Off Target
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held their 97th Annual Meeting which also shares a report card of businesses and their efforts to employ, invest and charitable giving in the black community. This year the most disturbing surprise comes from retail giant Target. Target neglected to submit a survey furnished by the NAACP and has not answered calls from the group. Now, the NAACP has asked that blacks not give the retailer any of their business until they respond to questions regarding their minority efforts. Forty percent of Target employees are minorities, 23% of whom are part of their management staff. Target responded by saying that their diversity efforts are inclusive of all races and cultures and they would not respond to a survey that only focused on blacks.
Rock the Boat…Don’t Tip the Boat Over
Carnival Cruise Lines, Crown Princess, was leaving its port in Florida heading home to its port in Brooklyn, New York, when it nearly tipped over on its side. Approximately 84 passengers were injured – two critically. This was the fourth voyage the Princess had taken since it first set sail over one month ago. Ironically, the 113,000-ton ship was christened by Martha Stewart.
You’ve Got Mail – Lots of It
Young folks are leading the trend to come away from e-mail and focus more on the immediate gratification that comes from IM and Text messaging. Reports are finding that e-mail is fast becoming the new snail-mail. Outside of the work or school environment, folks are quickly finding that Text messaging and IM provides efficient, instant communication without the need for formality. At the risk of endorsing the movement, I’ve quickly become a Text Messaging addict and have replaced telephone and e-mail communication with Text Messaging with even my closest friends. It’s fast, efficient, concise and inconspicuous; allowing you to talk to friends and family even while sitting in an important meeting.
On Blast
With African Americans spending over $723 billion dollars per year and Hispanic Americans spending over $686 billion dollars per year, it stands to reason that retailers need to take investing in minority communities seriously. Should minorities heed the NAACP call to veer away from retailers – such as Target – who refuse to address our communities and our concerns? In today’s easy-access mindset, do minorities have the unifying-message-sending power to boycott organizations by withholding their retail dollars? Do young minorities understand the power of their dollars?
Keep passin’ the open windows…
5 comments:
I see the issue of unification or boycotting as a difficult one for today’s young minorities. Unfortunately, minority youth see themselves as part of the greater whole – just Americans – and therefore see no need in joining the larger minority population to flex our retail-dollar power. To give you a clearer picture – if the issue of the Rosa Parks-incited bus boycott happened today rather than the 60s, Takeema would say that she ain’t walkin’ to work just cuz Rosa had some problem on a bus; thereby completely undermining the bus boycott. Today, retail giants and designers alike are comfortable making off-color statements about our culture and our buying habits because they know we’ll still support them and spend our money with them. Our lack of cohesion as a culture undermines our desire to quickly level the playing field. Money is power. It will take all of us recognizing this to effect a change in business as it relates to minorities.
…and Just Me….CHEESE ON BREAD….. what the heck are you saying? Slow it down my brotha… otherwise we need a translator.
I agree w/ everything Just Me said, but one question to all. How can our children respect others when the parents aren't respecting themselves and teaching their children to respect themselves? I would like to add that I am not mad at Target for not addressing the NAACP's survey. It should have included all minorities and not just the blacks.
I'm not surprised by Target's response. I walked away from an eye-opening stint in civil rights enforcement that left me demoralized and disgusted WITH MY OWN PEOPLE. We operate at a pathological level of greed and hypocrisy that is far more disturbing that anything I've seen from folks outside the race.
We need to check how we treat EACH OTHER before we chastise others for their conduct.
My 41 year old sister is an example of what's wrong with our young men: attention hungry single "mothers" who conduct themselves like semen dumps forany man who will look at them. Their interest in their children, especially their sons, is limited to buying clothes and food, PERIOD.
Mama (because ain't no daddy around) is too busy sucking up all the attention to provide any to those they are charged with rearing.
Hallo I absolutely adore your site. You have beautiful graphics I have ever seen.
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