Saturday, July 29, 2006

Essay 873


Saturday Evening Post (aka MultiCultClassics Monologue)…

• Target was targeted by the NAACP and fired back.

It started when NAACP President and CEO Bruce Gordon blasted retailers including Target for failing to participate in the 2006 NAACP General Merchandising survey, a 10-year-old reporting process designed to measure “corporate America’s financial relationship with the African American community.” At the recent NAACP convention, Gordon awarded an F grade to Target while announcing, “We have companies that haven’t responded [to the survey] for two years. … Some folks in our community like Target because you know they have good prices and a nice product line. They don’t even care to respond to our survey. Stay out of their stores.”

The ultra-cool retailer responded, “Target did not participate in the 2006 NAACP General Merchandising survey because Target views diversity as being inclusive of all people from all different backgrounds, not just one group. The information requested in the NAACP survey was about African American teams members only. In addition, the NAACP asked for specific information on minority populations and other company initiatives that Target considers to be proprietary. Therefore, while our company has a genuine and extensive commitment to diversity, our grade reflects the fact that we did not participate in this particular survey.”

• Did anyone else respond to the Lance Bass revelation by wondering who the hell is Lance Bass?

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