HustleKnockin'

Ordering My McNabb Jersey Soon...

I swear, I've been more behind than Booty Pop these last few weeks... So much so that I still haven't had time to make my peace with this:

I mean, "Kevin Kolb"?! That's who you bounced your probable Hall Of Fame QB in favor of? Kevin Kolb? I swear if there was ever a team less deserving of a quality QB it was the Eagles. They crapped on Randall Cunningham, even during his MVP season, they've been crapping on McNabb since Draft Day 1998 and they finally showed their luv by trading a healthy hungry McNabb to one of the worst teams in the division.... Their own division at that.

Like I said, I know I'm way behind and this story's been beat to death already. but I just couldn't resists. Especially as a guy from Chicago who remembers McNabb from his Thornton High School days. Dude's never totally gotten a fair shake anywhere.

McNabb's from the last generation of Black QBs where people—fans, GMs, coaches, sports media--would openly say they didn't trust Black QBs to be competent. He's still from that era where a Black QB who runs = He can't pass and a Black QB who throws a pick=Not Smart and a Black QB whose Quiet= No Leadership Skills.
 
You'll never prove yourself to people who base their beliefs on non-proof. And that's what the "Blacks Can't QB" mentality was always based on. McNabb put up with that his whole career. He should get a trophy for that alone.

Now I know this theory sounds convoluted, given the number of Black QBs in the NFL now (actually there's not that many. Out of the 96 = QBs—32 teams, 3 QBs per, give or take...) there's only about 15 Black QBs if that many. And no, we're not talking about having quotas or Af-Action here... But anyone who doesn't see the convoluted mess that Af-Am QBs still go thru simply isn't paying attention. Or doesn't want to pay attention.

There's also no denying the fact that there's no hard and fast rules in the bias handbook.

People can love Jay-Z songs but decide that the kid who like Jay-Z "isn't the right fit" for the job at their company for no reason beyond the kid's ethnicity.

George Lopez is a successful comic and most folks recognize him and find him pretty funny. But if George goes driving around Arizona and they don't recognize him, he might end up on a bus headed to Mexico City.

We can love certain folk because they fit a box that we're comfortable with putting them in an hate others because they refuse to be in that box. or because their very existence reminds us that we created that box. Jim Kelly lost 4 straight SuperBowls but no one calls him a "loser". McNabb took a team with very little offensive firepower to 5 straight conference title games, and one SB, but he's deemed a guy who can't win.

I could go on all night, but It's late and i got more catching up to do—no the least of which is ordering my new McNabb jersey.

Hate Black History Month & Black People?! Have a Compton Cookout!

Fraternity Mocks Black History Month With "Compton Cookout"

Maybe you’ve seen these “ghetto/wigger parties”. You know the ones: White kids invite other white kids to dress up like black stereotypes—blackface, baggy jeans, pimp gear and guzzle malt liquor watermelon… Rock gawdy jewelry and bad slang, including the N-word.

They're nothing new nothing new, really… I used to see these things back east in the mid west and on the east coast and even in the south. They had em at Northwestern University when I was in Chicago… Schools in Michigan, Iowa, Indiana did them too.

But to be honest, I’ve never seen them out here in California. Until now.

(So much for being a bastion of progressiveness and inclusion.)

-----
SAN DIEGO -- Officials at UC San Diego are condemning a ghetto-themed party organized by fraternity students to mock Black History Month. A Facebook posting advertising Monday's 'Compton Cookout' invited people to a condominium complex off-campus. The invitation urged all participants to wear chains, rapper-style urban clothing by makers such as FUBU and speak very loudly. Female participants were encouraged to be "ghetto chicks" with gold teeth, cheap clothes and "short, nappy hair."

The invitation said the party would serve watermelon, chicken, malt liquor, cheap beer and a purple sugar-water concoction called "dat Purple Drank." The party was organized by members of several UCSD fraternities, according to an e-mail from Gary Ratcliff, assistant vice chancellor for student life.

UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox called the party, "offensive" and a "blatant disregard of our campus values." She went on to say, "We reject acts of discrimination ... and we will confront and appropriately respond to such acts," Fox said.

