An Unplanned Life: A Memoir

by Franklin A. Thomas

Overview

A major autobiography of a remarkable life that broke down racial barriers, transformed institutions, and energized the struggle for justice, by the former president of the Ford Foundation

“Frank has that quality of honesty and authenticity and people trusted him . . . and because very disparate people trusted him, he could bring them together across their differences.”
—Gloria Steinem

Franklin Thomas was one of the most influential people of our time. As former president of the Ford Foundation (the first African American to hold this position), former president of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (the first community development organization of its kind), member of countless corporate boards, and a key player in facilitating the end of the apartheid era in South Africa, Thomas shaped public policy, philanthropy, and the movement for human rights for over half a century.

An Unplanned Life offers an insider’s account of some of the most crucial transformations of the contemporary era: efforts to rebuild America’s cities, struggles to reform philanthropy, and the quest to establish a global order based on human rights and racial equity. As a story of firsts, Franklin’s memoir also chronicles a formative era, when a generation of African Americans first broke through into the halls of power, navigating complicated and sometimes treacherous cultural and political currents.

Much of Franklin Thomas’s life was marked by his desire to stay out of the spotlight, and to let his accomplishments speak for themselves. Now, in An Unplanned Life, we have Thomas’s full story, in all of its nuance, drama, and richly narrated detail.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620977736
Publisher:	New Press, The
Publication date:	12/13/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Franklin A. Thomas’s career spanned many civic roles, from assistant U.S. attorney to president and CEO of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. In 1979, he was named president of the Ford Foundation, where he served until 1996. The author of An Unplanned Life (The New Press), he lived in New York City until his death in 2021.
Franklin A. Thomas’s career spanned many civic roles, from assistant U.S. attorney to president and CEO of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. In 1979, he was named president of the Ford Foundation, where he served until 1996. The author of An Unplanned Life (The New Press), he lived in New York City until his death in 2021.

Table of Contents

Foreword Darren Walker vii

1 Growing Up in Bedford-Stuyvesant 1

2 A Higher Education 9

3 Choosing Law 18

4 Policing in Mayor Lindsay's New-York 26

5 A Call to Come Home 33

6 A Battle in Bed-Stuy 42

7 Restoration 52

8 A New Approach to Community Development 62

9 Giving the Community Control 69

10 1968 78

11 The Loss of Robert Kennedy 88

12 Dueling Boards 97

13 The World of Corporate Boards 107

14 When Two Years Becomes Ten 118

15 An Unexpected Presidency 130

16 A South Africa Study Commission 140

17 Reimagining the Ford Foundation 151

18 A Changing Landscape in South Africa 163

19 Positive Results 176

20 Mandela's Freedom 186

21 President Mandela 195

22 An Inauguration 208

23 A Farewell to Ford 219

24 The Study Group 232

25 A Call to Action 248

26 Full Circle 259

Acknowledgments 267

Index 269

Editorial Reviews

10/10/2022

Thomas (1934–2021), the first Black American to lead a major philanthropic organization, details a life dedicated to helping others in his posthumous memoir. Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Thomas was taught by his parents to value education and to believe that “if you could imagine it, you could accomplish it.” After serving in the Air Force and graduating from Columbia Law School, he forged an impressive career that spanned six decades, beginning as an attorney for the Federal Housing and Home Finance Agency in 1963. In the late 1960s, Sen. Robert Kennedy recruited Thomas for the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. His success as the group’s president didn’t go unnoticed, which led to directorial roles at major organizations including the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Thomas’s narrative is written in exacting detail, and though his heavy focus on his professional trajectory doesn’t give readers a full picture of him as a person, his sense of conviction and humility easily come through (“I didn’t define myself as a leader,” he writes in response to a newspaper announcement about his appointment as the seventh president of the Ford Foundation). This portrait of selfless civic duty will encourage readers to think beyond the limits of their ambitions. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for An Unplanned Life:
“[Thomas’s] vision is of an inclusive America, in which every generation works to see that the promise of America includes ‘more and more of its people, that the American identity be rooted in a person’s willingness to commit to the ideal of America and to work toward its realization.’ That viewpoint alone makes this book worth reading.”
—The Washington Post

