Savannah native's journey to improve the segregated system brings him back to the city

SAVANNAH - Bernie Polite never thought he&#39;d come back to Savannah. <br> <br> The Georgia native had a promising career with the Boy Scouts that took him to places like Texas and New Jersey, where he quickly moved up the ladder to senior leadership roles. <br> <br> But Polite, manager of communications and community relations at the Savannah paper mill, returned to the city and says his trip home is one he has no regrets about. <br> <br> He now uses his position at the mill to encourage other blacks in the area to follow their dreams. <br> <br> ``When I came back in 1980, I did not have a vision that I&#39;d be in the role I am in now,&#39;&#39; Polite told The Savannah Morning News. ``I had a phenomenal career at the Boy Scouts.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Polite returned to Savannah because of ailing family members. He wrote Union Camp/International Paper Co. officials and was offered a job as an industrial relations associate - a combination of public relations and training in a first-line supervisor role. <br> <br> ``It was a time when I don&#39;t believe there&#39;d been a minority at this job,&#39;&#39; Polite said. <br> <br> But the 58-year-old Polite took the job, was repeatedly promoted and eventually used his position there to build and maintain relations with groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, United Way of the Coastal Empire and the Savannah Tech Foundation. <br> <br> He has also assumed leadership roles as a steward at St. Philip Monumental AME Church, the Athens newspaper reported. <br> <br> After joining America&#39;s Promise, a nonprofit group, Polite quickly became a leader in establishing Savannah&#39;s Promise to combat illiteracy. When the Annie E. Casey Foundation came to the city in 1987, he worked with the group&#39;s effort to establish solutions to poverty-induced problems for youths and families. <br> <br> Helping minorities was a way for Polite to give something back to the city. <br> <br> His father, Richard Polite, had been a long time employee at the Union Camp plant. But like most of the his black colleagues in the generation, the elder Polite was a victim of segregated times and his opportunities at the plant were limited. <br> <br> Richard Polite was a laborer and worked in the shipping department assisting with paper roll cores. He was promoted once to messenger. <br> <br> ``My dad was selected as a messenger,&#39;&#39; Polite said. ``He was very proud to have achieved that.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Polite and his father overlapped working at the same plant for a little while until Richard Polite retired in 1981. He died in May 2001. <br> <br> ``He did not progress up the ladder,&#39;&#39; Polite said of his father. ``He knew, like all of us, that there would be a better day.&#34;