See the video here:

Read The Invitation To The "Compton Cook Out," As Posted On Facebook:

"February marks a very important month in American society. No, i'm not referring to Valentines day or Presidents day. I'm talking about Black History Month. As a time to celebrate and in hopes of showing respect, the Regents community cordially invites you to its very first Compton Cookout.

For guys: I expect all males to be rockin Jersey's, stuntin' up in ya White T (XXXL smallest size acceptable), anything FUBU, Ecko, Rockawear, High/low top Jordans or Dunks, Chains, Jorts, stunner shades, 59/50 hats, Tats, etc.

For girls: For those of you who are unfamiliar with ghetto chicks-Ghetto chicks usually have gold teeth, start fights and drama, and wear cheap clothes - they consider Baby Phat to be high class and expensive couture. They also have short, nappy hair, and usually wear cheap weave, usually in bad colors, such as purple or bright red. They look and act similar to Shenaynay, and speak very loudly, while rolling their neck, and waving their finger in your face. Ghetto chicks have a very limited vocabulary, and attempt to make up for it, by forming new words, such as "constipulated", or simply cursing persistently, or using other types of vulgarities, and making noises, such as "hmmg!", or smacking their lips, and making other angry noises, grunts, and faces. The objective is for all you lovely ladies to look, act, and essentially take on these "respectable" qualities throughout the day.

Several of the regents condos will be teaming up to house this monstrosity, so travel house to house and experience the various elements of life in the ghetto.

We will be serving 40's, Kegs of Natty, dat Purple Drank- which consists of sugar, water, and the color purple, chicken, coolade, and of course Watermelon. So come one and come all, make ya self before we break ya self, keep strapped, get yo shine on, and join us for a day party to be remembered- or not.”

The Roots: How I Got Over

These cats grow on me. The really do. As summa y'all know I'm a regular TSS contributor comments section mainly. But Gotty, LC and nem are cyber-fam to me.

Well recently they reminded me that Jimmy's Henchmen  are hard at work on their latest album currently title, "How I got Over." And the lead single which dropped a while back went totally ignored.

After hearing it, I cant figure out why. Fortunately, they got a day gig to tide them over until this "rockstar thing" they keep chasing catches on.

But seriously, this another hot one from Ahmir and the Boys. (Keep pushin fellas.)

"Poor People Are Like Animals," SC Lt. Gov Bauer says!

The news cycle kind of amazes me.

We get all worked up over certain things, then ignore them like 3.5 seconds after the fact--not unlike children in daycare in between naps. (Haiti beware: we're about 2 days away from forgetting about your little quake-thingy all together.)

It's been a couple weeks since the Lt. Governor of South Carolina said the following:

"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better."

Folks, these are the words of Andre Bauer, Leutinant Governor of the state of South Carolina. Talking about poor people. In his own state. Specifically this was Bauer talking about how government should take away government assistance if those receiving help didn't pass drug tests or attend parent-teacher conferences or PTA meetings if their children were receiving free and reduced-price lunches.

Are you kidding me?

As a general rule I'm not for stifling opinion or perspectives, even if I don't agree. But this case you have public official, the 2nd in command of the entire state--a state with a ton of poverty and a state with 58 percent of its students participate in the free and reduced-price lunch program saying that he's all for "not feeding them."

Nevermind these people pay taxes--though not as much given their poverty. Nevermind he's there to serve all people, regardless of income.Lt. Gov Bauer is actually talking about cutting services to the poor, not because of budgets or policy, but because his mother taught him that poor people are like animals.

Yup. Your tax dollars at work, kiddies.

Lt. Gov Bauer went on to say this about kids who get free lunches:

"You show me the school that has the highest free and reduced lunch, and I'll show you the worst test scores, folks. It's there, period."

(Somebody's been dogearring pages in their copy of Freakonomics again.)

So far, we've had South Carolina's governor run off to Argentina—in the middle of doing his job. We've had a South Carolinian congressman call the President a liar in the middle of a congressional address. And now we've have the state's #2 declare the people who need his leadership and championing most to be "like animals".

Hmmm....

There's a joke here somewhere. but then again, when you've got leadership this pathetic, and clearly this incompetent, I'm not sure there's much to laugh at. I just hope everybody in SC making less than 100K comes out to vote in every election from now on. Speaking of voting, here's what Bauer had to say about that:

"You see, for the first time in the history of this country, we've got more people voting for a living than we do working for a living."

