It took a while, but I finally convinced businessman and philanthropist, David Steward, to sit with me for this interview. Back in February, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article that back-handedly accused Steward of donating to mayoral candidate, Lewis Reed, to influence his vote on the allocation of public money to upgrade the Scottrade Center. Steward is a minority owner in the St. Louis Blues franchise. The team plays in the center.
In full disclosure, Steward, the founder of World Wide Technology (WWT), a global technology solution provider with more than $9 billion in annual revenue, has been a consistent supporter of the Sweet Potato Project, my nonprofit. The Dave Steward targeted in the Post-Dispatch’s hit piece didn’t meet the definition of the man I’ve known and admired for years.
Steward had no interest in defending himself against the daily newspaper’s allegations. I persisted, arguing that the black community is at a disadvantage. We need to hear more from our success stories, and not just from the vantage point of the white-owned media. It’s crucial, I continued, that black people and young black folk, especially, know where our leaders stand on a wide variety of issues that impact their futures.
Mentioning youth was the ticket. Steward donates millions to what he defines as “community assets” institutions, like the Art Museum, Science Center, Cardinal Ritter High School, Harris-Stowe State University, The Muny, The BJK People’s Health Center, The KIPP Program, The Sheldon Concert Hall, Symphony, Boy Scouts, Variety the Children’s Charity, Symphony, Matthew Dickey-Boys and Girls Club, the Harold and Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz, St. Louis American Foundation programs, and countless other local entities that offer programs aimed at instilling core values and expanding the global vision of young people – particularly young people of color.
For example, the Centene Jazz Education Center within the Center for Jazz, offers workshops and studio time for some 11,000 youth every year. Young, promising musicians get the chance to learn their craft, Steward says, from international talents like Wynton Marsalis, David Sanborn, Joshua Redman, Terence Blanchard and many more.
Steward, the author of “Doing Business by the Good Book,” credits his massive success to the highest power.
“Give what is given to you,” Steward told me. “God’s principles work that way. It’s about love, joy, peace, faith, kindness, humbleness and so forth. But, at the end of the day, my purpose is about building the Kingdom and glorifying God in the process.”
It bothers him that WWT ranks as the country’s largest African American-owned business with a global client base, yet most local black youth have no idea what the company does or the employment opportunities the company offers. Helping kids of color develop a global vision that will help them rise above the challenges of “place and space” is Steward’s ongoing mission.
“How do we help our kids realize their relevance and strategic value in the world?” Steward said. “If we don’t reach out and help them learn a set of core values and those soft skills they need, then our ability to recruit them will be impacted. For this company to grow dramatically, we desperately need that diversity of thought at the table. It will make us a better company.”
Steward also makes investments to help prepare kids for the technological world. They include organizations such as the Global Leadership Forum and NPower, whose work focuses on creating a pipeline of diverse science, technology, engineering and math talent. The Steward Scholars program alone provides scholarships for over 100 high potential black students in St. Louis.
Steward says there are two sure-fire routes to introduce youth to the global economy – music and sports – and he highlighted his point by recalling a recent trip to the Samsung Group, a multinational, South Korean conglomerate.
“We visited Samsung’s training center, which was located on what must have been 7,000 acres. We went into this huge auditorium and whose photos did I see placarded all over the place,” Steward recalled, “American jazz musicians like Miles, Thelonious, Lonnie Liston Smith, James Carter, Al Hirt and more,” Steward said.
“They honored these jazz greats but, more important, they wanted to capture and replicate the innovation process that went into their music. That sense of innovation is the thing that’s going to help Samsung tackle the global opportunities and challenges in technology for the next generation.”
“That’s what’s going to help us here in the U.S.,” Steward continued – “thinking differently, not in standard ways. Innovation is going to come from different experiences. That’s why it’s so important that people of color are engaged. Our experiences are so different from anybody else’s in the world. Those experiences have driven us to come up with innovative ideas and approaches.”
