Benson I. Hattem

Benson I. Hattem One of San Francisco's first affirmative action officers died Jan. 22, 2008 at age 74 after a four-year battle with cancer. Long before most people had ever heard the term "affirmative action," Mr. Hattem was making headlines in San Francisco. Challenged that he was engaged in reverse discrimination, Mr. Hattem replied that he was hoping to reverse existing discrimination. Mr. Hattem shut-down construction of Embarcadero Center for six months in order to get the main contractor to hire a black ironworker. When agency contractors pleaded that they did not know any minority businesses with which to contract. Mr. Hattem found them and published a directory for public use. Even though Mr. Hattem's stance was considered highly controversial at the time, he garnered strong support from those around him, including from his colleague, M. Justin Herman. For the next three-decades, Ben Hattem continued pushing for equal rights for minority and woman-owned business. A plaque is in his honor in Rincon Center. As a member of the Commonwealth Club of California, Mr. Hattem contributed to its 1978 publication, Are Present Laws Effectively Ending Employment Discrimination Against Women and Minorities? A Marin County resident for over 40 years, Ben Hattem was a native of Los Angeles and son of Sara and supermarket pioneer, I.M. Hattem. He attended Mexico City College and graduated from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and the Cumberland School of Law. Positions with Caltrans and the Oakland Redevelopment Agency led to Mr. Hattem being hired by the Governor of Guam as Executive Director of the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority. Ben Hattem married Marsha Loafea Hattem in 1965, traveled around the world and settled in Tiburon raising two children. After their divorce in 1995, Mr. Hattem met Hazel Carter and they married in 1997. Mr. Hattem is survived by his wife, Hazel Carter of Belvedere; daughter, Sara Hattem of San Francisco; son, Glenn Hattem of Boulder; brothers, Ralph Hattem of Napa, Bob Hattem of Los Angeles and Victor Hattem of Mexico City; sisters, Betty Donnell of Los Angeles and Letty Gordon of Mexico City; stepsons, Scott, Adam and Ross Carter and numerous cousins, nephews and nieces. Memorial services are to be held on Feb. 10th at 2:30 p.m. at the Belvedere Community Center, 450 San Rafael Avenue, Belvedere, CA. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider contributing to either Hospice, www.hospicebythebay.org or "the Cancer Assistance Fund," initiated by Ben Hattem and designed to assist low-income patients. The Cancer Assistance Fund is overseen by the Marin Community Health Foundation http://www.maringeneral.org/foundation/.