Uh, yeah.

Like I said, they ought to make it a full-time job to vote these out of office.

Fusicology Is Down With Us!

Fusicology is down with us, so we're down with them. If you've never heard of Fusicology.com, pay 'em a visit. They promote and host hot parties and diverse events with great acts and cool venues all over the US.

They're really cool folks--the ones I've met from Fusicology so far... (What up Asya!!) So i thought I'd throw up a little banner for 'em.

If you dig good music, good venues and diverse crowds, you'll wanna hit these cats up so you know what's going down.

So, I'm going to court to deal with stupid cops...

Okay this is an admittedly odd post. But I figured it needed to be done. I while back i got pulled over so to speak, by a california police officer. It's the 3rd time it's happened since I've been out here; and each time gets more frustrating than the last.

The result of this most recent encounter has lead to a court trial which I'm in the process of getting ready for. So to let you guys know what's up, here's the letter I submitted during my December arraignment.

*I've scrambled certain street names and numbers, etc to protect my own personal info as well as the identity of the officers until a verdict has been rendered.*
===

December 2009

LA County Sheriff’s Dept.
Pomona North Courthouse
350 West Mission Blvd
Pomona, CA 91766-1607


Re: Citation # W475444
       Confirmation # T933432


To Whom It May Concern:

This is a letter of protest regarding citation # W473444 which was issued to me by Officer McDonald #444923 on 8/20/09.

On Thursday, August 20, 2009 I was driving home to DINSON VINT from my usual late-night workout from the 24 Hr Fitness (on MALL Ave/VAILL Blvd in the CINNN, CA. I took my usual route home: GGGG Ave to DDD DDD Blvd to NNNNN Road. Prior to reaching SHOUTTS Rd, I decided to stop in at the Chase Manhattan ATM on the corner of CEAVE + CEAVE Dr. to make a quick withdrawal for the morning.

And that’s when the problems began….

I pulled into the Chase Bank parking lot at about 1:10am and parked facing the street. Just as I was about to turn off my engine a squad car pulled up behind me and blocked me in. The cars high beams and searchlights were flashing so bright I was unable to identify the car’s number. The officer got out and approached my vehicle, driver side.

“Sir, you were driving without your lights on. That’s a violation.” The officer told me.


I knew that while I was driving my girlfriend’s car—a Jeep Liberty—and wasn’t totally familiar with all its features as we’d only had the care a couple weeks—my lights had been on, So I disagreed with the officer.

“No sir,” I told the officer “My lights were on.”

You drove all the way down DDD RRR with no lights on.” The officer responded. “Let me see your license and registration.”

And with that the officer walked back towards his car.

“Keep your hands on the wheel and wait.”

First off, this officer was not following me. In fact I passed him as his car sat at the red on G-S Road prior to my pulling into the parking lot. Given the winding, rolling, twisting nature of DDD RRR Blvd, it’s impossible to see down the street for that a few yards, much less from where I was.

Given officer McDonald’s position and the lack of a straight line of vision down DDD RRR Blvd there’s no way he could’ve possibly seen me driving long enough to claim that I “drove all the way down DDD RRR without my lights on.”

After sitting for about 10-15 more minutes a second squad car officer arrives on the scene, this time parking near the first squad car. An officer gets out and goes over to the other car.

Finally the second officer calls out, “Sir, what model Jeep is that?”

“Jeep Liberty” I politely respond.

The officer walks back to the squad car; and this is the extent of my entire communication with him for the duration. As I look around to see what’s going on with them, one of the officers calls out:

“Sir, please keep your hands on the steering wheel and faced forward.”

By now, about 30 minutes has gone by with no communication from the officer who first approached me. I’m just stuck sitting in my girlfriend’s car in a parking lot at almost 2am trying to figure out what’s going on.

After another 10 minutes or so, a third police car pulls in behind me. This time a tall, broad-shouldered officer gets out and approaches the other officers. As I look around to see what’s going on, one of the officers yells out at me:

“Keep your hands on the steering wheel and face forward!”