“Thomas achieved an historic sociopolitical impact within the Black community, the United States, and on an international level. . . . Thomas’s extraordinary life, lived in service to community, equality, and basic human rights, will inspire readers to accept the mantle of bettering society.”
—Library Journal (starred review)

“In a memoir that privileges the public over the private, Thomas imparts the political, cultural, and economic milieu from which he emerged and the world he indelibly shaped. . . . A vividly detailed record of significant accomplishments.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Thomas’s narrative is written in exacting detail. . . . This portrait of selfless civic duty will encourage readers to think beyond the limits of their ambitions.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Few people can provide a better window into the transformation of modern philanthropy than Frank Thomas. And in doing so, Frank provides us all with essential lessons in ethical leadership.”
—Lee Bollinger, president, Columbia University

“An Unplanned Life is both a vivid memoir and a rich history of New York—and America—at a critical turning point.”
—Sharon Rockefeller, president and CEO, WETA

“Frank Thomas blazed a path like no other—through government, philanthropy, and civic life. This brilliant memoir perfectly captures the man whose impact on our lives is still felt today.”
—Indra Nooyi, former chair and CEO, PepsiCo

From the Publisher

★ 08/01/2022

Thomas achieved an historic sociopolitical impact within the Black community, the United States, and on an international level. Born to immigrant Barbadian parents in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY, Thomas excelled academically and attended Columbia Law. When Senator Robert F. Kennedy spearheaded urban revitalization in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Thomas was appointed executive director. In his own community, he mastered techniques of combining public and private funding with community engagement to affect meaningful change. This model was applied toward his work supporting anti-apartheid initiatives in South Africa during the 1970s onwards, and as the president of the Ford Foundation in the 1980s. He sought to further racial equality and made significant inroads. This book captures how Thomas didn't directly seek out these opportunities but rather was chosen for positions, which played to his strengths. His first-person narrative is engaging. Poignantly relevant as the nation continues to struggle with racial conflict, his story will resonate with most readers. VERDICT Thomas's extraordinary life, lived in service to community, equality, and basic human rights, will inspire readers to accept the mantle of bettering society.—Jessica A. Bushore

Library Journal

★ 2022-09-17
A Black leader charts his distinguished career.

Thomas (1934-2021), president and CEO of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation in the late 1960s and president of the Ford Foundation from 1979 to 1996, recounts a life marked by talent, determination, and success. Born to immigrant parents and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Thomas excelled at school even while working to help his widowed mother support the family. He graduated from Columbia in 1956 and from Columbia Law School in 1963. After a few years in the U.S. Attorney’s office, he was named as deputy commissioner for legal matters for the New York City Police Department. Thomas characterizes the trajectory of his life as “unplanned.” Clearly, he was in the right places at the right times to make fortuitous connections, but his many achievements reflect his own vision and leadership. In the late 1960s, he met Robert Kennedy, who intrigued Thomas with the innovative idea of promoting urban revitalization through community and for-profit collaboration. That meeting led to Thomas’ taking the helm at a major restoration project that created a new urban development model—which incited fractious debate. As he gained prominence, he was invited to join the boards of major institutions, including Columbia University, Citibank, Alcoa, PepsiCo, and Conoco. “In more cases than not,” he notes, “I’d be made lead director of those boards as well, the first time a Black person would have the position.” Serving as a trustee of the Ford Foundation during its search for a new president, he soon was tapped for the position—a challenging job at a time when the foundation needed major restructuring and refocusing. At the same time, he devoted his energies and influence to ending apartheid in South Africa. In a memoir that privileges the public over the private, Thomas imparts the political, cultural, and economic milieu from which he emerged and the world he indelibly shaped. Darren Walker, the current president of the Ford Foundation, provides the foreword.

A vividly detailed record of significant accomplishments.

Kirkus Reviews