And sports, particularly the sport of soccer, he said, is a way to help youth think far beyond the constraints existing in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
“Soccer is a global sport, football is not. The big crowds around the world are connected to soccer. Yet, it’s the one sport that hasn’t really taken hold in the United States,” Steward said.
“And that’s unfortunate, because there’s a discipline to the game. Strategic relationships are built, there’s teamwork, trust, integrity, rules to live by, inner-discipline – all those things that represent a set of core values. When you consider that a pair of cleats and a ball are the only equipment required to play, soccer is a natural sport for kids whose parents are focused on making ends meet.”
Props 1 and 2
Steward supports the idea of soccer as another “community asset” in the region. Of the two proposals, Propositions 1 and 2, on the upcoming ballot, Prop 2 will provide funding for a new downtown soccer stadium.
The CEO of WWT, Jim Kavanaugh, is part of SC STL, a group of businessmen who own St. Louis’ first major league soccer franchise. Kavanaugh won a state soccer title as a student at Rosary High School. He played soccer at Saint Louis University, became a member of the 1984 Olympic team and went on to play professionally for the St. Louis Steamers. In 2011, Kavanaugh and Tom Strunk, WWT’s chief financial officer, purchased the St. Louis Soccer Park, one of the nation’s first soccer-specific facilities. The men gifted the facility to the Scott Gallagher Soccer Club (SLSC), a 4,000-member organization of youth soccer players. Kavanaugh serves as SLSC’s president.
Like Steward, Kavanaugh describes soccer as “the biggest global game out there” that’s attracted the attention of millennials worldwide. When discussing his lifelong love of the sport, Kavanaugh, too, speaks of his commitment to enhancing the lives of youth in the St. Louis region.
“I truly believe organized sports can help kids develop good habits and values that will positively impact them and their communities for life,” Kavanaugh said.
There are several defining differences between the city’s quest to build a soccer stadium now, versus the failed attempt to build a billion-dollar football stadium last year. Unlike the owners of the Rams and the NFL, SC STL and Major League Soccer (MLS) want to build and become a fixture in St. Louis. And local politicians attempted to ram the idea of football stadium down the throats of St. Louisans without a vote. This time, voters will decide the fate of a soccer stadium downtown.
Last week, the SC STL group held a press conference along with its community partners that include the United Way of Greater St. Louis, Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis, MOKAN, SLATE, the Urban League, Mission: St Louis, St. Patrick Center, Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club and the Demetrious Johnson Charitable Foundation.
The group and its partners are promoting what they call the “Community Benefits Agreement.” Among several commitments, the group pledges to invest millions into youth soccer programs and guarantee that there will be job training and minority inclusion in the construction and maintenance of the estimated $255 million, multipurpose, 20,000-seat stadium and much more.
“Our agreement with the city holds us accountable, and we promise to meet every term and then some for generations to come,” Kavanaugh said in a press statement. “But beyond accountability, we see this contract with our community as a unique opportunity to both lead and serve, in both new and traditional ways.”
Mike McMillan, president, and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, said it was clear from the start that the SC STL group had a “genuine interest” in engaging and serving the African-American community.
“The Community Benefits Agreement serves as a model of how major projects should work,” McMillan said. “This is a comprehensive and groundbreaking contract between the ownership group and our city and one that the Urban League enthusiastically supports.”
Flint Fowler, director of the Boys and Girls Club of greater St. Louis, said he appreciated the fact that SC STL reached out to community leaders before announcing the deal.
“I’ve never seen a group come in and say, ‘This is what I want to do for the entire St. Louis community,’” Fowler told reporters last week. “We recognize the benefits that can be derived from partnerships of this nature.”
Steward said he sees a bigger picture.
“Faith is about looking at the unseen, and I’ve walked that path for a very long time,” Steward told me. “I talk about soccer in a visionary, strategic way, not in a tactical or political way. I look at the overarching parts of another community asset that will build the community in significant ways and affect our kids, minorities, and small businesses some 20, 30, 40 years from now.”