Because I’m not allowed to look behind me, I’m unable to identify either officer or their car numbers.

More time goes by. I’m starting to itch. My face, which was covered in sweat from the gym is now covered in dried, salty, itchy residue as I’ve been sitting in my car a good 40 minutes now. I reach up to scratch my face and wipe the itchy sweat off.

“Sir, keep your hands on the steering wheel and face forward!”

I’m being yelled at again, this time by the third cop—the last one on the scene.

At this point I’m actually scared. I’m stuck in a parking lot at 2 in the morning with 3 police officers that I can’t identify. I’m not sure why I’ve been surrounded in the first place and I’m not allowed to leave.

More time goes by.

Finally the first cop comes back.

“I’m citing you for driving without your lights on and for driving without a driver’s license.” He says.

“But I have a driver’s license,” I respond. “My Illinois license.”

As a new resident to California I’ve been driving with my California State ID and my Illinois license, which is valid thru April 2010. In fact, I’ve driven in several states with my Illinois license with no problem.

Still the officer explains that I needed to have a California license within a few months of residency otherwise it’s a violation.  He then hands me his ticket pad to sign, along with a copy of the ticket.

“You should get your license before your court date, so bring that with you.”

And with that, the officers get back into their cars and finally drive off.

When all was said and done, I was detained in a parking lot for almost an hour by 3 police officers at 2am on a deserted street.

The officers involved in this incident while probably well-meaning in intent, clearly overreacted. It doesn’t take 3 squad cars to write a ticket for a compliant civilian with no criminal record and posing no threat. This show of force is unnecessarily intimidating. Also the officers did not identify themselves. The only reason I know McDonald’s name is because it’s on the ticket.

In the end, there were a lot of violations to go around, primarily committed by the California Sheriffs on the scene.

I ask that the court take this account in consideration in its ruling in my case.

Thank you.


Respectfully,
BBBIN WILTON
111 South ROCKEN Rd
DDD BBB EEE, CA 79999

Four Words: Another MLK, Jr. Reflection

Four Words:
My annual MLK, Jr. Reflection

Every year right about this time, folks start chanting 4 words… You know, the ones from MLK, Jr.? That’s right, those 4 words. And in the process everyone gets all pseudo-sentimental and all demagogue-ish with ‘em. Well, as a black male whose family is descendants of Mississippi slaves and Choctaw Indian I will not say those 4 words. Nope, not this year. And not any year anytime soon.

I will not say those 4 words because I have been to the Lorraine Hotel and I have been up and down Memphis and seen the “white side of town” and the “black side of town” and the disparities are as clear today as they were they day that bullet took him down. I will not say those 4 words because white liberals use those 4 words to feel good about their white skinned privilege while giving little more than lip-service to people of color. I will not say those 4 words because generations of systemic white flight (teachers and tax dollars, etc.) have killed and keep killing public schools faster than anything and No Child Left Behind did nothing to address this. I will not say those 4 words because my neighborhoods are still stuck between slums and gentrification while the communities of soccermoms, suburbanites, and assorted gentrifiers are doing just fine.

I will not say those 4 words because we still treat black women like dirt while putting white women on pedestals. I will not say those 4 words because we still measure blackness by poverty, criminal acts and the ability to attract/repel white people. I will not say those 4 words because black folks are too still self-destructive to be dreaming and white people are too comfortable in their own skin to care.

I will not say those words because our foreign policy disproportionately pities Haiti, Jamaica, Caribbean nations, and sub-Saharan African nations. I will not say those 4 words because we spend less than half of one percent of our national budget on non-military related humanitarian aid but spend over half our budget on weapons and have propped up more corrupt dictators despots and geo-political psychopaths than any entity since the Roman Empire yet we still have the nerve to not understand why people around the world don’t trust us. I will not say those 4 words because the poorest, most disenfranchised and demonized people in every country from Australia to Brazil to England to New Zealand to Brazil to Canada to America are still those with the darkest skins.

