Marc Morial, the president of the National Urban League tells theGrio, “[Vernon Jordan] had a behind-the-scenes influence.” Jordan was one of the first Black Americans to sit on a corporate board in the ’70s and ’80s. He remained on those boards throughout the years and his seat at the table opened doors for Black CEOs like Ken Chenault and Former American Express CEO Ken Chenault and former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns (Photo: Getty Images) As Morial points out, “The common denominator for both of those Black [CEOs] was that Vernon Jordon was a board member of both of those companies.”