According to a survey released by the Executive Leadership Council in Washington, Blacks hold 8.1 percent of the seats on the boards of Fortune 500 companies. The comprehensive study, similar to studies done on Hispanics and women in corporate America, also found that the tobacco and food industries had the largest percentages of black directors, and that Fortune 100 companies, where Blacks hold 11 percent of board seats, were more likely to have black directors or several black directors.
See "More blacks taking seats in boardroom", Dianne Solis, The Dallas Morning News, February 16, 2005