The choice of Richard A. Hayne as the recipient of the 2011 Edward Powell Award has raised some eyebrows.

Hayne, co-founder, chairman and president of Urban Outfitters, Inc., was presented with the prestigious business award on Monday, Feb. 6 during the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s mayoral luncheon.

The award is presented once every four years to the Philadelphia business leader recognized for outstanding contributions to the economic prosperity of the city.

Hayne has built Urban Outfitters into an internationally recognized clothing retailer, however, some are questioning why he won such a prestigious award when the company has been frequently criticized for lacking diversity.

William P. Hankowsky, chairman, president and CEO of Liberty Property Trust, said Hayne was chosen from a pool of more than 100 nominees.

Hankwosky led the three-person committee, appointed by Mayor Michael Nutter, whose members solicited the nomination and recommended the winner.

When Hayne accepted the $100,000 award, he pledged to donate the funds with a matching sum to Drexel University’s Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship.

Headquartered at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Urban Outfitters includes its namesake retail chain and the Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain and BHLDN brands.

Last November, Calvert Investments, which promotes socially responsible investment, criticized Urban Outfitters for lack of diversity on its board. No women or minorities serve on its six-member board.

The retailer also faced criticism from the organization 2020 Women on Boards, which aims to raise the percentage of women on boards to 20 percent by the year 2020.

In response, the company stated, “We do not have a diversity problem.”

Urban Outfitters did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment by The Tribune’s deadline.

Patricia Coulter, president and CEO of the Urban League of Philadelphia, said the organization has been unsuccessful in engaging Urban Outfitters executives around the issue of diversity.

“We’ve been trying to approach them on a level to say, ‘lets talk about this’ and we haven’t been able to get in the door,” said Coulter.

“For me it’s a matter of how can we have a dialogue with them to show them the benefits of diversity — because we know they’re about making money.”

Coulter said if Urban Outfitters engaged more people of color in its decision-making process, that could drive more business its way.

She also suggested that African-Americans start becoming more conscious about the types of companies they spend their money with.

Bilal Quayyum, executive director of the Father’s Day Rally Committee, protested against Urban Outfitters when the retailer carried gun-shaped Christmas tree ornaments and “Stop Snitching” t-shirts.

At a time when there is a high rate of unemployment amongst young Black males in Philadelphia, Quayyum wonders about the diversity of the retailer’s local workforce.

“As a major corporation in the city Philadelphia, what is their workforce makeup and who are they doing business with? Are they contracting with minority businesses? That is what I’m more concerned with – not what they’ve done in the past,” Quayyum said.

“I think there’s no question that Urban Outfitters, along with many other institutions in town need to be encouraged to do a better job on diversity by including minorities and women in job opportunities, executive opportunities, board opportunities and in contract opportunities. I think there is a responsibility for (those) who are making these kind of awards to have as part of their criteria what people are doing in these areas of concern,” said Attorney George Burrell, a partner, business department, Kleinbard, Bell and Brecker LLP.

Burrell says leaders in the African American community, as well as business leaders, should encourage people like Hayes to be more sensitive to these issues.

Michael Pearson, CEO of Union Packaging, also expressed concern about Hayne being chosen as an award recipient.

Pearson said dialogue should have occurred with members of the minority community prior to the selection of Hayne as the Edward Powell Award recipient.

“I think that the concern, more or less, is that could we have had some dialogue before something like that transpires, so that it is not offensive to groups in this city,” said Pearson.

“My main push is that there be some level of sensitivity when parts of our community have felt underrepresented or ignored.”

Mayor Nutter commented on the matter through his spokesperson Mark McDonald.

“Dick Hayne is a good person, a caring person, and a business leader of a worldwide company based here in Philadelphia. The nature of the award is to recognize a business person who has done a lot in the community; and Dick Hayne and Urban Outfitters meet that test,” said Nutter.

“I’m particularly excited that he donated the financial component of the award to Drexel University to help some young people further their education.”

Urban Outfitters has also come under fire in recent years for carrying items that ignited ethnic and religious controversy.

Back in 2003, African American leaders protested and called for boycotts when the retailer carried the Ghettopoly game – a board game invented by David Chang, that drew on negative stereotypes of Blacks.

Last year, the Navajo Nation sent a cease and desist letter to the retailer, demanding that the company stop using the term “Navajo” for a line of products that include a flask and underwear.