I will not say those 4 words because like so many things that come out of the souls of black folks those 4 words have been co-opted by everyone from black and brown race-baiting hustlers to white gays to smokers to fat people to the ACLU to the RNC and DNC to Alcatel to mean whatever they want them to mean. I will not use those 4 words because the entire feminist movement has co-opted them to ensure that white women are remain the one group that benefits from affirmative action, equal opportunity initiatives and minority set-asides more than any group of color. I will not say those 4 words because when black girls get raped, murdered or kidnapped, no one cares; but when white girls get snatched or killed it’s on every channel and they get laws passed in their honor, TV movies made for their “mass appeal” and monuments built in their memory.

I will not say those 4 words because we have new prisons and old run-down schools. I will not say those 4 words because today even though black people are less than 13% of the population we are over 50% of the prison population. I will not say those 4 words because they pimped Colin Powell, Condi Rice and JC Watts. I will not say those 4  words because for every Armstrong Williams that took payola, there is a Rush Limbaugh, a Sean Hannity, an Anne Coulter, a Dick Morris, a Bill O’Reilly a SwiftBoat Veterans Group, plus countless others taking payola, too.

I will not say those 4 words because the only time I see white politicians in black neighborhoods is during an election year. I will not say those 4 words because Bill Clinton, a hypocritical southern hustler who allowed 800,000 Rwandans to die on his watch is hailed as America’s first black president simply because he played the saxophone, smoked weed and cheated on his opportunistic wife and is now helping gentrify Harlem.

I will not say those 4 words because despite Obama's election as the first actual person of color to the highest office in the land, banks, auto companies, insurance companies and credit card companies have been the biggest beneficiaries of his election.

I will not say those 4 words because we  still rip black athletes for their human flaws while making excuses for those of white athletes. I will not say those 4 words because Brady Anderson, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, Brent Boone, Ken Caminiti, Tony Mandarich, Lyle Alzado, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Thayer (during his 1985 Super Bowl season with the Chicago Bears) along with countless others each did way more steroids than Barry Bonds yet no one cares.

I will not say those 4 words because the average white household has 13 times more wealth than the average black household. I will not say those 4 words because Denzel Washington had to play a nigger with a badge (Training Day) and a slave who fought to protect his slavemaster (Glory) just to get a funky ol’ Oscar. I will not say those 4 words because Hollywood still puts out crap like SoulPlane. I will not say those 4 words because Northern State, Ashlee Simpson and Joss Stone have major record deals but Jean Grae, Rahsaan Patterson and Me’shell N’dgeocello can’t get arrested. I will not say those 4 words because White America has anointed Viacom, Rolling Stone, Clear Channel and Conde Nast arbiters of what is and isn’t black in music, beauty and culture. I will not say those 4 words because 'nigger' is the most popular word in the world and it’s not hiphop or black folks fault.

I will not say those 4 words because we still can’t talk about the genocide of Native Americans. I will not say those 4 words because for the first 200 official years of America’s history 90% of the immigrants were white Europeans, Asians, etc. and no one complained but now that more and more immigrants are Mexican and/or people of color, every media outlet talks about how, “we’re losing our country.”

I will not say those 4 words because those 4 words were shoved down my throughout in high school at the expense of the truth. I will not say those 4 words because black people are only to have one major leader at a time; and when America gets uncomfortable with that leader they either smear him/her or kill them. I will not say those 4 words because even he didn’t believe in colorblindness—what he believed in was not punishing people for not being white.

I will not say those 4 words because I’ve read the rest of MLK, Jr's words, heard all his speeches and I know that he was bigger, blacker, uglier, more beautiful and more complex than just 4 words and the problems he wanted to solve took more than 4 words to solve.

I will not say those 4 words because I have reality. And the reality is ,it’s still just a dream and I don’t have the luxury of closing my eyes and sleeping thru it anymore.

Tyler Perry Donates $250,000 to Haiti Relief!

As y'all know, I'm an avid supporter of Tyler perry's work. Don't wanna get into the reasons here, but you can search the blog for past pieces. maybe i'll drop a new one. Anyway, as a supporter I'm one of those folk who gets his regular emails. I recently received one from TP.com stating that Perry was donating $250K of his own cash to several charities, including YELE HAITI and DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS.

Here's the email I got:

-------
All,

My prayers are with the people of Haiti.  I'm so glad that this new leadership in our government has responded so quickly.  Thank God for change. The truth of the matter is this, "There but for the grace of God it could be any of us" and when we help our fellow man we truly help all of humanity, including ourselves.

