Lessons in Black History: February 16, 2015

Joseph Searles III (born 1948) was elected as the first African American trader of the New York Stock Exchange.

Joseph Searles III graduated from Kansas State University in 1963 with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. After graduation, Searles had went on to become a professional football player with the New York Giants. While working on a public policy research project, Searles met New York City Mayor John Lindsey in Washington, D.C. After completing his research, Searles became an aide to Mayor Lindsey where he served as Director of Local Business Development in the New York City Economic Development Administration.

After serving as an aide to Mayor Lindsey, Searles left public office temporarily to pursue the world of high finance and was hired as a floor trader for the emerging brokerage firm Newburger, Loeb, and Co. He became a general partner for the firm and was elected as the first African American trader of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The New York Times article announcing his proposed membership read, "The poised and assured Mr. Searles said that he had never owned any stocks or bonds and that his modest stake in the Newburger, Loeb partnership represented his first investment."

Although Searles was the first black trader on the exchange's floor, he was technically not its first black member. That distinction goes to Clarence B. Jones -- counsel and speechwriter to Martin Luther King Jr. -- who became an allied member of the exchange in 1967 when he was named a partner at Carter, Berlind & Weill Inc. As an allied member, Jones had voting stock in a member firm, but he didn't have floor access.

Searles was building on Jones's momentum, which was propelled by the 1964 enactment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion or national origin. Viewed through most of its history as a private club for white males, the stock exchange had a culture that was in a transition mode of sorts, after having admitted its first female member, Muriel Siebert, less than three years before he joined the trading community.

Contemporary accounts indicate that Searles's interest in the financial markets may have been more about breaking through the color barrier on Wall Street than about a professional ambition to enter the world of finance.

"It's a personal challenge to me as a black man to become part of the economic mainstream of this country," he told the New York Times. "I don't believe I'll become a token black. I think there will be more black members at the exchange. Hopefully, my presence will increase the credibility of the financial community, as far as blacks are concerned."

After being confirmed as a member of the NYSE, Searles noted: "It's a personal challenge to me as a black man to become part of the economic mainstream of this country. I think there will be more black members at the exchange. Hopefully, my presence will increase the credibility of the financial community, as far as blacks are concerned." Searles paved the way for African Americans, and later women, to participate on Wall Street, and is a shining example of African American progress.