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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

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  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

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  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

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  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

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  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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Major Companies Scratching "Diversity" from Their Action Plans

Many African American consumers would be surprised and disappointed to learn that the overwhelming majority of Fortune 500 companies they support are too embarrassed to reveal the percentage of their bottom line revenue that comes from Black consumers. Some have even instituted a "we don't answer surveys" policy at the corporate level. This is one of their tricks to block entities that are concerned with reciprocity and involvement. Start to notice the long number of companies not included in surveys provided by the NAACP, Black Enterprise, National Urban League or other organizations. It's the corporate version of "Don't Ask, because we Don't Tell."

For centuries, the Black consumer has been "Old Reliable" in the marketing plans of major brands. How many of the products in your home today are there because your grandmother used them? Now, holding that same list of products in your mind -- ask yourself, how many times have I heard this company play an advertisement on my favorite Black-owned radio station? Have I ever seen them in my community sponsoring events? Do I see them doing any advertisements in Black-owned magazines that I read? Are they a visible sponsor at any of  the Black national conferences I attend? Do I see their banner on Black-themed websites that I visit? If you answer NO to the majority of these questions -- I would submit that the company is not doing any serious outreach to the Black consumer market, and your loyalty and consumer dollars are being taken for granted by them. Now do you want to do anything about it -- or are you comfortable with the status quo?

According to the Black Enterprise article, "a considerable number of the companies BE Research contacted failed to complete surveys or admitted to not having any such policies or programs." Also known as "What you talking 'bout Willis?" Syndrome infecting the senior diversity and marketing executives of the companies in question. Even the NAACP has had difficulty forcing these publicly traded companies to provide meaningful numbers about inclusion and reciprocity. It's Consumer Choice Guide had to give companies the "F" grade for many years to try to raise public pressure and get access to the data. A sure sign it's not good corporate news - or they'd be sending out their own press releases and holding press conferences to brag about their commitment. Many companies are trying to avoid the possibilities of class-action lawsuits or mass consumer revolt at their insulting lack of meaningful partnerships with the African American community.

Some companies even boast [privately] that they have "95% penetration into the African American consumer market - and don't spend a dime in marketing to them." Other major brands say that "we really get enough of the Black consumers money -- we see no need to advertise or market to them." And another often heard refrain is "Black consumers have a slave mentality."

This is partly because African American consumers consistently spend 95% of their annual earned monies, projected to reach $1.2 trillion dollars by 2012, outside of their own race. It has the highest "spend money outside the race" (SMOTR) percentage of any ethnic group in America. This permits many of today's largest corporations and entire industries to continue to reap the economic benefits or the consumer base, while having little regard for creating meaningful business partnerships with the African American community.