If you are like me, I know you want to do something.  If you are like me, I know you want to make sure that whatever you do, it actually gets to the people of Haiti. I was watching the news and was appalled that some people are already starting to set up charity scams. I just don't understand how people can be so cruel.

I had planned to give a private donation once I vetted some of these organizations, but then I thought about the people who may want to give but don't have the ability to look deeply into some of these
organizations.   So, I came up with this idea. If you want to make donation, you can do so to the TYLER PERRY FOUNDATION and I will add it to what I'm giving.  I can assure you that every dime, 100%, of what you give will get to an organization that will use it to help the Haitian people.

"Yele Haiti" is an organization that was started by Wyclef Jean. Over the years, it has done some amazing things for the Haitian people.  I know that this is one organization that I will be supporting.  He is in Haiti now and from what I understand, he is strategizing on how "Yele Haiti" will be involved in the relief efforts.  I'm hoping to speak with him upon his return.  Once I know more, I will let you know.  I'm also planning to give to "Doctors Without Borders."  This is another great organization and they are on the ground in Haiti now too.

In the meantime, let's start raising money.  I know things may be a little tight right now, but what I have learned over the years is that you never get punished for giving.  I plan to make a few, but my first donation will be $250,000.00.  You can add whatever you like to this and I know any amount of money that you would like to give would be appreciated greatly by the people of Haiti.  No amount is too small.  I assure you that every dime you give to the TYLER PERRY FOUNDATION for this effort will get to the people of Haiti.

NOW READ THIS CAREFULLY!  The only way to send money is online here at TYLERPERRY.COM.

To donate online, click here:  http://www.tylerperry.com/HaitiRelief

God Bless and thanks.

Tyler




To respond to this message, please go to
http://www.tylerperry.com/messageboard

Fugees Throwback: Ready Or Not...

Happy Saturday to you and yours... trying to stay warm, relax and catch up on some non-bloggy writing. But I wanted to hit you with this first.

Besides donating some cash and clothes and of course blogging to spread the word, I thought I’d hit you with a little flavor from Clef, cousin Pras and sister Lauryn.

Meanwhile, visit Yele Haiti.org or other reputable charities and do your due to help out.

The Fugees Haiti

They sang about struggle, overcoming and being refugees in a foreign land. but now, Pras, Wyclef, Melky Jean and the rest of the Fugees are working to help their fam at home.

African-American Population is Shifting

courtesy of Brandweek.com...

Report Shows a Shifting African-American Population

Jan 12, 2010

Todd Wasserman & Noreen O’Leary 

Though many marketers are focusing on how the 2010 U.S. Census will show growth in the Hispanic population, a new study argues that the African-American community presents another great opportunity. The report, commissioned by BET and based on U.S. Census Bureau data, shows that black Americans are both more well-off and more suburban than previously thought.

Overall, the report, entitled “African Americans in 2010,” finds that the black population is growing 34 percent faster than the population as a whole. When the U.S. Census tallies its 2010 numbers, demographers expect it will show that there are about 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. and around 42 million African Americans. But though there are fewer African Americans, the population is changing in ways that make such consumers more attractive to marketers, namely:

• African Americans are nearly six years younger than all consumers; 47 percent are between 18 and 49 years old, which is considered the top-spending age demo by marketers.

• Black households making $75,000-plus have increased 47 percent in the last five years—1.5 times faster than the general population.

• If current trends continue, by 2015 more than half of all black Americans will live in the suburbs.

• Although their population is smaller, there are more African-American households in the U.S. than Hispanic households because the latter tend to have larger families.

• Forty-two percent of black adults have never married compared to 26 percent of all adults. This trend is increasing among younger age groups.

Jacklynn Topping, a business strategist and co-author of the study, acknowledged that there is some bad news as well. Although more young black women are going to college, men of the same age are not achieving at the same levels, by and large. She said, “I have not seen anything that indicates that  is changing.”

But the data shows a change in the population that Topping believes marketers should act on. “The main point is that in times when you’ve got flat or declining sales, this is a growth market, and marketers need to look at it like that,” she said.

