Racially Motivated Threads of the Social Lounge...

Hyde Parke wrote: »

More and more, I am beginning to think you are conducting some type of urban research for college credits or something.

CO sign no matter what answer you give him,his mind seems to be already made up.

there is no unity within the people.

slavery broke us.
assassination of our greatest thinkers dumbed us down.
hip hop culture exploited us.

i think the reason is b/c alot of us don't want to see the next man succeed. So we stay spending our money with other races helping them get rich.

ether-i-am wrote: »

Well I could never not be black and wouldn't wanna not be.

this ? again smh

Personally I buy whatever it is I like whenever I see it. I don't stop to think oh well the guys who own this arent black so I better go to a black owned business and buy that product. I dont see a need to go specifically black owned busninesses when the ? you want is right in front of you. Now as to why black militants dont strictly buy from blacks cofuses the ? out me.

It's been a year since John and Maggie Anderson, an African-American couple who rose from modest beginnings to academic and economic success, embarked on a controversial adventure in empowerment to spend their money exclusively with African-American businesses in 2009.

They've learned a few things, not the least of which was that they were a little naive.
"It was more difficult, to be honest," Maggie Anderson said as the year concluded. "We went out all starry-eyed."


As with most wisdom, the more meaningful lessons emerge from the more demanding struggles. So it was with the "Empowerment Experiment," said the Andersons, of Oak Park, Ill.


"There were certainly some challenges," John Anderson said. "But at the same time, the relationships we have cultivated — not only with the business owners but also in mobilizing so many people across the nation who have embraced the message — that's been the biggest blessing of this whole year. It has been a wonderful year."


The most discouraging challenge came in August, when the black-owned, full-service grocery store they would drive 14 miles to patronize closed. The couple also had to face jaded perspectives from other African-Americans who told the Andersons that black-owned businesses were inferior to white-owned enterprises and that the couple's over-arching goal of creating robust black businesses would never work.


And facing them at almost every turn was the insistence from some whites that the Andersons' experiment was an exercise in racism, a charge they reject.
The effort, particularly in the last three months, generated a great deal of momentum, the Andersons said. Maggie Anderson received an overwhelming response when she spoke at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas. She also was the opening speaker at the Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce meeting in September.


A week later, she spoke at the Congressional Black Caucus' annual convention in Washington, D.C. Northwestern University's Kellogg Black Alumni Club honored the Andersons in November. Overall, John Anderson said, about 75 percent of the reaction the couple received was encouraging. The remainder was critical.


"There was a feeling that now we have really created a vehicle to force ourselves to look into the mirror and address some of the issues we don't want to talk about," John Anderson said. Most notable among those issues, he said, was the belief among middle-class blacks that disassociation from African-American businesses is a sign of success.


"We're having those discussions much more often now," he said.
The Andersons — he's a financial adviser with degrees from Harvard and Northwestern; she's a business consultant who works from home and has a law degree and MBA from the University of Chicago — said they came up with the "Empowerment Experiment" to help solve persistent ills surrounding "underserved communities."


They note that African-Americans carry nearly $850 billion in spending power but that very little of that money circulates through those "underserved" communities. Most businesses in those neighborhoods are owned by people of other races who live elsewhere.
After their story in the Chicago Tribune in March, the Andersons gained widespread media exposure. They were interviewed on CNN, Fox News and CBS Morning News.
One of those who jumped onboard the movement after seeing the CBS segment in July was Viel Robinson of Greensboro, N.C.


"I thought, 'Wow, this is great,' " said Robinson, adding that she began making a conscious effort to support more black-owned businesses. "This is something I was already interested in anyway."


She said, however, that she found it "sometimes challenging" to find black-owned companies that provided goods she needed.
"I know that there's a lot of economic power behind the African-American dollar," she said. "If more of us thought about doing this, it could create a real spark."


Then and now, the Andersons ask critics to look beyond racist implications. In March, they changed the name of their project, originally called the "Ebony Experiment," to "better articulate what's in our heart and what our end game is," Maggie Anderson said.
They contend that robust, black-owned businesses help restore impoverished African-American neighborhoods, which yield less crime, more jobs, less drug abuse, stronger families and better schools.