Contact Tribune Staff Writer Ayana Jones at (215) 893-5747 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

There is much to admire about Urban Outfitters, the trendy clothing giant that has retained its Philadelphia roots.  Like everyone at the mayor’s luncheon last week, I applauded when founder and CEO Richard A. Hayne accepted the prestigious Edward Powell Award and pledged to donate the $100,000 that accompanies the award with a matching sum to Drexel University.

But the founder’s generosity and the company’s popular apparel cannot obscure the fact that the board of directors that runs Urban Outfitters, Inc. – which owns Free People, Anthropologie, and BHLDN – is composed totally of white men.  Before their May board meeting, women’s groups called on the company to diversify Its board.  In response, Urban Outfitters stated, “We do not have a diversity problem.”

And that seems to be true – they are happy to remain an all-white boys’ club.  They have no problem.

It is we who have the problem.

Urban Outfitters is not the only company in America with an all-white, all male board. The difference is, Urban Outfitters makes its money by selling clothing to women and urban teens – the kind of people not deemed worthy of sitting around their board table. And when challenged to change, this hip, the young company gave the women and minorities the brushoff.

In May, women’s groups pleaded with the company, pointing out that a woman’s point of view might be valuable in the fashion business.  Even Forbes Women columnist Janice Reals Ellis added her voice to the cause. They were rebuffed. 

And while the company has suffered some ups and downs recently because of a shakeup at the upper echelon, they have not suffered financially.  The stock is still strong, the clothing and jewelry are still moving off the shelves.

As women and minority consumers, we have to look at what is wrong with this picture. Why are we continuing to use our hard-earned dollars to purchase merchandise from a company that does not have our interests at heart?  Surely, there are other, diverse companies that sell equally fashionable outfits.

On Feb. 20, The Urban League of Philadelphia will be co-sponsoring a book-signing for Maggie Anderson, author of "Our Black Year".  The book is an account of a year spent by Anderson, a Chicago  business executive, and her husband purchasing goods and services exclusively from Black-owned businesses. While the book goes into depth about a variety of social and business issues, the point is that Anderson and her family did what the Black community should be doing as a unit – supporting one another with our consumer dollars.  We should not stop at demanding that government agencies hire minority vendors – we need to hire them ourselves when we need a plumber or a painter.

Urban Outfitters is a private company. Mr. Hayne can hire anyone he likes.  He can donate his profits any way he chooses.

But we, women and minorities, can also choose.  And we can use the power of our consumer dollars to support companies that reflect the diversity of our world.

Patricia A. Coulter is the president and CEO of The Urban League of Philadelphia.

The wrong message was sent when a company with a poor track record on diversity and racial insensitivity was recently rewarded by the city’s top business leaders.

Richard A. Hayne, co-founder, chairman and president of Urban Outfitters, Inc. was presented with the prestigious Edward Powell Award during the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s mayoral luncheon on Feb. 6.

The award is presented every four years to the Philadelphia business leader recognized for economic prosperity of the city.

William P. Hankwosky, chairman president and CEO of Liberty Property Trust, said Hayne was chosen from a pool of more than 100 nominees.

Hankwosky led the three-person committee, appointed by Mayor Michael Nutter, whose members solicited the nomination and recommended the winner.

Urban Outfitters, an international retail chain that include Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain and BHLDN brand, is one of the city’s most popular and successful businesses.

But some African-American community, civil rights and business leaders are rightfully questioning why the co-founder won such a prestigious award when the company has been frequently criticized for lacking diversity.

, Patricia Coulter, president and CEO of the Urban League of Philadelphia, said women’s groups have criticized Urban Outfitters for having an all-white male board.

The company’s response to critics has been: “We don’t have a diversity problem.” said Coulter. “And that seems to be true — they are happy to remain an all white boys’ club.”

But perhaps if the company had a diverse board it would not have made some of the poor decisions they have made in the past such as carrying the Ghettopoly, a board game that drew on negative stereotypes of Blacks, or selling gun-shaped Christmas tree ornaments and “Stop Snitching” T-shirts

Bilal Quayyum, executive director of the Father’s Day Rally Committee, which protested against Urban Outfitters for carrying offensive material, said his main concern is what the organization is doing now to be inclusive in hiring and awarding contracts.

Coulter said the local Urban League has been unsuccessful in engaging Urban Outfitters executives around the issue of diversity.

“We’ve been trying to approach them on a level to say, ‘let’s talk about this’ and we haven’t been able to get in the door,” said Coulter.

When the city’s business leaders presented a prestigious award to the co-founder of Urban Outfitters it sends the message that diversity is not that important.