For instance, Topping said that although Diane Keaton does ads for L’Oreal and Ellen DeGeneris promotes CoverGirl, there is currently no black “face of aging,” though there are plenty of African-American baby boomers approaching their seventh decade.  

Peter Franchese, co-author of the study and founder of American Demographics, said he believes the black population is very similar to where the overall population was 15 or 20 years ago in terms of education, income and geographic concentration. Franchese said most people are unaware that blacks are moving to the suburbs in such great numbers. “We tend to think of blacks living in the inner cities and nowhere else, but that’s no longer true,” he said.

One marketer that has picked up on the trend is The Home Depot, which includes partnerships with Steve Harvey and Tom Joyner to forge “a consistent and sustainable dialogue with customers in the segment,” said Tia Robinson, a rep for the retailer. “The Home Depot recognizes the importance of connecting with the African-American consumer market. As such, we have a 360-degree marketing plan to help us reach our target.”

Over time, Franchese said he believes that the move is likely to make black and white Americans much more similar. But in the meantime, Franchese thinks marketers will need to address African Americans differently than they do the general population.

“Here’s my take. I think for some time, maybe five to 10 years, marketing people should address this market with a deeper understanding of the cultural differences, which are going to gradually disappear as  they move to the suburbs,” he said.

Support Haiti

Please go to Wyclef's site Yele Haiti and visit and donate.

In the face of suffering... cruelty

There's suffering and people trying to help...

Then there's Pat Robertson and those who've hijacked Christianity and made it about arrogance, fear, ignorance and elitism. see below:

So Obama's helping in Haiti cuz they're Black?

As you know this was a tragic day in Haiti. Estimates are running as high as 500,000 dead. I don't even know where to begin. All I can do is watch in awe and pray. It's like Katrina only worse--because the infrastructure of the affected area was worse to start with.

Meanwhile, I managed to make a Red Cross donation with my cellphone. I would encourage everyone who can afford to do so to do the same. Just text 90999 and $10 goes to RedCross. Visit www.redcross.org if you'd prefer.

You can also give $5 to Yele Haiti, Wyclef Jean's organization by texting 501501. (Click Yele.org for details.)

Now what you're about to see below are the words of Rush Limbaugh who took it up himself to trash our desire to help by... Well... look. Between Rush and assorted nutjobs, you can see what we're up against. Watch and give.

Santa, baby...

Ho(pe), Ho(pe), Ho(pe)....

Y'all know where I'm at on this, so... nuf sed. Merry Christmas to one and all.

Counting down 2009...

I'm not saying that this is how my day is going, but...

It's a hectic time for all of us, truth be told... I gotta go. See ya in a bit.

Fresh Beancast Tackles Modern Warfare 2, Razorfish, Social Media Guru Hustlers

Fresh Beancast Tackles Modern Warfare 2,

Razorfish, Social Media Guru Hustlers and more...

This past Sunday, I had the chance to site down with Bob Knorpp of The Bean Cast—one of the better and faster growing podcasts out there. So on Monday I sat down with:

• Bill Green—art director extraordinaire, publisher of Make The Logo Bigger and host of Adverve [he tweets  @mtlb]

• Duane Forrester, In-House SEO Manager, MSN [Also for more on Duane and information on ordering his books, go to The Online Marketing Guy @SportsGuy]

• Aaron Strout, Director of Marketing, Powered (For more on Aaron, visit Stroutmeister.com, and check out his podcast Quick-N-Dirty  and twitter @AaronStrout)

We chopped it up on several topics including Google’s AdMob purchase, Modern Warfare 2, so-called Social Media experts, and more. It was a pretty intense and fun cast. Please check it out.

The cast is entitled “Episode Seventy-Nine” or “Episode 79”. So follow the links below and check it out. And feel free to subscribe to Beancast on iTunes—it’s worth it. (and it’s free.) Here's the links below:

http://beancast.us/profiles/blogs/episode-seventynine-the-wrong or

http://beancast.evanbooth.com/show/079_The_BeanCast_Marketing_Podcast_Wrong_Questions.mp3

The BeanCast RSS feed:
http://beancast.evanbooth.com/feeds/thebeancast.xml

The direct file link:
http://beancast.evanbooth.com/show/079_The_BeanCast_Marketing_Podcast_Wrong_Questions.mp3

The iTunes link for The BeanCast:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=277578731

The iTunes link for Fast Takes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=317851952

The Fast Takes RSS feed:
http://beancast.evanbooth.com/feeds/fasttakes.xml

The BeanCast AudioBoo Page:
http://audioboo.fm/profile/TheBeanCast

Zune Link:
http://social.zune.net/my/ContentRedirect.ashx?mid=b07e1926-2d47-4c53-bab3-57bd1840c028&mtype=Podcast&CampaignID=1&affiliateID=

I'm on Blogging Sabatical Until...

