 00:30:30.
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| Jacoby Dickens, Jr. discusses growing up in a segregated area in Panama City, Fla., one of six siblings in a poor, but tight-knit and supportive family. His parents' divorce at an early age left Dickens's father, Jacoby Dickens, Sr., as a single parent. Dickens Sr. and Jr. shared not only a strong father-son bond, but a deep friendship. His paternal grandmother also played a crucial role in his early developmental years. Dickens emphasizes the role of the church and black businesses in the self-sufficient black Dickens recalls his grandmother's stories of the rural lives the family had led as sharecroppers for a wealthy white man, for whom Dickens, Sr. was named. Dickens relates his family's move to Chicago in 1946; the big city was at first strange and uncongenial to him, but he soon learned to love the excitement of black theaters and stores on the South Side and the large high school he attended. Dickens encountered two particularly supportive school teachers who encouraged and inspired him. Dickens managed his full participation in academic life and various jobs in both Florida and Chicago, Ill.. Dickens also describes jobs he held as a teen both in Florida and in Chicago. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Jacoby Dickens, Tape 2, December 15, 1999, TRT: 00:29:03.
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| Jacoby Dickens, Jr. recalls his adolescence attending Wendell Phillips High School, an exclusively black school on Chicago's South Side, and enjoying the great variety of entertainment available at venues like the Savoy Ballroom and the Regal Theater, institutions at the center of black social life in Chicago in the segregated 1940s. Following high school, Dickens both worked and attended college. He describes how, after repeatedly being broke before payday and borrowing from his father, Dickens, Sr. refused to lend more and gave him a lecture on his financial habits that turned him into a saver. Working two jobs, he began to save conscientously and was eventually able to invest in real estate, his entry into the business world. He used expertise he had acquired as a building engineer to refurbish apartment buildings and lease them to residents. Dickens talks about his entrepreneurial spirit, his inspiration by the success stories of black millionaires and he describes Chicago as a city that presented limitless opportunities for business enterprise to black entrepreneurs. Dickens was eventually invited to buy into Seaway National Bank where he started as vice chairman and within a few years bought out his partner and became chairman of the city's largest black-owned bank. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Jacoby Dickens, Tape 3, December 15, 1999, TRT: 00:28:38.
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| Jacoby Dickens, Jr. describes the early sacrifices and hard work he put into becoming a millionaire businessman. His first major investments were in real estate; he then became involved in a bowling venture initiated by Daddy-O Daylie, a Chicago disc jockey and fellow entrepreneur. He received several bank rejections, but ultimately received a loan from a large downtown bank. In pursuit of a loan in order to purchase his second bowling alley, Dickens began to build a relationship with Seaway National Bank [Chicago, Ill.]. He later joined Seaway himself, investing in the bank and joining the board, becoming first vice chairman and then chairman. Though he had no previous banking experience, Dickens was successful in the industry. In his tenure, Seaway has experienced significant growth. He discusses the strong partnership that Seaway National Bank has had with the local community from the beginning of his involvement. He expects growth in the future--both financially and in terms of the bank's contributions to the community it serves. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Jacoby Dickens, Tape 4, December 15, 1999, TRT: 00:28:30.
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| Jacoby Dickens, a Chicago-based businessman, discusses the banking issues he has witnessed in his career. He describes his strong belief about starting businesses in one's own community. He goes on to discuss the Community Reinvestment Act (1979) that required large banks to build branches in areas that would otherwise be ignored, in this particular instance, the mostly black South Side of Chicago. Dickens also discusses his investment in television and his pursuit of a riverboat casino license. He talks about his involvement on the board of Chicago State University and shares his support for affirmative action and the need for more government support for higher education. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Jacoby Dickens, Tape 5, December 15, 1999, TRT: 00:26:12.
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| Entrepreneur Jacoby Dickens talks about the advantages of entrepreneurship for young African Americans. He stresses the benefits of mentorship, giving examples of his work with Chicago State University and sharing anecdotes about black teens he is sponsoring through private high schools. He touches on his bank's connections with black churches. Dickens urges the importance of black political participation, advocates term limits, remembers former Chicago mayor Harold Washington and contrasts Washington's integrity with a bribery scandal in the Chicago City Council. Finally, Dickens talks about his legacy and explains his plans to leave assets to his foundation and other organizations to help black youth. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Jacoby Dickens, Tape 6, December 15, 1999, TRT: 00:25:37.
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| Entrepreneur Jacoby Dickens describes a series of photos depicting his life, family, and career. |