are willing to take advantage of the be able to take on a variety of tasks in the view, people who can help you see light,
opportunities that are presented and I world. But it still doesn’t guarantee them people who can help you through a diffi-
have been very fortunate.” a job, it does suggest that they are cult time then it is hard to do it alone; I
equipped to hold one and to excel at it.” don’t know many people who have.”
On defining yourself:
“I don’t think life is fair in this On choosing a career: On overcoming obstacles:
respect. Anytime you start to achieve “I’d like to say a number of things, but “We all focus on the obstacles that
something or you start doing things in a in reality when you are a young person society puts in front of you and certainly
certain way, or you start to become some- and you are starting your career, you are they exist. There are obstacles based on
what known, people expect certain things ignited by pride and money. That’s the color, there are obstacles based on
of you and people will often like you for reality of it. I look back when people ask opportunity, obstacles based on happy
certain things. It is very difficult to stay me how I got into television and I tell circumstances, and there are obstacles
grounded and see yourself in a realistic them, ‘They offered me the most money.’ based on pure deadlock. Those are all a
term instead of believing something that If somebody had told me that being a part of life, but the obstacles we don’t
is written about you, good or bad. It is librarian you can make three times as talk about often are the ones that we put
very difficult to not allow yourself to be much money, then I would have been a in front of ourselves, the ones of pride,
defined by others, you pick up ten pieces librarian. It doesn’t make me sound of ego, of blindness, of the inability to
of paper and they say that you are the incredibly bright or egalitarian but that’s see ourselves in a situation objectively. I
greatest thing in life since sliced bread. the truth, as a young person that is what look back on my life and realize that
You pick up ten others and they say you you are limited to. As a young man, you some of the mistakes I have made and
are the worst thing since Hitler. But in think about money, women and pride and difficult times I’ve had were because I
fact, neither is true, it is very difficult to that’s about it. I’m not naïve to expect couldn’t get past ‘me.’ If we can step
make sure that you don’t allow others to them to think beyond that.” back and take our pride down a notch
define who you are.” and stop seeing ourselves as incapable of
On building relationships and error or of having all the answers, we
On Education: networking: can find a way to work through things.
“Students have to show some traits “It is virtually impossible to do things There are a lot of obstacles that life
and resilience and realize that just as alone and do it successfully. You can try hands you and there are a lot of them that
their education is there responsibility like hell and people really do try, but ulti- we create. Even if you don’t create them
their education is not just an award; it is mately, you need to be able to if not rely yourself, you are going to find a bunch
not a guarantee of anything in their life. I on people, to interact with people, to of them, you can’t handle those, you
think it is simply their weapon, which bounce things off of people, to share your can’t stop those. The ones you can stop
they can use to brace their future and bet- experiences with people, to gain their are the ones that you created yourself.
ter shape their life. It is proof that they assistance, relationships are everything; Try as hard as Possible to be sure you
are intelligent, that they know how to not just personal, but business. There is don’t get in your own way! I know I did,
learn that they know how to accept no substitute for it, unless you have peo- but like somebody said, ‘let your first
responsibility for something as important ple you can turn to when you need them, thought be the second thing out of your
as their own education. And armed with people you can bounce things off of, peo- mouth and not the first,’ and that’s a hard
such confidence as education they should ple who can express an opposite point of thing to do.”
What You May Not Have Known about Bryant Gumbel
square6Has given about 600 United Negro College Fund scholarships. square6Appeared alongside Nicolas Cage and Michael Cane in The
Weather Man as a co-host of a morning show entitled Hello
square6Has received four Emmy Awards. America.
square6Younger brother of Veteran sportscaster Greg Gumbel. square6Retired in May 2002, but still works some weeks.
square6Was a weatherman on an episode of The glyph817anny. square6Received the United Negro College Fund’s highest honor, the
Frederick D. Patterson Award for his celebrity golf tourna-
square6Earned the Martin Luther King Award from the Congress of ments.
Racial Equality.
square6Is married to Hilary Quinlan.
square6Wrote columns in college for the school paper The Bates Stu-
dent. square6First job in TV was in October 1972 as a sportscaster for
KNBC-TV in Los Angeles.
square6Has won three NAACP Image Awards.
square6Has received honorary doctorate degrees from various universi-
square6Loves to play golf. ties including: Bates College, Howard University, Holy Cross,
Xavier, Providence College and Clark Atlanta University.
66 www.blackeoejournal.com The Black E.O.E. Journal
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84