Breaking Free - Benjamin Holland

Hello everyone, my name is Benjamin Holland, a.k.a. Dr. B.

Can you imagine a little black boy who was tortured by his mother? He and his sister... Can you imagine a little black boy who didn't know how to read or write because his family was moving all the time? Can you imagine a little black boy who learned how to read and write from billboards and street signs because he was always on the road? But he overcame all of those adversities to work at the Boeing company and retire as a team leader.

He remembers the times when he was in high-level meetings regarding what was going on in the 737 program. He used to look around the room sometimes and didn't see anyone who looked like him. He used to excuse himself a lot and go to the bathroom to cry, but then he had to pick himself back up and go back into these meetings because he was very good at what he did.

He graduated from Seattle Central Community College in 1978 after attending Olympic College and playing junior college football. He also played semi-pro football. But after that, he needed to get his life together, and that's when he joined Boeing.

He believes he was about 18 when he joined. He remembers after graduating from Seattle Central Community College with a welding degree, his first job was at Bethlehem Steel. He worked there for two weeks, and they had him sweeping and cleaning out pits. He went to the supervisor and said, "I'm a journeyman welder, not a sweeper." One day, he got to work, was called into the office, and they told him that he was let go. He's been asked, "Am I laid off? Am I fired? What does 'let go' mean?" They said, "We're just going to let you go." He was upset, but he didn't give up. At that moment, he went straight up the street to Boeing. At that time, at Boeing, you filled out a card, and then they would call you. But before he got out the door, a man came out and called his name, saying, "We want to make you an offer." Three hours later, he was hired. Know this: He is a journeyman welder. His white counterparts were grade eight, and he was a grade eight. They couldn't stand it. He had to prove himself. Time after time, he welded on the Minuteman missile, the MX missile, and several other secret projects.

At one point, his supervisor came to him and told him that they had to downgrade him from a grade eight to a grade one. That bothers him because they were laying off all the welders since the Minuteman and the MX program were over. So, he took the grade one as a sweeper. But he told himself, "If I'm going to be a sweeper, I'm going to be the best sweeper they've ever seen." And that's what he did. Then, he moved up from that to a coordinator and a team leader.

With that said, he never gave up because they were trying to break him, just like his mother and his grandma tried to break him. But he never gave up...

That little black boy was me!