"This is really about African-Americans taking ownership of a problem," John Anderson said. "It's a way for us to be less reliant on the government. It's a way for us to create role models. All that stuff."
But it's complicated.
First, the Andersons said, it was difficult to find black-owned businesses that met their standards. Apart from the long drive for groceries, they purchased gift cards from black-owned gas stations in Rockford and Phoenix, Ill., so they could then fill up wherever they were. They drove about 18 miles to a health food store in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood and a similar distance to a general merchandise store. For Christmas, they bought their 3- and 4-year-old daughters clothes at a re-sale boutique and Afro-centric books and DVDs.


And, in August, Karriem Bey closed his grocery store, Farmers Best Market, where the Andersons had shopped.
"That was probably the worst day of the experiment," John Anderson said, "because he really was trying to do the right thing."
They were able to shop for food at several black-owned outlets until November, the Andersons said, when difficulties finding fresh produce and meat prompted them to begin shopping at mainstream grocery stores.


Beyah, 47, is ambivalent about the "Empowerment Experiment." The awareness and enthusiasm the Andersons created was important, he said. But Beyah added that his business may have suffered from being highlighted as an enterprise owned by an African-American.
"If you're under the radar, then maybe you won't get that belief from customers that the other guy's ice is colder than yours," he said. But, "I'm not giving up."
Beyah added, "It's one of those things that makes you stronger." He plans on opening another store in a few months.
The Andersons estimated that they spent about 70 percent of their dollars, or slightly less than $70,000, with black-owned businesses in 2009. This year, they are pushing the experiment into what Maggie Anderson called "movement mode."


She will become the face of a national campaign to gain commitments from many African-Americans to support black-owned businesses and forward their spending records to researchers who will gauge the impact and extrapolate what it would mean on a larger scale. Maggie Anderson is planning to hit the speaking circuit, and the couple will write a book.
For inspiration, they may recall the response she received from the church in Dallas.
"Those people were in tears, standing on their feet," Maggie Anderson recalled. "To get that kind of reaction really made us feel like we were doing something for the community, that we were earning the respect of our community leaders."

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Their biggest resistance came from Uncle-Tom ? 's and racist whites....predictable

Its no surprise that Israel, Europe Nations & America would boycott this they are all the #1 colonizers, and exploiters with the most blood on their hands.

The white-Jews dont want to answer for their treachery in South Africa's diamond trade and massacre's in Palestine, the other whites dont want to answer for Global white supremacy.

Why would we expect two of the most war mongering countries in this world to actually attend something like this?

hrap-120 wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FmINZFef60

@ Cube describing a sellout when by the songs defenition he did the same later on in life.

Dble Deez wrote: »

I hear what your saying... I choose not not to hate. I don't see division from my own eyes I have friends all over and none of them made based off color. It goes on all day all over and some people wanna hold on n not let it go. I am living with peace given to me from my ? and at the end of the day the love he has for us all is what I see and hold on to.

You cant let go with somethng that has not been dealt with.. dont ge me wrong i dont have a woe is me attitude.. by i call it liek i see an recognize whats goin on around me. people seem to think just because you make those observations.. that you are playing "the victim" and who usually says .. you are playing the victim.. the perp.... I dont hate eithe, too have friends from all over the spectrum.. instead of not seeing the differences .. i accept an respect the differences.. im not gonna pretend.. the rainbow is one color..

hrap-120 wrote: »

If And Step says you are genuine I believe you and ask for forgiveness for my doubt.

Brother we have to be extreme...its like Khalid said we have tried everything else.

I dont hate the white-man, I acknowledge his existence and accept the fact that history has shown that he has been our most fierce enemy...Global White Supremacy is something that I am opposed to and willing to give my life to alleviate.

Sometimes I might over-generalize or make blanket indictments towards whites as an entire collectivem, and I know this stance seems extreme but I truly believe that this is the only stance that will motivate, invigorate, and inspire the dead amongst us to strive for betterment and empowerment..are U listening to the blogtalk...LMAO..they are mirroring your sentiments.

Exactly. I try to tell people this everyday. Extreme teaching for extreme times. You from Cali tho rite Hrap? My homie is from L.A. He's apart of the Moorish Science Temple out there. We in D.C. right now for school though. I've been doing a little research on their teachings and it's interesting. You affiliated with them?

shadb33 wrote: »

Exactly. I try to tell people this everyday. Extreme teaching for extreme times. You from Cali tho rite Hrap? My homie is from L.A. He's apart of the Moorish Science Temple out there. We in D.C. right now for school though. I've been doing a little research on their teachings and it's interesting. You affiliated with them?

lol Someone explain to me these "Extreme Times" considering we are doing better now than we ever have.