After Thanksgiving. I just need time to catch up on writing and pay some bills.

Meanwhile, I did squeeze in a a cool podcast for Bill Knopp over at the BeanCast. We talked about everything from Modern Marvel to Google's purchase of AdMob to assorted branding and marketing issues. And by "we" i mean, Bill, myself, Duane Forrester from Microsoft, Aaron Strout and Bill Green from MTLB.

Check it out here: www.beancast.us

How's your sense of smell these days?

Hey remember this stuff?

Well, I took this stuff just long enough to have gotten really concerned when they did the big recall this past June.

The only reason I'm mentioning this now—all of months and months later—is because it's fall and cold season kickin up; and iIgotta figure out if my diminishing sense of smell is because of my current cold or because of this crap I took which they found out can kill all your o'factory (you know what I mean) senses.

Anyway, if I can never smell again, these folks will be hearing from me. Not that I'd be able to find them or anything—as who knows what's next to go away—maybe my eyesight will be next.

I hate Over The Counter meds... This is payback from helping launch ALEVE years ago and working on those damn pharma clients. I can feel it. I think—not sure what i can feel actually as things are going numb on me. But ugh.

Such is life when you don't have health insurance. (that's another blog for another time.)

Tyler Perry Talks "Precious"

At some point tonight—soon as I beat this deadline—i'm gonna go check out Precious, the new Tyler perry joint. Okay it's not a TP production perse, but that's what's gettin' it this far. Point is I'm checking it out.

Meanhwhile, I wanted to share this letter from Tyler perry with you. It goes out to his online bas; and once again, it's straightforward, nothing too fancy... whoever writes these missives has got it down. byt the time you read this letter, a good two to three hundred thousand folks will have read this and spread it around and will be packing theaters over the next month no matter what critics and media say. (Tho in the case of Precious the praise has been big so far.)

So happy reading...

=========

All,

 
Okay, I want all of you to know that PRECIOUS is Rated R.  RATED RRRRRRR!! (for strong language, sexual content and soooo on) RATED RRRRR!!!  This ain't no MADEA movie....LOL.  Don't come out of the theater after seeing it saying, "Why didn't Tyler warn us?" HERE IS YOUR WARNING!  Pass this on please...

This is not a TYLER PERRY BRANDED MOVIE. I did not write it, I'm not in it, I did not direct it.  I want you to know that the language and subject matter are rough.

Some of you may say, "Then Tyler, why are you involved with it?"  Glad you asked.  It's certainly not for money, because I haven't gotten a dime, nor will I.  Anything I make, 100% is going to charity.  With that said, it brings me to my reason for wanting to get the word out about this film.

One word - POWERFUL! 

People think that this does not happen and these people don't exist.  Not true!  This is the most REAL film I've ever seen on this subject matter.

Seeing it, I realized that I was watching a lot of my childhood played out in front of my eyes, and by the end of the movie I was filled with so many emotions.  When I sorted them all out, the one that stood out the most was Gratitude!  I had to thank God that I made it through.  I know, for a fact, that if you have been through anything like this, by the end of this film you will have a flood of emotions.  I hope you leave feeling the same gratitude I did, thanking God you made it through.  For those of you who haven't been through anything like this, I hope that you still have that level of gratitude...being thankful for the parents you were born to, and also that it will make you want to reach out and help some child.  There are Preciouses everywhere. One word can make a difference in their lives.

Believe me, I know about that one word.

Also, PRECIOUS is opening on different dates around the country.

Click the link below to find out when it's playing in your city.
http://www.tylerperry.com/_Movies/preciousSchedule.php

Thanks.  Talk soon.

TP