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ABOUT BILL

I am the African-American son of a janitor and a maid and I grew up living below
the poverty line. At age 12, I ran away from home in Savannah, Georgia, to
escape a cruel step-mother to live in security with my maternal uncle in New
York City. At age 16, in 1951, I dropped out of high school, lied about my age,
of which I am not proud, and joined the Air Force during the heat of the Korean
War. After serving four years, during which I attended night school in London,
England, earning a General Education Diploma (GED), I took advantage of the G.I.
Bill to attend college and that fateful decision later allowed me to do things
in life unimaginable by my parents and grandparents.

My story is at its core a classic American story. It could only happen in
America, wondrous America, not in Africa, Europe, South America, or Asia.

As I look back on my life, it is essentially the story of a little barefoot
Black boy in Savannah, who was inspired by a rare incident he witnessed at age 8
in 1943 but would not allow that incident to either define him or alter his
ambitions.

It was during World War II, a period of rigid racial segregation in Savannah,
especially in its hotels. I used to make money shining the shoes of White men in
front of this hotel; despite the fact the police chased me and the other
shoeshine boys away every day.

One day I saw an extraordinary sight. It was a huge Black man exiting the hotel
dressed in a regal African robe accompanied by two African aides and two White
bellhops carrying their luggage and guiding them to a black Cadillac parked at
the curb. I was so stunned I put shoe polish on my customer's trousers.

excerpt from REFLECTIONS ON MY LIFE AT AGE 76 WILLIAM TOBY JR.

Later, over dinner, I told my father what I had witnessed. His response: "Boy,
hush your mouth and eat your food. No such crazy thing could have happened in
this town." 13 years later while a freshman in college, I recounted the tale to
my history professor who explained that Jim Crow laws were not directed against
Black foreigners as long as they pretended not to speak English. He explained
that the real target of these laws were Black Americans.

I got the message. If I was an African and did not speak English, Jim Crow laws
did not matter, but if I were an American with black skin then these laws would
restrict my entire world. I vowed to myself then and there that Jim Crow laws
and what others thought of me because of the color of my skin would not confine
my world.

To be sure, I have been very fortunate in my career and personal life. Indeed,
I’m blessed with a devoted wife of 40 years, three children, and an opportunity
for frequent travel that has allowed me to visit 141 countries, which is less
than my wife, a former flight attendant with Pan American Airlines, who has
visited 154 countries.

As I look back on things I did well, the stand-out was my professional career,
which got a boost in the mid-1960s and 1970s when the Federal Government adopted
a policy of affirmative-action to open doors for African-Americans who had been
barred from professional positions in government and the private sector. In
1968, I was selected by a competitive process to become a manager in the Federal
Department of Health & Humans Services. By 1992, I had reached the pinnacle of
success in the Federal Government when, then, President George H. Bush appointed
me Acting Administrator of the Federal Health Care Financing Administration in
Washington (now The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services).




DID YOU KNOW?






TOBY CHRONICLES: A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF TOBY'S JOURNEY. 1930 - 2010














IN THE NEWS




PERUSE THE ARCHIVES: CLICK HERE

Visit the Archives to get a more detailed, thorough, and comprehensive look at
the newsclippings, photos, letters, and momentos I’ve acquired along the years.

The aim of this legacy site is to provide a tool that will simultaneously tell
my biographical story while providing a timeless resource to friends,
colleagues, and family of past, present, and future.

Thank you for visiting.

William (Bill) Toby Jr.